Transformation is important, and after its best-ever year and a decade of change and growth to evolve into an international African law firm, Bowmans is looking to the future with several new additions to its leadership teams, shared Alan Keep. Keep has led Bowmans through the last decade of evolution and growth, and today the firm confirmed his reappointment as managing partner for a further five-year term.
“Trying to drive a one-firm approach across eight offices in Africa with very different cultures is quite different to the strategic path of some of our traditional South African competitors, and even the big international firms,” Keep noted. “Over the past ten years we’ve grown significantly. It’s been a rewarding time. We feel we’ve learned quite a bit along the way, and we’re well placed and in a much better position to harness a good market standing.”
In addition to Keep’s reappointment, the firm also announced several changes to other leadership positions, including the elevation of Michael Strain to Managing Partner (Tanzania), with Dr Wilbert Kapinga moving into a role as Senior Partner in the East African country.
A number of changes have been made to the management board. Three partners have been appointed as Africa-wide department heads: Allen Leuta for Banking and Finance, Lusanda Raphulu for Dispute Resolution, and Tholinhlanhla Gcabashe for Corporate M&A. John Syekei from the firm’s Nairobi office will represent East Africa, while Paras Shah, Managing Partner (Kenya), will represent Kenya and support the finance function across the firm. Yale-educated New Zealander Charles Young, the firm’s Head of Mining, will have responsibility for client focus. They are joined by CFO Helen Harding, COO Richard Smith, and Talent and Business Development partner Tammy Beira.
“The share of revenue from our offices outside South Africa has grown hugely,” Keep shared. “We’ve learned quite a bit about driving an international focus, and we consciously decided we needed to bolster East African representation on our management board. In the board, we’re looking to drive collaboration across specialisations and across regions.”
Building a collaborative mindset across growing pan-African operations is a vital part of Bowmans’ vision, Keep says. Currently, the firm has offices in Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia, close alliances in Nigeria and Ethiopia, “best friend” relationships in Mozambique and Uganda, and a non-exclusive co-operation agreement with a French international firm to provide clients with assistance in the Francophone OHADA region.
Young’s appointment to the management board will promote the ethos of client-focused collaboration, Keep explained. “He’s notoriously a guy who thinks on a sector basis and will pull in the right people regardless of team or office, and international angles are natural for him.”
With roots in three South African firms, two of which were established more than a century ago, Bowmans has a rich heritage but is a future-focused firm, embracing technology to enable its collaborative mindset. Keep spoke extensively of the impact of technology on clients, alongside other evolutions in the legal landscape such as the drive for climate change and sustainability.
“These are topics that never stand still,” he said, noting that Bowmans also continues to evolve in other ways, including diversity and inclusion. “We’ve just had an election for our partnership board, and half the lawyers elected were women, which is quite significant.”
Such changes will continue to drive Bowmans as it evolves its African footprint and collaborative approach to meet client needs in a changing legal landscape, says Keep.
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