Leading international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has appointed Jean Meijer as the firm's Managing Partner for its Johannesburg office, effective from 1 May 2022. Jean will succeed finance partner Ed Baring, who has completed his two terms in the role and will return to focus full-time on his practice.

Jean is a competition partner with over 20 years' experience, recognised as one of the "top 100 women in antitrust" and a leading competition lawyer by multiple legal guides and directories. Jean is lauded as "one of the pre-eminent competition lawyers in South Africa" and "outstanding – clever, strategic and has a lot of experience to use to her benefit".

Jean will maintain her focus on her client relationships and fee-earning, alongside her new management responsibilities. 

Alison Brown, Executive Partner, commented:

"I would like to thank Ed for his great leadership and dedication to the business in the past few years, during which our Johannesburg office has achieved impressive growth and market standing. 

"Jean will be an excellent leader for our next phase of growth in the region – I look forward to working with her to lead our team to further success."

New partner appointments

Cameron Dunstan-Smith has been promoted to Partner in the Corporate Crime and Investigations practice for Herbert Smith Freehills’ Johannesburg office.

Cameron has specialised in investigations and compliance for the past 16 years and his extensive experience covers the full suite of investigations issues (corruption, fraud, misconduct) as well as compliance (anti-bribery and corruption due diligence and advisory) and regulatory (sanctions, anti-money laundering and related offences) matters. Cameron has been involved in a wide range of regulatory matters, FCPA and UK Bribery Act investigations and compliance advice and due diligence, anti-money laundering compliance and representing clients facing government or regulatory enforcement action. He has worked in multiple African jurisdictions, the UK, East Asia, Europe and the United States on a variety of investigations and has provided advice to regulators in South Africa, the United States and the UK.

Due to the international nature of investigations, this is of great value to clients seeking seamless service in multiple jurisdictions as well as clients who appreciate the benefit of a firm with investigations experience and dealings with regulators the world over.  

Jonathan Ripley-Evans has been promoted to Partner for Disputes practice for Herbert Smith Freehills’ Johannesburg office.

Jonathan heads up the South African Disputes practice, and has extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution and general commercial litigation. He has also acted as mediator and as advisor/ representative in both mediations and arbitrations, domestic and international. His practice is geared towards alternative dispute resolution, in particular arbitration and mediation but is equally placed to administer complex commercial court litigation. He specialises in the resolution of commercial disputes in a wide range of sectors including energy, mining, tourism, hospitality, property, construction and engineering.

He is an AFSA accredited mediator and arbitrator and currently sits on the AFSA Management Committee. He was a member of the core drafting committee responsible for the revision of the AFSA International Commercial Arbitration Rules which were launched in 2021. He is currently a member of the AFSA International Court and also sits as a member of the court of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and International Arbitration Centre (LACIAC). He is an accredited Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and currently sits on the board of the South African Branch.