Bowmans poised for further growth in Africa

Leading African law firm, Bowmans, has announced a range of appointments that will help it further its ambitious plans for growth on the African continent. The firm promoted 13 senior associates to partner at the beginning of this month and welcomed two additional partners to its growing practice in Mauritius with effect from 15 March 2021.   Chairman and Senior Partner, Robert Legh, says: ‘Welcoming this diverse group of people into the partnership is a sign of good growth to come and we are pleased to be able to continue investing in our people for the future.’ In addition, Penuell Maduna, who has been with the firm for 17 years and served as its Deputy Chairman for the past seven years, retired as a partner at the end of February. As a result, Ezra Davids and David Mpanga have each been appointed as a Deputy Chairman. Davids, as Chairman of the firm’s Corporate/M&A Practice, is the relationship partner for key clients and plays a leading role advising on complex and multi-jurisdictional matters. Mpanga is one of the founding partners in Bowmans’ Ugandan practice and is well known for handling landmark matters in that jurisdiction. Legh says, ‘Penuell Maduna has made an immense contribution to Bowmans and is a perfect example of the collegial culture that we strive to build and maintain. Fortunately, his experience is not lost to us as he will remain in the firm as a Senior Consultant. ‘Ezra and David are worthy successors. They each bring complementary strengths to the table and epitomise what Bowmans aspires to be as an African law firm at the top of its game.’ Two new partners join the fast-growing Mauritius practice In response to increasing client demand, the firm has also appointed two new partners, Gilles Athaw and Rajiv Gujadhur, to its Mauritian practice, which was established less than a year-and-a-half ago. Athaw is a well-known banking lawyer and Gujadhur is a highly respected M&A lawyer. Fazil Hossenkhan, managing partner of Bowmans in Mauritius, says, ‘We are excited to welcome Gilles and Rajiv who are established practitioners and who will help us to broaden our local service offering, and consolidate our practice and presence in the market.’ Apart from being highly proficient in their own fields of specialisation, both Athaw and Gujadhur learnt the law and were admitted to the bar in the UK before being admitted in Mauritius, a combination that clients are expected to find extremely useful, especially in cross-border transactions. Athaw has 18 years’ experience in corporate law, with a primary focus on banking, M&A and private equity. He was co-founder of Mauritian-based law firm C&A Law, which opened its doors in 2009, and also founder of Shema Corporate Services Ltd, a consulting firm. His experience covers cross-border financing, corporate structuring, M&A and initial public offerings. He has an LLB from the UK’s University of Buckingham and a Postgraduate Diploma in Law from City University, as well as a Certificate of Competency in Cryptocurrency from the London School of Economics. Gujadhur, who holds an LLM in International Law from the University of Kent, joins Bowmans from PwC Legal (Mauritius) Ltd, where he was Associate Director leading the Corporate M&A Practice. Previously, he was with BLC Robert & Associates for eight years. Primarily an M&A lawyer, Gujadhur specialises in corporate mergers, restructuring, financial services set-up and regulatory work. His clients have included a development bank in China, a bank based in Kenya, an African bank, a United States global leadership company and a major international travel company, to name a few. Legh concludes, ‘These appointments mark another important milestone in the evolution of our firm as we continue on our quest to build the pre-eminent African law firm supporting our clients and our people as they seek to unlock opportunity, overcome challenges and realise the hopes that will shape the future of Africa’.