Chris Todd
Senior Consultant | Cape Town
Contact
T: +27 21 480 7816
Overview
As a dispute resolution lawyer with around 30 years’ experience, Chris helps clients manage serious business conflict.
His approach is to listen, quickly get on top of the facts, understand what the client’s options are and advise accordingly. If only one hour is available, Chris spends most of that hour listening, thinking strategically about the problem and generating possible solutions. The client might need to negotiate urgently with a counterparty, for example, or put out an urgent public statement, speak confidentially to a regulator, or decide how to handle a major commercial dispute that might involve court litigation.
Court processes and pleadings are only one route and Chris knows it is often more effective to use parallel processes. As a trained commercial mediator and negotiation specialist, he believes in the opportunities that consensual dispute resolution can provide, often in tandem with court processes. In this way, he often helps clients avoid lengthy litigation and construct workable solutions that are satisfactory for all parties.
Increasingly, he works across borders for multinational businesses that are growing in Africa and encountering increasing complexity as they do so, including heightened scrutiny from regulators in their home jurisdictions. Chris has assisted multinationals with investigations into alleged fraud and corruption, including investigations with parties in Mauritius, Ghana, South Africa and the Middle East. He has also conducted training on group corporate HR policies in Kenya, Nigeria and Angola.
In South Africa, Chris has been involved in investigating high-profile corruption matters for state-owned enterprises and in 2021 gave evidence at the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture. He has served two terms as an acting judge of the Labour Court and two terms as an acting Judge of the High Court, Johannesburg, and has served on private tribunals as chair or arbitrator in employment disputes.
A longstanding client has this to say about working with Chris:
“He is a brilliant lawyer and one of the best in the market.”
Experience
* Indicates experience gained prior to joining Bowmans.
Chris has advised:
- Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) in policy and employment regulatory work – appointed as legal advisor to BUSA on labour market policy and the legal and strategic issues arising from proposed amendments to employment laws.
- Mining groups in mediating a mass personal injury claim and in ensuing negotiations ultimately resulting in settlement.
- A US headquartered multinational corporation – conducting training in Kenya, Nigeria and Angola.
- Old Mutual and its board of directors in an investigation resulting in the suspension and subsequent termination of employment of the group chief executive, and in subsequent High Court litigation initiated by the former chief executive to challenge the decisions of the company and its board.
- Parties to the South African Local Government Bargaining Council during negotiations to conclude an agreement restructuring pension arrangements in the local government sector, and in ensuing High Court litigation in which various third parties challenge the validity of the agreement reached.
- A multinational financial services group on allegations of corruption in Tanzania.
- An African natural resources group in an investigation into fraud by a minority shareholder in a cross-border investment in West Africa and ensuing litigation in the London Court of International Arbitration and in the High Courts in Mauritius and South Africa.
Awards
- Chambers Global consistently ranked Chris in Band 1 for Employment law for thirteen consecutive years (2015-2026).
- Legal 500 ranked Chris as a Leading Individual for the past -seven consecutive years (2017-2023) for Labour and Employment and in Tier 1(2015-2016) for the same category.
- Chris was recognised by Who’s Who Legal 2018 in the category Employment & Benefits: Labour & Employment.
- Recognised by Best Lawyers 2017 for Labor and Employment law.
‘Chris Todd is a very seasoned and experienced practitioner who is extremely articulate.’ – Chambers Global, 2026
‘His advice and support remain outstanding and excellent.’ – Chambers Global, 2026
AREA OF EXPERTISE
Qualifications
- BA (Hons) from the University of Cape Town.
- BA (Hons) in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford, UK.
INSIGHTS
Overview
As a dispute resolution lawyer with around 30 years’ experience, Chris helps clients manage serious business conflict.
His approach is to listen, quickly get on top of the facts, understand what the client’s options are and advise accordingly. If only one hour is available, Chris spends most of that hour listening, thinking strategically about the problem and generating possible solutions. The client might need to negotiate urgently with a counterparty, for example, or put out an urgent public statement, speak confidentially to a regulator, or decide how to handle a major commercial dispute that might involve court litigation.
Court processes and pleadings are only one route and Chris knows it is often more effective to use parallel processes. As a trained commercial mediator and negotiation specialist, he believes in the opportunities that consensual dispute resolution can provide, often in tandem with court processes. In this way, he often helps clients avoid lengthy litigation and construct workable solutions that are satisfactory for all parties.
Increasingly, he works across borders for multinational businesses that are growing in Africa and encountering increasing complexity as they do so, including heightened scrutiny from regulators in their home jurisdictions. Chris has assisted multinationals with investigations into alleged fraud and corruption, including investigations with parties in Mauritius, Ghana, South Africa and the Middle East. He has also conducted training on group corporate HR policies in Kenya, Nigeria and Angola.
In South Africa, Chris has been involved in investigating high-profile corruption matters for state-owned enterprises and in 2021 gave evidence at the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture. He has served two terms as an acting judge of the Labour Court and two terms as an acting Judge of the High Court, Johannesburg, and has served on private tribunals as chair or arbitrator in employment disputes.
A longstanding client has this to say about working with Chris:
“He is a brilliant lawyer and one of the best in the market.”
Experience
* Indicates experience gained prior to joining Bowmans.
Chris has advised:
- Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) in policy and employment regulatory work – appointed as legal advisor to BUSA on labour market policy and the legal and strategic issues arising from proposed amendments to employment laws.
- Mining groups in mediating a mass personal injury claim and in ensuing negotiations ultimately resulting in settlement.
- A US headquartered multinational corporation – conducting training in Kenya, Nigeria and Angola.
- Old Mutual and its board of directors in an investigation resulting in the suspension and subsequent termination of employment of the group chief executive, and in subsequent High Court litigation initiated by the former chief executive to challenge the decisions of the company and its board.
- Parties to the South African Local Government Bargaining Council during negotiations to conclude an agreement restructuring pension arrangements in the local government sector, and in ensuing High Court litigation in which various third parties challenge the validity of the agreement reached.
- A multinational financial services group on allegations of corruption in Tanzania.
- An African natural resources group in an investigation into fraud by a minority shareholder in a cross-border investment in West Africa and ensuing litigation in the London Court of International Arbitration and in the High Courts in Mauritius and South Africa.
Awards
- Chambers Global consistently ranked Chris in Band 1 for Employment law for thirteen consecutive years (2015-2026).
- Legal 500 ranked Chris as a Leading Individual for the past -seven consecutive years (2017-2023) for Labour and Employment and in Tier 1(2015-2016) for the same category.
- Chris was recognised by Who’s Who Legal 2018 in the category Employment & Benefits: Labour & Employment.
- Recognised by Best Lawyers 2017 for Labor and Employment law.
‘Chris Todd is a very seasoned and experienced practitioner who is extremely articulate.’ – Chambers Global, 2026
‘His advice and support remain outstanding and excellent.’ – Chambers Global, 2026
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