At Baker McKenzie Johannesburg, the ‘very responsive’ employment and compensation practice stands out for its ‘professional, effective, practical advice’, and has notable strength in handling cross-border work for multinational clients. Corporate restructurings, pensions work, collective agreements and labour disputes are prominent areas of instruction for the group. Department head Johan Botes‘ areas of expertise include transfers of undertakings and industrial relations matters. Shane Johnson plays an important role in the team. Tracy van der Colff left the firm in September 2023.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Johan Botes is always on point and very quick to respond. His team is also very helpful, providing guidance in a concise manner.’

  • 'Johan provides sound commercial advice.'

  • 'The practice provides concrete advice and fully understands the clients' objectives.'

  • 'Advice regarding labour-related matters is practical and balanced.'

  • 'The team, and particularly Johan Botes, provides high quality legal advice, in an extremely pragmatic way.'

  • 'Wide range of skills and willingness to go above and beyond for clients.'

Key clients

  • GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

Lawyers

Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Johan Botes

Other key lawyers

Shane Johnson