The offering of niche legal services in the field of technology, telecommunication and media in Africa is firmly set to become a trend in the coming years. As a result, legal firms in particular must diversify their portfolios in order to remain relevant in the African market.
This is the view of Piet Faber, chief executive of ENSafrica, the world’s first, fully integrated, pan-African law firm.
“As Africa captures the interest of international investors, opportunities will increase, especially in the fields of technology, telecommunication and media. Vital to the ongoing success of any business reliant on infrastructure is a need for advice that takes into account specific legislation in this field applicable in each of Africa’s 54 countries.
“This can only be done by offering niche and individualised services in specific African markets,” says Faber.
He explains that the firm’s strategy in Africa is on trend with its offering of niche services in this field.
“Instead of recruiting a few dedicated practitioners operating within one or two niche areas, we have chosen to develop over 450 dedicated departments, with each catering to a different specialist area. Moreover within each of these departments, there are teams of practitioners who have in-depth experience in one or more of the focus areas making up that specialisation,” says Faber.
ENSafrica recently received the award for Team of the Year in the field of Technology, Telecommunication and Media (TMT) for its specialized service offerings in at the prestigious African Legal Awards 2013.
“The award serves as affirmation of our vision to be the African law firm of choice and places us at the pinnacle of TMT legal service providers on the continent.
“The continent’s resurgence and growth is being driven by technology, and whether our clients are service providers venturing into the continent or customers of ICT services and products, our depth of our knowledge and expertise can be relied upon,” says Ridwaan Boda, director in the TMT team at ENSafrica.
Hosted by Legal Week and the Corporate Lawyers Association of South Africa (CLASA), these inaugural awards are a celebration of legal excellence in Africa.
Participating firms were measured against four criteria: legal expertise and innovation, project management skills, teamwork and client satisfaction, and the award was given to the firm that best demonstrated the setting of new standards in the delivery of legal services and a market-leading position in Africa.
“We are delighted to be named winners of the TMT Team of the Year award at the African Legal Awards 2013. This has been a busy year for the TMT team in which we have continued to prioritise investment in the development of our expertise, our understanding of regional issues, and our client care programmes.
“This award is a powerful endorsement of the quality of the TMT team at ENSafrica, and is a testament to the firm’s growing strength in depth in relation to technology and telecommunications advisory work, which enables us to continue to contribute significantly to the growing TMT sector in Africa,” says Zaid Gardner of the ENSafrica TMT team.
Faber says that this award is further proof of the firm’s winning strategy.
“These awards are an embodiment of our vision to be the African law firm of choice – innovative, world-class, solution driven, and testament to our commitment to being in Africa and for Africa. These awards are also proof that our unique business model in developing and offering specialized skills in technology, telecommunication and media is superior.
“We look forward to continuing leading the trend in offering a diverse range of legal expertise on the continent,” concludes Faber.