Celebrating Collaborative Success - Our South Africa TMT team wins ‘TMT Team of the Year’ at the African Legal Awards 2022

On 2 September, the ninth edition of the African Legal Awards was hosted by Law.com International, in partnership with the Corporate Counsel Association of South Africa (CCASA) and Africa Legal, at the Houghton Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa. These awards continue to showcase incredible talent, recognising more of a pan-African audience each year.

For three consecutive years, our TMT team has been a finalist in the African Legal Awards for ‘TMT Team of the Year’. This year proved to be third time lucky for our team as we walked away with the prestigious award.

In order to secure the win, our TMT team put forward a highly complex matter which showcased the pivotal role it played in negotiating various agreements and other arrangements for a global business process outsource project for NTT Limited, a leading global technology and business solutions provider. Together with the London office, and other Eversheds Sutherland offices and network firms in various jurisdictions, our team advised on this hugely ambitious project, which was completed under intense time pressure.

The project involved an intricate, first-generation outsourcing arrangement, as well as the transfer of over 2,000 employees, Asset Transfer Agreements for the sale of IT and office equipment, the transfer of office premises and supplier agreements in three jurisdictions, the negotiation of multiple transitional services agreements, and very complex cross-border data transfer arrangements. The team worked closely with NTT Ltd’s business, and the internal legal, risk and compliance teams.

The team was led by our TMT partners, Grant Williams (South Africa), and Craig Rogers (London). Other members who played an important role in this project were Ed Tompkin, Principal Associate, Meghan Annandale, Associate, Judith Vieberink, Senior Associate, legal officers Felix Schulte-Strathaus and Alexandra Liddell, Jessie Court (outsourcing), Nicola Whalley (LPM), Sophie White, Partner, Katie Newman, Senior Associate, Sandro Milo, Partner, Nadia Froneman, Partner, Hannah Frost, Associate, Alex Critchley, Senior Associate, Rachel Lester, Senior Associate, Giles Dennison, Partner, Lorna Doggett, Legal Director, John Inglese, Senior Associate, Alexander Sand, Counsel, Tom Elliot, Project Co-ordinator, Robert Hill, Legal Director, and many others.

Grant Williams, Partner in our South African Commercial practice, said:

After having been shortlisted for the last two years, it is an honour to receive this award on behalf of the TMT team. This award, and the project that we worked on, showcases how the various Eversheds Sutherland offices around the world can work together to provide our clients with world-class services.

Craig Rogers, NTT Global Client Partner and sponsor for Eversheds Sutherland’s Africa Technology practice, commented:

The development of a stable and secure technology infrastructure is a key policy objective for governments throughout Africa. Now – more than ever – technology is critical for the provision of essential services, supply chains, banking and payments, communications and access to digital content. Technology, Media and Telecoms have been a key part of the strategy for Eversheds Sutherland’s practice in the region and I am delighted that our TMT expertise has been recognised at the African Legal Awards 2022.

John Kemkers, Partner and Head of our Africa Group, said:

NTT has been a longstanding and important client of our Johannesburg office since the early days of Dimension Data, which NTT acquired in 2010. As the Head of the Africa Group, I’m delighted that we’ve been able to broaden and strengthen that relationship, and that our London and Johannesburg offices were able to work together on delivering this complex, strategically important and truly global project for NTT, working in conjunction with our offices and relationship firms around the world.