by Matodzi Ratshimbilani The testimony of the former minister of public enterprises Barbara Hogan before the Zondo commission on state capture has highlighted long standing incongruity that beset the directors of state-owned companies (SOEs). Hogan testified how former president Jacob Zuma sought to influence the decisions of...
by Peter Tshisevhe One of the key reforms to company law in South Africa that the Companies Act, No. 71 of 2008 (the “Act”) introduced include, inter alia, the codification of directors’ duties. The rationale behind the codification of directors’ duties was mainly to make the...
by Matodzi Ratshimbilani The world over the concept of sophisticated investors is acknowledged in different forms. By way of example, in the United Kingdom sophisticated investors include retail clients, professional clients and eligible counterparties. The crux of this categorisation of investors is that there are certain investors...
by Matodzi Ratshimbilani On 29 and 30 August 2018, the California Legislative Assembly and the United States (US) Senate respectively, passed a bill to amend the States Corporations Code, the equivalent of our Companies Act prescribing minimum female director representation in the boards of all companies...
Being a female in the legal profession, in particular, being a litigator requires a lot of passion for the law. It requires perseverance and a lot of initiative. I realised very early on in my career that in order to succeed in this profession I would...
At the outset of my legal career, I realised that I need to establish myself into a valuable product in order to become an asset not only to my firm, but to any organisation in which I may find myself in future. As a legal practitioner...
It is an accepted principle of South African law that negotiations between parties, which take place with a view to settling the disputes between them, are privileged and cannot be disclosed. This is known as the “without prejudice” principle and provides parties with substantial protection...
In 2012, a giant global computer manufacturing company, Hewlett-Packard (“HP”) decided to acquire Autonomy as part of its overall plan to move away from computer hardware to more profitable computer software. HP conducted a due diligence on Autonomy and proceeded to acquire it for a...
The revised Preferential Procurement Regulations, 2017 recently took effect on 1 April 2017. While broadly consistent with the 2011 Regulations, which are replaced in toto, the 2017 Regulations introduce a number of important changes that aim to provide greater opportunities for black-owned businesses and small enterprises...