{"id":882578,"date":"2026-11-07T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=882578"},"modified":"2026-11-06T19:53:58","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T17:53:58","slug":"international-giants-exiting-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/trending\/882578\/international-giants-exiting-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"International giants exiting South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The growing number of international companies and professional services firms exiting South Africa should serve as a wake-up call for the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing concerns in South Africa include the regulatory environment, economic performance, and investor confidence, which are increasingly influencing business decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is according to Peter Tshisevhe, director of TGR Attorneys, who said<\/a> the departure of international law firms reflects a broader shift in the global legal market and the challenges of doing business in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His comments follow several high-profile changes involving international legal practices with a presence in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These include Webber Wentzel ending its formal alliance with UK-based Linklaters, A&O Shearman closing its Johannesburg office, and Norton Rose Fulbright withdrawing from its South African operation, which has since reclaimed the Deneys name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A&O Shearman’s Johannesburg closure followed the mega-merger between London’s Allen & Overy and New York’s Shearman & Sterling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision formed part of a broader global restructuring that included reducing the firm’s partnership by approximately 10% to address overcapacity and realign resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South African law firm Bowmans subsequently absorbed A&O Shearman’s entire local legal team, including eight partners, four counsel and two directors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa has returned to the name Deneys after becoming independent of its international parent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The firm was originally formed in 2011 through a combination of Norton Rose, Canadian firm Ogilvy Renault and South Africa’s Deneys Reitz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, Webber Wentzel and Linklaters mutually agreed to end their alliance, which began in 2013. Webber Wentzel has since removed the Linklaters wording and associated pink branding from its identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tshisevhe said the arrival of international law firms in South Africa was closely linked to the country’s transition to democracy and the opportunities that followed the end of apartheid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following Nelson Mandela’s release and the country’s opening to international markets, foreign legal practices increasingly viewed South Africa as an attractive destination for expanding their businesses and accessing the broader African market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Tshisevhe said the economics of international law firms have changed in South Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These practices generally follow their major corporate clients, meaning their presence depends on the availability of large commercial projects and foreign investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mining provides an example of how regulatory uncertainty can influence investment decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If they are coming into the country to support their clients on mining projects, and they see an obstacle in the regulatory regime, it becomes something that they consider going forward,” Tshisevhe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The business environment<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Peter Tshisevhe, director of TGR Attorneys<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

He also identified black economic empowerment (BEE) requirements as a consideration for some international businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While international law firms have exemptions from certain requirements and can use alternative arrangements to earn points, he said this may not align with the preferences of every international company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When foreign businesses delay or withhold investment, the law firms servicing them also lose potential work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tshisevhe added that international firms face profitability challenges because their fee structures are often linked to more expensive foreign currencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without sufficient large-scale transactions to justify their operations, maintaining a South African office becomes increasingly difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the consequences of these departures extend beyond the loss of international law firm offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said South African lawyers will continue to do much of the work, but international transactions often require expertise in foreign jurisdictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is particularly important in banking and finance, where international financial institutions often prefer that transactions be governed by foreign law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Most of the international financial institutions are not interested” when syndicated transactions are subject to South African law, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tshisevhe said South African lawyers are increasingly training as solicitors to provide legal opinions on transactions governed by foreign law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also pointed to the country’s reliance on international arbitration to resolve major commercial disputes and argued that this results in substantial legal fees being paid to foreign lawyers and institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South African companies and state-owned entities have historically spent significant amounts resolving disputes abroad, including through arbitration in France and London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Tshisevhe, the growing number of international departures highlights the need to address concerns about South Africa’s investment climate, regulatory framework, and commercial legal system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He warned that perceptions about the country’s ability to handle complex commercial disputes have real economic consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This influences not only where international businesses invest but also where they choose to conduct their legal work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The growing number of international companies and professional services firms exiting South Africa should serve as a wake-up call for the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":846668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2119023315155062876","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2264246261062439","_sma_instagram_post_id":"17915883126507562","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[27036,7075,853,27035,9455],"class_list":["post-882578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending","tag-ao-shearman","tag-norton-rose-fulbright","tag-south-africa","tag-tgr-attorneys","tag-webber-wentzel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=882578"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":882613,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882578\/revisions\/882613"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}