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Leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has hired Huneiza Goolam to join its market leading global corporate practice as a partner in Johannesburg.

Huneiza specialises in both M&A and equity capital markets (ECM), with sector expertise in financial services, mining and telecommunications. Her experience is pan-African as well as domestic. She has spent the majority of her career at Werksmans Attorneys, following which she joined Webber Wentzel as a partner in 2015. Huneiza was in a number of in-house and consulting roles prior to joining the firm.

Alexei Roudiak, Managing Partner of the firm’s EMEA offices who also heads the Corporate team in EMEA, commented:

"I am delighted to welcome Huneiza to our global corporate practice. Huneiza is highly regarded for her technical excellence and is one of the few top lawyers in the region who can provide both M&A and ECM advice to our clients. She is a fantastic addition to our outstanding corporate team in South Africa, alongside partners Rudolph du Plessis, Ross Lomax and Peter Leon. This strategic hire reflects our commitment to investing in our global corporate practice and recruiting the best lawyers, particularly in markets where there are increasing client demand and opportunities.”

Ed Baring, the firm’s Johannesburg Managing Partner, added:

"Our corporate practice in Johannesburg has seen impressive growth in the past few years. Huneiza’s strong client relationships, coupled with her legal and commercial expertise and market knowledge in both M&A and ECM, complements the excellent work our Johannesburg team has been doing. We look forward to working with her to provide the best support to our clients’ most important mandates."

Huneiza commented:

“I am excited to join a top-tier global law firm such as Herbert Smith Freehills. In addition to its top-notch teams and enviable work, I am impressed by the firm’s collegiate and collaborative culture, as well as its commitment to diversity and inclusion. I look forward to helping the firm’s clients on their significant transactions.”

Over the past 5 years, Herbert Smith Freehills’ Johannesburg office has advised on over 1,500 matters, which include some of the largest corporate transactions in the market. Key highlights include acting for Bank of America Merrill Lynch as financial adviser and SA sponsor on the listing of Old Mutual on the JSE as part of the managed separation of Old Mutual PLC and acting for CFAO (a subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho) in its acquisition of Steinhoff's Unitrans business in South Africa .

This is the third key lateral hire the firm’s top-tier corporate practice has made globally in the past nine months, following the recruitment of ECM partner Michael Jacobs and private equity partner David D’Souza last year in London.