Leading African international law firm Bowmans has appointed pan-African competition law specialist HB Senekal as a partner in its Johannesburg Competition Practice.
Ezra Davids, Bowmans’ chairman and senior partner, says, ‘The investigative and enforcement capacity of African competition regulators is growing in sophistication creating increasing demand for specialists in this field of law. We are very proud of our Competition Practice, which is regarded as a leader on the continent, and believe that HB’s skills and experience will enhance those of our existing team.’
Senekal says, ‘I am thrilled to join Bowmans which provides me the opportunity to help grow the firm’s competition law footprint across Africa. Bowmans offers outstanding opportunities. Its strong reputation for excellence and dedication to making a significant impact on the African continent make this a particularly exciting move for me.’
He began his career with the Competition Commission of South Africa, where he spent eight years before joining ENS. He joins Bowmans after 17 years at ENS, where he was a senior director.
He specialises in all aspects of competition law including merger notifications, cartels, abuses of dominance and related issues, litigation, dawn raids and competition compliance training. His extensive experience extends to regulatory litigation and forensic matters, including bribery investigations.
Senekal has worked in various African countries, particularly South Africa and Namibia, but also Botswana, Morocco, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as the regional competition authorities of COMESA and CEMAC. His experience covers a wide range of sectors, including oil and gas, mining, retail, consumer goods, financial services, media, energy and transport.
He has a B Proc and two LLM degrees (in contract law and mercantile law) from the University of Pretoria. His expertise is ranked by the Global Competition Review, Who’s Who Legal and the Legal 500.
Davids concludes, ‘We are very pleased that HB has chosen to join us. His well-experienced and client-centric approach, as well as his established practice, will assist us to broaden the range of clients we service and expand our capacity, particularly in Namibia where we recently established a Bowmans office.'