We are pleased to announce that Webber Wentzel has agreed to join ALN (formerly known as Africa Legal Network). This is a significant development in our strategy to become a truly African law firm and is a key step in the firm's strategic plan to be able to help our clients wherever they do business in Africa.

ALN is an established group of leading law firms in ten African countries, the largest and only group of its kind on the African continent. All ALN firms are current "best friend" firms of Webber Wentzel - we know these firms extremely well and have worked closely with them over a number of years.

The ALN group now includes top-tiered law firms in Botswana, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. All ALN firms are ranked as Tier 1 firms by Chambers Global 2011 (other than Mozambique which is ranked in Tier 2).

Our combined coverage will mean that we will have over 520 lawyers across 13 major African cities. The size of the group and its multi-lateral nature distinguish it from any network, association or international law firm with offices in African countries but more importantly this tie-up creates a pan-African platform for us to work together with our colleagues on the continent on an integrated basis on multi-jurisdictional projects. We will therefore be able to offer you a combination of our respective practice area expertise, jurisdiction and language skills, industry knowledge and real 'on the ground' experience.

As our practice is Africa-wide, we will be looking to expand the group's reach into further markets in Africa in the near future, particularly in key West African countries.

Each ALN member firm will retain its name and identity in its own market, however, the group will operate under the ALN umbrella. We will be announcing a new branding initiative shortly to take into account this significant move. A central ALN Secretariat provides business and marketing support as well as coordinating a group-wide quality control function which sets "Gold Standards" for firms whose performance is subject to internal audit on a regular basis. There will also be opportunities for secondment programmes between member firms to deepen relationships and further integration. Cross-border groups focusing on key industry sectors and practice areas will be established across the ALN group to share market intelligence, legal know-how and best practice.

Our work in Africa is becoming a much bigger part of what we do as a firm as the economies of our continent develop and provide many and varied opportunities for investment and growth. The decision to join ALN is therefore a natural step in the development of our strategy and helps differentiate us from our competitors in a market which is rapidly changing.

Please click here to view our press release. We will be making further announcements over the coming months.

For more information, please contact your usual Webber Wentzel contact or one of the contacts listed below:

David Lancaster
Senior Partner
Tel: +27 11 530 5251
david.lancaster@webberwentzel.com

Roddy McKean
Head of Africa Group
Tel: +27 11 530 5289
roddy.mckean@webberwentzel.com

Should you require additional information or wish to be added to or deleted from our mailing list, please contact us on +27 11 530 5470 or via email to webmaster@webberwentzel.com

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