Leading global law firm Baker McKenzie has announced the promotion of 67 colleagues to partner. In addition, in the year to 30 June 2021, the Firm also welcomed 28 new lateral partners across a range of key markets, including in Johannesburg, to reach a total of 95 new partners globally. Across the Firm's practice groups, M&A and Tax saw the largest number of new partner promotions.

In South Africa, Ashlin Perumall has been appointed to partner in the firm’s Corporate/M&A Practice Group in Johannesburg from 1 July 2021. This key appointment is part of the Firm’s core strategy to grow its transactional practice in Africa.  In February this year, the Firm announced the appointment of dispute resolution and litigation lawyer, Fani Dingiswayo as a partner in the Johannesburg office, bolstering its sector expertise, and heeding growing client demand for dispute resolution, litigation, and compliance and investigation expertise in post-pandemic Africa.

Ashlin is a corporate and commercial attorney with more than 10 years' experience acting for local and multinational clients in Africa, specialising in technology acquisition and transactional matters involving intellectual property. He is also routinely called to advise on complex legal mandates in the technology, media and telecommunication (TMT) sector, particularly those involving novel or disruptive technologies, products or business models. He is regarded as a key technology advisor in respect of client work in the Firm’s Johannesburg office, having advised clients on law and policy in the areas of applied machine learning, blockchain technologies - including central bank settlement systems, battery electrical vehicle regulations, and autonomous agents, to name a few.

Ashlin returns from his fellowship at the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) in San Francisco at the end of June and rejoins to the Johannesburg office at the beginning of July 2021. As part of his C4IR Fellowship, he is part of the blockchain and digital currency working group, conducting research on the international legal and policy considerations surrounding central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and price-stabilised cryptocurrencies (stablecoins), focusing on regulatory gaps, consumer protection and privacy.

Ashlin has noted that the development of the 4IR in Africa demands the focused attention and research of skilled professionals in Africa, who can understand the macro global technological trends and their impacts and risks, as well having the foresight as to how these are addressed in developed economies. He aims to use his experience at the C4IR to equip himself with the knowledge and experience needed to contribute meaningfully to the development of 4IR initiatives across Africa.

Janet MacKenzie, Partner and Head of the IPTech/TMT Industry Group at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg, comments on this appointment, “Ashlin’s invaluable skills in IPTech and M&A/Commercial law means he has played a key role in many of the Firm’s major African transactions in the last few years. He is a trusted advisor to many of our Firm's key clients and has been actively involved in securing some of the Firm’s notable IPTech/M&A mandates. His knowledge of the intersection of technology, commercial law, policy and innovation places him at the cutting edge of African legal work and makes him an integral part of our Corporate/M&A service offering. His promotion to partner is the natural next step in his exciting career at Baker McKenzie."

Milton Cheng, Global Chair of Baker McKenzie, said, “Congratulations to all of our new partners. I am very pleased to welcome 95 new partners, both home-grown and lateral, particularly against the backdrop of a global pandemic. This indicates our strategy of nurturing the careers of our people and recruiting the best possible talent to join our Firm. It is also notable that our new partners come from offices right across the globe, underscoring our unwavering commitment to being a truly global firm in both our outlook and our presence.

"Our FY21 promotions have been carefully considered to ensure our clients receive the best possible service and that we continue to be a Firm where we have deep technical expertise, unrivalled local knowledge, and of course an incredible global platform. We continue to build on key strengths in areas including M&A, PE and in other complex cross border transactions, tax disputes, multi-jurisdictional investigations, and in the digital transformation space, where we have an industry leading offering that spans our full range of practices."