Leading Pan-African law firm, Bowman Gilfillan Africa Group, has appointed Ulla Murphy to strengthen its Africa-wide tax offering.

Murphy joins the firm as a partner in its Johannesburg Tax Practice, moving from Absa where she was the Africa Head of Wealth Investment and Insurance Tax. She specialises in providing advisory tax services, with particular emphasis on the financial services sector.

This appointment follows a number of recent lateral hires including David Forfar, as head of the firm’s Oil & Gas Sector Group; John Bellew, as head of its Private Equity Sector Group; James Westgate as a partner in its Private Equity Sector Group; and international restructuring expert, Lyndon Norley, who joined the firm as a consultant.

Chairman and senior partner, Robert Legh, says, "We are very pleased to welcome Ulla to our team. Her experience will enhance our client value proposition in the specialist field of tax law. Our aim is to be the leading independent Pan-African law firm in Africa. We are already differentiated by our footprint and the quality of our legal advice and are bolstering our teams in identified growth areas to better support the increasing needs of our clients."

Murphy’s experience has covered advising on technical tax issues and restructurings, responding to SARS queries, and reviewing offshore insurance tax calculations and new products for potential tax exposures. Her expertise extends to commenting on legislative changes and implementing systems to comply with new tax legislation. She has also been actively involved in African business development initiatives.

Murphy began her career with Deloitte in 2001 where she spent eight years. She has a B.Sc. and a B.Com from the University of Cape Town and is a registered chartered accountant.