Leading African law firm Bowmans today announced the appointment of Heather Irvine, a highly respected competition lawyer, as a partner in its Johannesburg office. She joins Bowmans from Falcon & Hulme. She headed the African Competition Law team at Norton Rose Fulbright for several years prior to this.

Chairman and senior partner, Robert Legh, says: ‘Heather has worked on some of the most interesting and strategic competition matters in recent times and we are delighted that she has decided to join us.’

Irvine specialises in complaints about anticompetitive conduct and the notification of high-profile, complex merger transactions in South Africa and other African jurisdictions, including COMESA, where there are challenging competition law and public interest issues.

Her experience includes launching two of the first applications in cartel cases to the Constitutional Court in South Africa and managing several dawn raids for clients in South Africa and Zambia. Heather has also successfully secured immunity for clients in terms of the South African Competition Commission’s corporate leniency policy. She also advises clients on their compliance programmes, and on designing and implementing online competition law training.

Legh concludes: ‘Heather is a formidable presence in the field of competition law. We look forward to the contribution that she undoubtedly will make to our already well-recognised expertise in this field’.