Seven Baker McKenzie partners in Johannesburg have been ranked as Leading Lawyers in South Africa in the latest IFLR1000 Guide, released today.

Frances Okosi (Banking), Jen Stolp (Banking, Project Finance), Kieran Whyte (Energy and Infrastructure, Project Development and Project Finance), Mike van Rensburg ( M&A), Morné van der Merwe (M&A, Energy and Infrastructure, Capital Markets: Equity), Nick Altini (Competition), and Wildu du Plessis (Banking, Capital Markets - Debt and Equity), received Leading Lawyer status in the 2018 Guide.
 
The IFLR1000 is a guide to the world's leading financial and corporate law firms and lawyers. Its first rankings were published in 1990 and it currently researches over 120 jurisdictions worldwide. The law firm rankings are based on three key criteria: transactional evidence from the last 12 months of work, peer and client feedback conducted by means of online feedback surveys and phone and face-to-face interviews.

Managing Partner of Baker McKenzie Johannesburg, Morne van der Merwe, says, "Being a good lawyer is no longer enough. Our clients are navigating a constantly changing and challenging market - they require a new type of thinking and a different mindset from their lawyers. Clients expect their lawyers to have deep sector expertise and knowledge, with excellent service delivery. They expect us to collaborate unusually well across borders, markets and industries around the globe. They want lawyers who embrace new ideas and emerging technologies to give businesses confidence in uncertain times. These IFLR 1000 rankings serve as an indication that we are achieving our vision to be the lawyers our clients need us to be."

This week Baker McKenzie also retained its position as the world's strongest law firm brand in the 2017 Acritas Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index, extending its lead by seven points compared to 2016. The Firm received an overall score of 100 - over twice the score of the firm ranked in second place.