Desai Law Group joins Africa Legal Network
Oarabile Mosikare | Thursday March 2, 2017 17:50
DLG is one of Botswana’s largest law firms and was established by prominent corporate lawyer Rizwan Desai.
Established in 2016, Desai Law Group prides itself as a group of experienced professionals “who have formed a unique, dedicated law firm with one of Botswana’s leading corporate lawyers at the helm, founding partner, Rizwan Desai”.
Additional current partners include Akheel Jinabhai, Dineo Makati-Mpho and Angelica Bojosi.
“The firm’s partners are representative of the best legal skills available in Botswana, with their collective experience guiding clients through the most complex and challenging matters,” DLG states in its website.
The law firm has 16 attorneys. Desai is former senior partner at a leading corporate law firm, Collins Newman and Company, which is led one of Botswana well known and politically connected Parks Tafa.
He is qualified as a solicitor in Scotland and in England and Wales and as an attorney in New York. He practiced law at a major United Kingdom law firm prior to returning to Botswana in 1999.
Desai specialises in high-end corporate and structured finance transactions, capital markets, banking, financial services, private equity and securities. He is the former chairperson of the Botswana Stock Exchange and the chairperson of the board of directors of Barclays Bank of Botswana Limited. He has Master’s Degree in Law from the Ivy League Harvard University.
According to ALN, DLG represents a wide range of clients, including blue chip companies, banks and other local and international players. “Desai is supported by three partners, each highly respected in their fields of expertise. DLG recently joined forces with the preeminent real estate firm of Akheel Jinabhai and Associates to bolster its offering in this growing sector, making DLG one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm is now a full-service law firm divided into specialised teams structured to cover a broad range of practice areas” ALN states.
Welcoming DLG, ALN chairperson Cheick Modibo Diarra said: “DLG is a natural fit for ALN given the firm’s desire to remain independent, its commitment to capacity building, and willingness to invest in infrastructure and its people”.
ALN is one of the continent’s leading legal alliances, representing sophisticated clients across a wide range of industry sectors, including energy, infrastructure, projects, TMT, private equity, banking and finance, natural resources and real estate.
It has particular strength of coverage in East Africa and Southern Africa, and has a member firm in Nigeria. With DLG’s support, ALN is looking to maximise its ability to support investors with operations in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). “Adding DLG to our alliance is a further step in our commitment to support clients across the continent through a network of firms who share the same vision of implementing international best practices, uncompromising integrity and commitment to our clients.”