Jeremy Botha was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Werksmans Attorneys in April 2006. His background was initially financial management and taxation at some of South Africa’s largest corporates. Prior to joining Werksmans, he was the General Manager of Adams and Adams, a large intellectual property law firm, for a period of five years. During this time he gained wide experience in general executive duties, particularly in the financial; information technology; human resources; and marketing fields.

CAREER

• BCom (University of Cape Town)
• Hons BCompt (University of South Africa
• CA (SA)
• 2006: Chief Executive Officer, Werksmans

David Hertz is the Chairman of Werksmans Attorneys, with deep experience in the Dispute Resolution; Financial Services Regulation; and Infrastructure, Energy & Projects practice areas. He specialises in several disciplines, including arbitration; mediation; alternative dispute resolution (ADR); competition law (in particular unlawful competition); corporate law; and corporate fraud. David is consistently recognised in international rankings. He has been named as a leading lawyer in Dispute Resolution by Chambers Global for the past eleven years, and as a highly recommended lawyer in Dispute Resolution by the Legal 500.

Years of Experience: 33 years

Cari Cole-Morgan is a Director at Werksmans and Head of Knowledge Management. From 2000 – 2006 she was a Director, practising in Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions. Cari re-joined Werksmans in 2013 to head up Knowledge Management.

Recognised as the data privacy lawyer of choice for multinational corporations, regulatory bodies, and industry leaders, Ahmore Burger-Smidt brings over 30 years of legal expertise with a deep focus on data privacy, regulatory compliance, and competition law. As Director since 2011, Ahmore combines authoritative legal knowledge with practical advisory skills, helping clients navigate complex data protection landscapes locally and internationally.

Certified as an Information Privacy Professional (Europe) and an active member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals since 2017, she is highly sought after for her strategic counsel, compliance frameworks, and leadership in data governance. Ahmore’s trusted reputation is underscored by her extensive advisory role in high-profile investigations, cross-border regulatory compliance, and cutting-edge data privacy programme implementation. Ahmore has advised clients in a wide range of jurisdictions, including Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Poland, and Morocco, and within key African regional economic communities such as CEMAC, WAEMU, ECOWAS, and COMESA. She has also worked with leading global competition authorities, including the ACCC (Australia), Office of Fair Trading (UK), U.S. Department of Justice, and Federal Trade Commission (US)

Ahmore is the Head of the Regulatory Practice group and the Data Privacy and Cyber service Line at Werksmans Attorneys.

Years of Experience: 31 years

Bernard Hotz is the Head of the Business Crimes & Investigations Practice Area. A highly experienced commercial litigator, he is also extremely versatile being active in other practice areas at the firm namely Arbitration and Dispute Resolution. Bernard specialises in all aspects of general commercial litigation. This includes corporate fraud/business crimes; insurance and banking litigation; stock exchange-related litigation; and unlawful competition matters such as restraints of trade and Anton Piller orders. He also deals with various areas of intellectual property litigation; trademark and copyright enforcement; media law disputes; and administrative law. Bernard sits as a Commissioner of the Small Claims Court.

Experience: 30 years

Candice heads the firm’s business development function which is responsible for client retention, exploring new business opportunities, and developing brand strategies to ensure the firm remains front of mind.

She brings over 20 years within the professional services sector with experience across London, New York, and South Africa.  In her various roles, she has provided strategic support and insight to assist and enable professionals to understand the impact of business development, internal collaboration, and client relationship management, and also driven focused marketing communication initiatives that both build and enhance reputation.

Prior to re-joining Werksmans, Candice led Bowmans Business Development & Marketing multi-jurisdiction team; and also worked with Webber Wentzel leading its marketing, communication, and branding efforts which extended to branding support for ALN, its African alliance.

Chris Moraitis is a Director and Head of the Infrastructure & Energy practice area, extending his expertise to Banking & Finance. Chris is a highly-skilled specialist able to advise across a broad range of regulatory and financing transactions – from debt capital market offerings and the regulatory aspects of banking; to project and limited recourse financing. He also advises on aspects relating to public-private partnerships and infrastructure projects; including the construction and environmental aspects thereof.

Years of Experience: 25 years

Chris Stevens is a Director and Head of the Mining & Resources practice area. Chris is deeply skilled in matters relating to due diligence; opinion work; administrative appeals and reviews; mining title registration; and resources law. He is a sought-after advisor on mining transactions; mining disputes; and all aspects of the MPRDA. Chris advised Anglo American Platinum on all its B-BBEE projects for all its joint ventures and existing mines.