Simone Gast
Phone +27 11 535 8131
Email sgast@werksmans.com
Location Johannesburg
Name / Surname Simone Gast

Simone Gast

Director

Simone Gast is a Director in the Dispute Resolution practice area. She specialises in High Court litigation, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution; technology disputes; international and cross-border matters; administrative law; trust law and unlawful competition (including enforcing of confidentiality, non-solicitation and restraint of trade obligations). Simone also advises in a broad range of matters involving contract law and company law.  She is dual-qualified, and was admitted as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales in 2026.

Years of Experience: 11 years

  • Litigation & Dispute Resolution

  • Dispute Resolution
  • High Court Litigation, Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Mediation
  • Administrative Law
  • Commercial Law
  • Company Law
  • Contract Law
  • Cross-Border Litigation
  • Enforcement of Foreign Judgements and Foreign Arbitration Awards
  • Notarial Services
  • Private International Law and Cross Border Disputes
  • Technology Litigation
  • Trust Law
  • Unlawful Competition, including the enforcement of confidentiality, non-solicitation and restraint of trade obligations

  • Assisted in initial investigations into the "Great Bank Heist" of VBS Bank on behalf of the South African Reserve Bank.
  • Advising and representing major South African companies on restraints of trade and unlawful competition, including, amongst others, a number of subsidiaries of the Bidvest Group (including GFox, Steiner, Rentech and King Pie), Cochrane Fencing, Citadel, Avior, Sasfin and the Pool Team.
  • Representing and advising the "new Boards" of Tongaat Hulett Limited (THL) and EOH Limited as part of their respective turnaround strategies following the uncovering of large-scale internal corruption and fraud. This included claims against their erstwhile directors for, inter alia, repayment of siphoned funds and a declaration of delinquency.
  • Represented THL in a commercial dispute in 2020 arising out of an agreement it entered into with KLL Group (Proprietary) Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barloworld Limited ("Barloworld"), for the purchase of THL's starch business as a going concern. The disposal agreement was subject to a material adverse change ("MAC") clause. Barloworld gave notice of a MAC event occurring as a result of, inter alia, the COVID-19 pandemic. The dispute was heard before an independent third expert, who ruled wholly in favour of THL.
  • Represented THL in 2022 in formulating and launching a claim against its erstwhile auditors (Deloittes) for, inter alia, breaching numerous auditing standards resulting in the misstatement of THL's financial statements over a number of years. Successfully negotiated a settlement with Deloitte shortly after the launch of the aforementioned claim, resulting in a settlement payment to THL in the amount of R270 million.
  • Represented THL and its Business Rescue Practitioners in a declaratory application citing over 20,000 respondents in the Durban High Court. They sought an order declaring that the Business Rescue Practitioners were empowered by the Companies Act 71 of 2008 to suspend (for the duration of the Business Rescue proceedings), any levy or redistribution payment due to the South African Sugar Association arising under the Sugar Industry Agreement, 2000. The declarator also included a Constitutional challenge to the Companies Act to the extent that it is under-inclusive.
  • Represented a major Chinese car manufacturer (BAIC) in South African litigation.
  • Representing Medscheme in a R2 billion IT and copyright dispute in a domestic confidential arbitration.
  • Representing a New York private equity fund in proceedings to enforce a multi billion-Dollar Guarantee against a South African insurance company.

  • Admitted as a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales, 2026
  • Admitted as a Notary Public (South Africa), 2018
  • Admitted as an Attorney (South Africa), 2017
  • LLB (cum laude), University of the Witwatersrand, 2015
  • BA (cum laude), University of the Witwatersrand, 2013

  • Co-Authored (with Roger Wakefield) the South African chapter of the Chambers Global Practice Guides – Enforcement of Judgments (2023)
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