Webber Wentzel has bolstered its growing Africa Group with the appointment of an expert in African corporate and finance transactions to further meet the multi-jurisdictional needs of its sophisticated international client base.
Steven De Backer joins the firm today as a Director in the Johannesburg office and brings extensive on the ground experience of leading transactions in Anglophone and Francophone Africa. He has advised clients in both private and public sectors in areas such as energy, utilities, infrastructure, mining, financial services and telecommunications.
"This expansion of the Africa Group enables us to broaden our offering to clients particularly in East and Central Africa and will add to our existing capabilities to service clients in Francophone Africa," said Roddy McKean, Head of the Africa Group at Webber Wentzel.
The Africa practice already has a number of English law qualified partners and associates who position the firm strongly in transactional work. Steven, who is Belgian qualified, now adds to the firm's ability to advise on transactions in civil law jurisdictions.
De Backer joins Webber Wentzel from Mkono & Co, a top tier corporate and financial law firm in the East African region where he was a partner for over five years. He was previously in-house counsel at Belgian securities firm KBC Securities and with Freshfields in Brussels.
Steven has been recognized as one of Tanzania's and Burundi's leading lawyers by Chambers Global and as a leading lawyer in Tanzania by IFLR1000 and PLC Which Lawyer. He is fluent in French, English and Dutch.
