Broad Expertise

Our team can offer you advice on a wide range of functions and sector-related issues including: ICT infrastructure; software licensing, distribution, integration and development; services integration and aggregation; contract management; off-shoring; procurement; business processing; technology turnkey solutions; e-commerce; software and technology-related intellectual property issues; data privacy; cloud service solutions; and information security.

Full service legal advice

We can support the full scope of projects in which you may be engaged, from conception through to conclusion.

Our team has the support of CDH’s full service business practices to give you expert input on related issues such as intellectual property, black economic empowerment, employment, tax, administrative and competition law implications.

Across borders

We have been engaged in transactions in sub-Saharan and West Africa, and in Europe. We are able to project manage your IT and outsourcing requirements on a worldwide basis.

• Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr is representing Vodacom, the leading South Africa-based mobile communications company.  Our technology & telecoms team is advising Vodacom on a review application instituted by Telkom relating to access to electronic communications facilities.  The hearing of this matter will take place in August 2020.  This is a particularly important matter as it will be the first time that the methodology employed by ICASA to determine the feasibility of granting access will be tested.  The outcome of the review will have important implications for all licensees seeking to make use of existing infrastructure on a shared basis.  Few teams have the necessary depth of expertise to advise clients on high-end mandates such as this, which have industry-wide significance.
• Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr is advising Capitec Bank Limited on the legal aspects of its new banking app, including the use of biometric data to reduce fraud, paperless account opening procedures as well as the scan-to-pay functionality.
• Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr is providing First World Trader Proprietary Limited with comprehensive fintech regulatory advice on the purchase and sale of digitised DCX tokens via the EasyEquities online trading platform.
• Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr is providing the industry opinions for South Africa for ISDA and ISLA on the validity and enforceability of electronic transactions and ‘click through’ agreements concluded electronically for the cross-border trade of over-the-counter derivatives, securities lending and repurchase transactions.

Practice Area Rankings

• Chambers Global 2009-2021 ranks our practice in Band 1: IT & Telecommunications.
• Chambers FinTech 2019-2021 ranked our FinTech team in Band 1
• Chambers Global 2020-2021 ranks our practice in Band 3: Media & Broadcasting

Ranked Practitioners

• Christoff Pienaar is the National Practice Head for the Technology, Media & Telecommunications team. Chambers Global 2018-2021 ranked him in Band 3 for IT & Telecommunications. Chambers Global 2020 ranked him in Band 1 for Fintech. He was named as the exclusive South African winner of the ILO Client Choice Awards 2017–2018 in the IT and internet category.
  
  
• Chambers Global 2011–2021 ranked Preeta Bhagattjee in Band 1 for IT & Telecommunications. In 2020 she was ranked in Band 2 for Fintech.
  
  
• Chambers Global 2019-2021 ranked Shem Otanga as "Lawyer to watch" for Intellectual Property. World Trade Mark Review 1000 2018-2020 (Kenya) ranked Shem as a recommended Individual.