Leila Moosa

She obtained an MBA from Warwick Business School with a view to improve the practical effectiveness and strategic import of her legal advice, particularly given the dynamic nature of markets that demand enhanced value output. In her work, Leila seeks to leverage her refined legal skills and enhanced business operations understanding and experience to provide innovative, commercially driven, legally compliant, user-focused solutions that maximise business value.

Leila commenced articles of clerkship at Bowmans in 2016 and retained as an Associate in their Employment and Benefits practise. In 2021 Leila was awarded a Chevening Partner scholarship to pursue her MBA at Warwick Business School in 2021/2022 academic year. After completing her MBA, Leila gained business operations experience working as the Senior EA to the CEO of Ozow (Pty) Ltd before joining Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr as a Senior Associate in its Employment Law practise on 1 March 2023.

• Co-advised publicly traded retail company on employment aspects of its 100% share acquisition of a premium kitchenware business with deal value of ZAR 450million – ZAR 500million. Detected policy and contractual benefit discrepancy risks. Negotiated warranties and corresponding indemnities to ensure alignment post acquisition

• Reviewed legal and business risks of one of the largest internet service providers in South Africa as part of a business consortium’s bid to purchase it. Identified material risk that 2 key employees did not have employment agreements with the correct entity and inserted warranties and corresponding indemnities to action those contracts if the deal proceeded

• Led cross-border team of >15 legal practitioners from 7 African jurisdictions to research and develop a UN commissioned regional submission on UN Guiding Principles Business and Human Rights and judicial mechanisms. Leveraged professional relationships to engage local counsel in each jurisdiction pro bono

• Created commoditised suite of dynamic Covid-19 regulatory compliant documents, which were updated in accordance with legal and regulatory changes, optimising lawyers’ time and increasing user / client value by ~60%

• Co-prosecuted allegations of statutory and regulatory non-compliance, including alleged financial misconduct, against South African local government Executive Director. Managed statutorily prescribed client, witness, and administrative stakeholder streams, providing strategic advice to client to ensure compliance and to manage public optics.

• Investigated and reported on allegations of misconduct, including alleged interference with tender irregularity reporting, against senior, local government politician.

• Co-advised the board of largest federation of organised business in South African private sector (Business Unity South Africa) on legal collective bargaining strategy to interdict national bank protest action involving 50,000+ employees. Developed legal argument instrumental in obtaining successful interdict a quo.

• Led cross-functional team in alleged automatically unfair dismissal and unfair discrimination disputes pro bono. Negotiated settlement of 9 months’ remuneration, reducing trial opportunity costs by ~75%.

• Co-advised a fiduciary services and private wealth management company on restrictive covenant breaches in respect of 4 top management employees, securing court sanctioned settlement which enforced the substantive covenants client sought to protect.

• Co-advised Regional President and EMEA HR VP of American multinational financial services corporation on i) confidential full and final mutual separation from senior executive facing allegations of serious misconduct for contraventions of global company culture policy and ii) strategic response to senior employee making damaging allegations in the public domain involving inter alia alleged harassment.

• Appeared as lead attorney on behalf of South Africa’s second largest supermarket chain in a dismissal dispute in the Labour Court. Secured judgment in client’s favour. Review dismissed, without an order as to costs.