Vivien Chaplin

Vivien is an accomplished corporate and commercial lawyer with over 25 years of experience, focusing on mergers and acquisitions and all aspects of corporate law. She has extensive expertise advising on both local and cross-border M&A transactions, corporate governance, and company law matters, as well as drafting and negotiating specialised commercial contracts.

Before joining Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, Vivien was the head of the Corporate Commercial Team at Hogan Lovells in Johannesburg. Before that, she served as a Corporate Partner at ENSafrica, further cementing her reputation as a trusted advisor in the field.

Vivien is a recognised thought leader in the mining industry and its intersection with the logistics which support mining in South Africa.

• Vivien has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions across a range of industries with a particular focus on the mining and logistics sectors. Her expertise includes deal structuring, conducting due diligence, and preparing all required transaction documentation. She is also well‑versed in Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) transactions and provides advice in this area.

• In addition, Vivien provides comprehensive and ongoing corporate and commercial support to her clients. Her services include contract drafting, corporate governance, Companies Act compliance, BEE advisory services, and specialised regulatory guidance across the mining, aviation, information technology, film, industrial, and logistics sectors.

• Chambers Global 2024 - 2026 ranked Vivien in Band 5 for corporate/M&A.
• Chambers Global 2025 - 2026 ranked Vivien in Band 4 for energy & natural resources: mining.
• The Legal 500 EMEA 2021–2025 recommended her for commercial, corporate/M&A.
• The Legal 500 EMEA 2021–2025 also recommended her for mining.
• IFLR1000 2021–2025 ranked Vivien as highly regarded in M&A.
• Winner of Lexology ILO Client Service Award for Corporate Law: South Africa (2019)
• Finalist: Businesswoman of the Year (Legal): 2010