In Sept 2016 we were approached by a medium-sized national and international transportation company for assistance with:- (a) resolving a long-running dispute and ongoing litigation between it and one of its large customers; and (b) securing payment of a not-insignificant amount of money for unpaid invoices in respect of certain freight delivered within Southern Africa for that customer.  
 
Sadly our new client's previous advisors had attempted to collect the debt on its behalf but, in their haste, had made a number of errors with their pleadings and, worse still, had issued summons in the incorrect High Court.  Following a detailed review of the background, supporting documents and the legal advice provided by its previous attorneys, we decided to pursue a far more practical and "commercial" approach.  

We assisted the client by:- (a) providing detailed advice, guidance and recommendations to the Managing Director on how best to approach the matter, so as to facilitate a commercially acceptable settlement being reached with its customer; and (b) subsequently drafting and negotiating a "Settlement Letter" between the parties, in terms of which they agreed upon:- (i) the terms of the negotiated settlement; (ii) the repayment schedule for the payment of R500,000 to our client; and (iii) and both consented to the withdrawal of the High Court litigation, on the basis that each party would bear its own costs.  

Please feel free to contact us in the event that you are looking for "out of the box" thinking and legal advice in relation to your business and related legal matters.  

During 2016 and early 2017, we assisted one of our key, retainer clients by drafting, refining and finalising a comprehensive Service Level Agreement ("SLA") which could be rolled out by them with their various customers.  

We subsequently provided our client with strategic advice and input on the SLA and assisted them in their negotiations with Cashbuild for the roll-out of services to over 250 Cashbuild branches, located in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland.  

Cashbuild, as their customer, is the largest retailer of building materials and associated products, selling them directly to cash-paying customers through its fast-growing network of stores located in South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Malawi and Zambia.  Cashbuild employs more than 4,700 people and is comprised of Cashbuild Limited and its various operating subsidiaries registered in each of the above-mentioned countries.  
​
Should you require assistance in your negotiations with some of the larger national and international companies, please do not hesitate to contact us for commercial and strategic advice and assistance.

Between November 2016 and March 2017 we (a) assisted certain high net worth clients with their discussions and negotiations; (b) provided certain relevant advice, guidance and recommendations; and (c) drafted and assisted with the negotiation and finalisation of a comprehensive Shareholders' Agreement (the "SH Agreement"), Loan Agreement, certain necessary resolutions and related documents, in each case, in relation to a South African joint venture company set up to operate in the cyber security and related sectors.  

After the SH Agreement, Loan Agreement and related documents had all been signed, we then provided ongoing oversight, advice and assistance in relation to the satisfaction of the various conditions precedent and other deliverables, so as to ensure that the SH Agreement became unconditional.  

The entire transaction was completed within the necessary time-frames required by the clients.  

Please do not hesitate to contact us in the event that you require assistance with setting up and putting into place the necessary documents for a joint venture company.