1. Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am a specialist mergers and acquisitions attorney. I am also a mom to two amazing girls who make sure I sweat for my mommy title, and a wife to my wonderful husband. I am passionate about mentoring and training upcoming attorneys. I believe that, with the right support and sponsorship, we can all excel in our careers and reach our full potential.
When I am not working, I enjoy trying out new restaurants with family and friends, watching true crime documentaries, tv series across all genres and movies, dancing and listening to music.
2. What work do you do?
I am practising as a director in the award-winning corporate and commercial practice at CMS South Africa. As a M&A specialist, I advise domestic and multinational clients (both listed and unlisted) on complex cross-border corporate / M&A transactions, corporate restructurings, and general commercial matters across various sectors and industries including private equity, technology and sourcing, digital communications and media, consumer goods, natural resources, energy and infrastructure.
Our practice includes regularly conducting and project-managing legal due diligence investigations, assist multinational clients to establish presence in South Africa and the rest of Africa (including assisting with the rolling out of various products and solutions), negotiating and drafting bespoke commercial agreements and providing regulatory advice across various sectors.
3. How long have you been in the industry?
My career in law spans over 13 years which commenced at one of the largest law firms in Africa, which I worked in other internationally recognied law firms prior to joining CMS South Africa.
4. Has your work always been your passion? Tell us why
Not quite. My interest in school lay in science-related subjects, and I always thought I wanted to be a mining engineer or a geologist. Law was not something I had thought much about until late in high school when I was applying for university.
I however quickly developed a keen interest in contract law and business entities during my LLB at university, which was cemented during a 2-year rotation in a corporate and commercial department during my articles of clerkship when I had the opportunity to have more exposure to M&A.
It was only during articles that I realised that M&A would be an area of practice which I would pursue and grow in. I find the complexities around M&A (and transactional work generally) to be quite stimulating and challenging.
5. Being a woman in the industry – what does it take?
Resilience. Other traits do play a part, but this is for me to be the star-girl. To push through the weeds of the legal industry, one requires insurmountable levels of resilience. Evidence suggests that female practitioners leave practice for in-house opportunities, as that is where they are likely to succeed and what is deemed more manageable and practical for them.
I believe that this is because law is one of the least transformed industries worldwide. Further, societal standards maintain the status quo where women are primary caregivers in their households, thus perpetuating obstacles for them to succeed in their careers / excel in traditionally male-dominated careers.
6. What has been the most difficult challenge of your career?
How I talk to myself through various stages of my career. I am a self-doubting Leo so practising in an environment that is predominantly cut-throat came with various challenges, from trauma-induced perfectionism to struggles with imposter syndrome. Looking back now, all these challenges forced me to learn to be comfortable with adversity and its is through them that I developed a strong sense of resilience and kept my eyes on the prize.
7. What advice do you have for other women in your industry?
Learn the skill of networking and developing meaningful relationships early on in your career. Hard work alone will not provide you with platforms that are ordinarily out of your reach. It is also critical to trust in yourself and keep your eyes on the prize – there is more than enough space for all of us.
8. Who inspires you in your industry?
In the early stages of my career, I was always inspired by Professor Michael Katz. I was in awe of how he interpreted the law and applied it with intelligence and ease to various subject matters, and his humble approach in how he interacted with junior lawyers.
Currently, I admire female professionals who start their own firms and continue to build them, thus challenging the status quo. I can only imagine what it takes for them to wake up each day and continue building what they started. I firmly believe that we (our girl children included) need to see more of this type of transformation.
9. What’s the best advice / key learnings you have received from your industry peers?
This goes to the answer in paragraph 7 above. I am firm-believer that life and our careers at large, are human-centred. Building meaningful relationships will always be key. This ranges from personal relationships to professional relationships, and ultimately client relationships. I have also received the same advice in my career, which I find to be the best advice to date.
10. What is your leadership style?
I believe that I am a charismatic and coaching leader. I prefer interpersonal relations with those I work with and meet our juniors at their level of developmental needs. I find these styles of leadership to foster trust amongst colleagues and encourage teamwork, particularly in my line of work where you require to give their outmost best.
11. Have you experienced failure in your career? If so, what lessons did you learn from that?
For the longest time, I used age as a measure of success in my career on the premise that making partner at any age over 30 years is a failure. I have since learned that this could not have been further from the truth and reality, and now I appreciate the path I have travelled to get to this point. None of it was a mistake or failure, it was all part of a journey to the now.
12. What are your plans for the future?
My role as a director is quite new so I am excited to see how it unfolds and what it holds in store for me. I wish to see our firm continue to grow, attract the best talent in the market, and continuing to be a global player in the various areas of law in which we practice.
Biography
Lebogang is a Director in the Corporate and Commercial practice at CMS South Africa. She has immense experience in advising domestic and multinational clients (both listed and unlisted) on complex cross-border corporate / M&A transactions, corporate restructurings and general commercial matters across various sectors and industries including private equity, technology and sourcing, digital communications and media, consumer goods, natural resources, energy and infrastructure.
She regularly conducts and project-manages legal due diligence investigations, assists multinational clients to establish presence in South Africa and the rest of Africa (including assisting with the rolling out of various products and solutions), negotiates and drafts bespoke commercial agreements, and provides regulatory advice across various sectors. She was shortlisted as Rising Star in the Private Practice Rising Star category, Africa Legal 2024
