Deneys Reitz appoints Robert Driman as head of Cape Town Office

Robert Driman

Deneys Reitz, one of South Africa’s leading law firms, has announced the appointment of Robert Driman to the position of head of its Cape Town office.

The appointment, which has already taken effect, follows the move of the previous head of Cape Town Office, Rob Otty, to the position of Deputy Chairman of Deneys Reitz in Johannesburg.

Driman, who began his career with Deneys Reitz as a candidate attorney in 1990, is a banking and financial services specialist. His areas of expertise include regulatory aspects of banking and financial services and markets, stock exchanges, derivatives, and exchange control. He also practises insolvency law and has been involved in a number of restructurings and work outs.

Speaking from Cape Town, Driman said that he initially studied journalism at Rhodes University and then changed career direction after becoming fascinated by the use of the law to oppose emergency legislation used by the Apartheid government to enforce its laws.

He completed his Bachelor of Journalism and Media Studies degree and then moved on to complete an LLB at the University of the Witwatersrand. He followed this with a Higher Diploma in Company Law at Wits, before undertaking his Masters of Law degree in Banking and Stock Exchanges Law at the University of Johannesburg.

He went on to practise commercial litigation, and with time developed a practice in banking and finance. His move to Cape Town was a natural one, he said, given that the city has an international reputation as a financial centre and is home to several South African financial giants, asset managers and hedge funds who have operations across Africa and the rest of the world.

“My appointment is also in line with Deneys Reitz’s policy of creating a clear succession plan that will contribute to the sustainability and future growth of the firm,” Driman said.

His immediate task in Cape Town is to build on the strong base provided by Otty, who ran the office for several years before taking up his new appointment in Johannesburg, Driman said.

Commenting on Driman’s appointment, Otty said that Driman had earned a local and international reputation for his insight into complex areas of law.

“He has been recognised in the Chambers Global Review for his work in contentious areas of banking. He has been described as a “sound and respected” practitioner who has a clear insight and a strong commercial bent and is able to take a complicated case from A to Z". In addition he has been recognised in Legal 500 for his work with banks, and by PLC as a recommended practitioner in restructuring and insolvency.

“He takes to the Cape Town office high levels of management expertise as well as his reputation as one of the country’s finest financial law specialists. We look forward to the significant contribution he will make to the firm in his new capacity,” Otty said.