Leading South African law firm Webber Wentzel has announced that senior partner David Lancaster will retire with effect from 1 March 2015 after nine years in this position and more than 30 years with the firm.

He will hand over the reins to Christo Els as the new senior partner, and Sally Hutton in a newly-created managing partner position.

Lancaster says, "It has been a privilege to have led Webber Wentzel for the past nine years. I know that I leave the firm in good hands, and look forward to watching this new chapter in its development, while supporting from the side-lines."

Commenting on the firm's decision to split the senior partner role into two, Lancaster points to the firm's past growth trajectory and plans for future growth, as well as the increasing complexity of the law firm environment, as the impetus for the decision. He notes that the demands on the senior partner have increased significantly in recent times, and highlights that the division in roles will enable the new senior partner to focus on broader strategic issues and external stakeholder relationships, while the managing partner will focus on strategy execution and the internal management of the firm.

During Lancaster's tenure, Webber Wentzel experienced significant growth.  It tripled its turnover and doubled in size; entered into a collaborative alliance with global law firm Linklaters; become an associate member of ALN; and developed strong relationships with law firms across the African continent.

Its excellence is attested to by numerous prestigious awards and accolades, the most recent of which is being selected by the World Economic Forum as a Global Growth Company - the only South African law firm to be recognised in this manner.

Els says, “David's leadership and vision leave us well placed to continue to build on the foundation that has already been established.”

Els and Hutton are each recognised as outstanding lawyers in their own right, and are well qualified to take up the positions, to which they have been elected. Both have held leadership positions within the firm for a number of years, and each has completed an executive education program - "Leading Professional Service Firms" - at Harvard Business School.

Els is regarded as a leader in his field, having acted in many of the largest corporate transactions completed in South Africa in recent years. These include Woolworths' take-over of David Jones in Australia; Mercer Africa's acquisition of a 34% stake in the Alexander Forbes Group; Walmart's purchase of a majority stake in Massmart; and Vodafone's acquisition of a majority interest in Vodacom.

His expertise has been recognised by various international research organisations including Chambers Global, IFLR1000, Legal 500 and the International Who's Who. Dealmakers named him Joint Dealmaker of the Year for 2011.

Els says, “Our objective is to ensure that Webber Wentzel remains at the forefront of the legal profession in South Africa, building a firm that is - and is seen to be - fully integrated in South Africa and, as a key player in sub-Saharan Africa, the global legal market place.”

Hutton will be the first woman appointed to a senior leadership position by a major South African law firm.  She has been an achiever her whole career. She specialises in mergers and acquisitions, especially leveraged buy-out and exit transactions for private equity funds. She has acted in many of the largest and most high profile private equity transactions done in South Africa in recent years, including the disposal of RTT Holdings to a consortium led by Ethos; Actis' acquisition of Paycorp; the acquisition of Lil-Lets Group by Premier; the disposal of the Waco Group to a consortium led by Ethos; and the acquisition of Tracker by a private equity consortium.

Her academic excellence was recognised in the numerous scholarships and awards she received as a student.  Her legal expertise has been recognised by various international research organisations including Chambers Global, IFLR1000, Legal 500 and the International Who's Who.

Hutton concludes, “The firm has been extremely fortunate to have benefited from David's visionary leadership over the past nine years.  Under his watch we have put in place a winning strategy and platform that position us for growth and even greater success.  My focus over the next five years will be on executing our strategy and ensuring alignment across all areas of our business towards this goal.  This will entail a number of key internal projects."