AS if confirming a prediction made years ago on a young upcoming lawyer, Trevor Brockerhoff has joined the world’s largest law firm, Dentons as its Namibian partner.
The new partnership is called Dentons Brockerhoff.
During an exclusive interview with New Era, the African Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dentons, Noor Kapdi, said after several of their clients inquired about Namibia, they decided to look into finding a company in Namibia to partner with.
According to him, the partner is totally autonomous and retains ownership, control and management of the firm. However, he said, by becoming a Dentons partner, the local law firm now has access to 208 law firms worldwide comprising more than 12 700 legal minds.
According to Kapdi, Dentons is the largest legal entity globally and represents diverse interests in energy, renewable energy, food services, marketing services, to name but a few.
As such, he said, Brockerhoff will have hundreds of thousands of possible clients worldwide as they are now sharing a brand. Instead of Dentons opening a law firm in Namibia, he said, they opted to look for a Namibian partner who shared their values. According to him, their research showed that Brockerhoff has the ability to work across all spheres of the economy and understands the local flavour.
“It is one thing to know the law, but it is a totally different thing to understand the local nuances and the environment. If we should come in here with our own brand of legal services, we would get it wrong,” he said, and continued: “That’s why we looked for a firm that has established itself in the Namibian market and we found it in Brockerhoff”.
According to Kapdi, Dentons is the most well-known legal brand in the world which will result in a stronger brand for Brockerhoff. This collaboration, he said, will change the course of history of the Namibia’s law profession.
Kapdi added that by nature of this agreement, the firm of Brockerhoff and Associates just became one of the largest in Namibia.
“We are here to solve problems and to create solutions and with access to more than 12 700 legal minds in every sphere of business worldwide. Dentons and Brockerhoff will be able to do just that,” Kapdi said.
He said as an example, Namibia is embarking on a green energy drive and not many lawyers have experience in the field but the law firm of Brockerhoff as a global partner of Dentons, now has the capacity to access firms from all over the world who have worked extensively on green energy.
Brockerhoff called the development a momentous occasion that does not happen every day.
According to him, “this is an achievement that was realized through hard work and shows that if you put your mind to it and put in the hours it will pay off”.
He said this shows that even the child in Swakopmund’s DRC or in Otjiwarongo’s Orwetoveni or wherever, can succeed. He added that the partnership is testament to that reality.
Kapdi added that talent can be found everywhere as it has no colour, no religion and no gender, adding that Namibia has an abundance of talent that just needs to be nurtured.