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Robert Driman

Director

Location: Cape Town

Tel: +27 21 405 5134

Fax: +27 11 535 8780

Email: rdriman@werksmans.com

ABOUT

Robert Driman is a Director in the Banking & Finance; Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions; and Investment Funds practice areas. He specialises in transactions involving banking and financial institutions and regulation; regulatory issues; international transactions; exchange control; finance; crisis management; and business rescue. Robert has extensive experience in resolving complex high-profile corporate, commercial and regulatory issues in many areas of commerce in South Africa and abroad. He has represented local and international banks on virtually every aspect of banking; finance documents; cross-border lending and security; restructurings; regulation; exchange control, customer relations and duties, derivative instruments and close-outs.

  • Banking & Finance
  • Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Investment Funds
  • Technology & Innovation
  • Transactions involving banking and financial institutions
  • Banking and financial services regulation
  • Regulatory issues
  • International transactions
  • Exchange control
  • Finance
  • Crisis management
  • Business rescue 

 

  • Advised Steinhoff International Holdings in relation to a wide range of issues following its share price collapse.
  • Advised PwC in relation to the Vrystaat Munisipale Pensioenfonds ("Fund") of which PwC was the curator following financial irregularities by the principal member
  • Have advised the Board and Company Secretary of a major listed financial services company for over 20 years in relation to corporate governance issues. 
  • Advised many small and medium-sized commercial entities and public bodies in regard to their compliance with the Companies Act. 
  • For over a decade was on the IT committee of his previous firm looking at all aspects of information technology risk.
  • Has advised a major international electronic communications giant in regard to the supply of its information technology suite in relation to the fitting of combat vessels for the South African Navy. 
  • Advised a major financial services company in relation to a variety of information technology matters, including disputes with IT suppliers (both for hardware and software).
  • During his membership of the International Bar Association attended disaster recovery briefings in relation to unusual and dramatic technology business interruptions
  • BJournalism (Rhodes) LLB (University of the Witwatersrand)
  • HDipCoLaw (University of the Witwatersrand)
  • LLM (Banking and Stock Exchanges) (University of Johannesburg)
  • MCom Taxation (University of Cape Town) 
  • 2015: Director, Werksmans in the banking and finance and corporate mergers & acquisitions teams

 

  • Listed as a recommended lawyer in in Investment Funds by the Legal 500 (2024).
  • Robert has extensive experience is in resolving high profile complex corporate, commercial and regulatory issues in many areas of commerce in South Africa and abroad
  • He has represented national and international banks on virtually every aspect of banking, finance documents, cross-border lending and security, restructurings, regulation, exchange control, customer relations and duties, derivative instruments and close-outs and complex problems and disputes.  He effected the first close-out in South Africa as well as the first close out in South Africa during the 2008 financial crisis (Dealstream).  He advised in relation to aspects of the Libor debacle. He has also advised bank boards and audit committees on their responsibilities
  • Robert has been briefed in some of the largest corporate insolvencies including the cross-border Parmalat insolvency and the insolvency of Macmed, advised consortiums of banks on work-outs, and represented parts of the banking community in the drafting of the legislation on business rescue. Most recently he represented a major bank in relation to its exposure to a large fashion house
  • He has acted for foreign governments in relation to funding projects in South Africa, auditing firms, educational institutions and insurers in relation to regulatory and risk, and was a director at St Augustine College, a private South African university.  He has acted in large liability claims for insurers
  • Robert has appeared before the Myburgh Commission into the rapid decline in the exchange value of the Rand as well as the Seriti Commission into the arms procurement packages. He has acted extensively in several aspects of the arms procurement process
  • Robert was a member of the International Bar Association from the mid-1990s and was the South African representative on the litigation committee
  • He has participated in the development of the South African law with regulators and before the courts in several major areas including cross-border insolvencies (Air Zambia), restraints of trade (Marfield Insurance Brokers and Aranda Textiles), and the development of banking products (the Million-a-month account)
  • Robert was recognised in the Chambers Global review as a "sound and respected" practitioner with clear insight and a commercial bent and it was stated that "[h]e does not get flustered easily and is able to take a complicated case from A to Z"
  • Robert has also been recognised in Legal 500 for his work with banks, by PLC as a recommended practitioner in restructuring and insolvency, by Best Lawyers as well as by Who's Who Legal

 

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