Jim is a Director at MHA and head of the firm’s Competition, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and Energy Law practices. He provides legal support to a number of the country’s major public entities and large corporations and is a versatile corporate attorney with a broad knowledge base and extensive experience in regulatory matters, public-private partnerships, infrastructure development projects, commercial property law, and telecommunications law, an area for which he was recognised in Best Lawyers 2023 and 2024.

Jim has become one of the country’s most formidable practitioners in the area of corporate commercial law and competition law, and has worked with clients such as CEF (including the SFF, PetroSA, AEMFC and iGas), Transnet (including TNPA and TFR), PRASA (including Intersite, Prasa Cres and Autopax), ICASA, the PIC, Denel, Broadband Infraco, ACSA, NERSA, Thebe Investment Corporation, and various other corporates. He has acted for clients (including the Competition Commission itself) in the Competition Tribunal, Competition Appeal Court, and even the Constitutional Court.

With a thorough understanding of South Africa’s public law (including public finance management), transport (including freight and ports), energy (including electricity regulation, new generation capacity and IPPs), oil, gas and regulated industries in general, Jim’s practice offers insight into government’s major infrastructure development projects and the commercial agreements that underscore these projects (concessions and PPP agreements) as well as the regulatory processes that apply (including licence applications).

Jim has advised clients in the mining sector on applications for prospecting rights and other licences, and on mine operations and safety, among other offerings. He also supports clients in the areas of regulatory, procurement and administrative law and regularly advises clients on compliance with the PFMA, PPPFA, BBBEE Act and MFMA .

Jim completed his articles at (the then) Edward Nathan & Friedland Inc before spending three years in the firm’s commercial IT and telecommunications department. Prior to that Jim worked in Parliament as a senior researcher for the Portfolio Committees on Justice and Constitutional and Provincial Affairs, and for two NGOs that anchored policy development on land reform during the infant stages of our constitutional democracy, namely, the Land and Agricultural Policy Centre (LAPC) and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (Wits) during 1996 and 1997 respectively. Whilst in Parliament, he conducted research on specific legislation introduced in Parliament including conducting international best practice analysis thereon and assisted the relevant portfolio committees in the initiation of, deliberations on and the drafting of over 30 pieces of legislation aimed at giving effect to the new constitutional dispensation.

He was admitted as an attorney in 2000, after obtaining a B. Proc from the University of Limpopo (Turfloop), and LLB and LLM (Company law and Intellectual Property) degrees from the University of Witwatersrand between 1990 and 1996. He obtained his second LLM (Communications Law) from Wits in 2002.