Armstrongs

Managing Partner: John Carr-Hartley
Number of partners: 3
Total number of lawyers: 11
Languages: English, Setswana
Years in business: 37 years

FIRM OVERVIEW
Armstrongs is the leading corporate and commercial law firm in Botswana. It is the only law firm in Botswana Ranked in Band 1 by Chambers.

The Commercial Department of Armstrongs has a compliment of five lawyers and is headed up by Partner Sipho Ziga. The firm’s Litigation & Arbitration Department is exceptionally strong and undertakes commercial litigation in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Industrial Court as well as being leaders in the field of arbitration. This department also has a compliment of five lawyers, two of them being Partners, John Carr-Hartley and Moemedi Tafa.

DEPARTMENTS & SECTORS
Whilst the Practice comprises broadly the Commercial Department, the Litigation & Arbitration Department, the Employment & Human Resources Department and the Property & Conveyancing Department, no department exists in isolation and each Attorney is able to call upon the expertise of other Attorneys within the Practice.

Owing to the experience and expertise of the partners and associates within Armstrongs, we are able to provide legal services across a wide range of sectors.

Our main areas of practice include:

v Commercial Contracts

v Corporate and commercial

v Banking and Finance

v Litigation and Arbitration

v Employment and Human Resources

v Minerals, Resources and Energy

THE PARTNERS 

John Carr-Hartley

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John Carr-Hartley is the Managing Partner of Armstrongs and in addition he heads up the Litigation and Arbitration Department.

With more than 30 years’ experience in the field of Litigation, John conducts the bulk of his work in the High Court and Court of Appeal. His position as one of Botswana’s most experienced and sought-after Litigation & Arbitration Attorneys is further entrenched by his numerous accolades achieved in this area of practice. His knowledge proves invaluable to clients who require representation in court.

Notables: one of the foremost Attorneys in disputes pertaining to the FIDIC Suite of Contracts. Chairman of the Dispute Adjudication Board for the construction of the Kazungula Bridge Project, Package II. Instructed by, and acted for, seven judges of the Botswana Court of Appeal and the Chief Justice of Botswana in three separate matters. Ranked in Chambers for Dispute Resolution for the past 16 years, the only litigation Attorney in Botswana ranked in Band 1.

Sipho Ziga

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Sipho Ziga is the partner in the Commercial Department of Armstrongs. Sipho was admitted as an Attorney of the High Court of Botswana in 1997. Sipho is recognized as one of the foremost commercial attorneys in Botswana.

Notables: in recent years, Sipho has been the leading Attorney in the area of project finance in Botswana, having acted for a syndicate of international banks in the financing of various of major mining projects, including Khoemacau mine project and the Lucara mine expansion project. Sipho acts for the Gambling Authority in respect to issues relating to the first lottery license to be issued in Botswana and regularly acts for the Non-Bank Financial Institution Regulatory Authority on various matters relating to the regulating of various financial institutions. Sipho has recently been involved in major insolvency mandates in Botswana arising from corporate failures, as the lead attorney for the liquidator of Capital Management Botswana Limited and Bluthorn Fund Managers (Proprietary) Limited.

Moemedi Tafa

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Moemedi Tafa is the second Partner in Armstrongs’ Litigation Department and, additionally, heads up the Employment and Human Resources practice in the firm. Moemedi was admitted as an Attorney of the High Court of Botswana in 2011 and very soon became known as the expert in the field of employment law. Moemedi has been at the forefront of most of the ground-breaking decisions in the Industrial Court and Court of Appeal in the field of employment law.

Notables: Moemedi has, in recent years, acted for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in all matters that had been instituted against SADC at the recently established SADC Administrative Tribunal as well as through the High Courts of Botswana. In addition, he presently acts for SADC in proceedings instituted by SADC at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in a claim in excess of USD580000.00. In the employment law sphere, Moemedi is well known to have acted for Barclays Bank of Botswana Limited (now Absa Bank Botswana Limited) in a groundbreaking decision relating to termination of employment contracts in circumstances where the employer is not required to provide reasons for such termination.

OUR FOCUS
The focus at the firm is on delivery. Our Partners and professional staff pride themselves on being available when required, and making time available, to ensure that our clients’ needs are attended to timeously. We accordingly ensure that sufficient resources are dedicated to each matter on behalf of a client, so that each client is provided with a unique and inspired solution tailored to their individual matter.