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Chris Todd

Partner | Cape Town

Chris-Todd
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Contact

T: +27 21 480 7816

E: chris.todd@bowmanslaw.com

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Overview

Chris Todd is partner and a member of our Corporate Investigations Practice.

He specialises in employment law, public law, and alternative dispute resolution.

His focus has been public law dispute resolution and employment in the public sector. He advises on investigations and enquiries, board disputes, and business transfers, including privatization initiatives and outsourcing.  He is a negotiation and mediation specialist.

Chris has served two periods as an acting judge of the Labour Court and on private tribunals in employment disputes.  Chambers Global 2015 & 2016 ranked Chris in Band 1 for Employment.

He is accredited by CEDR as a commercial mediator.

Experience

  • Law Society v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) – Acted for the CCMA in litigation brought by the Law Society to challenge rules of the Commission regulating the rights of parties to be represented by lawyers in certain types of proceedings before the commission.
  • Policy and Employment regulatory work for Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) – Appointed as legal advisor to BUSA on labour market policy and the legal and strategic issues arising from recent amendments to employment laws.
  • City of Johannesburg pension fund restructuring – Advised and led the City’s team in decade long litigation and ADR processes with a number of pension funds relating to the City’s restructuring of its retirement fund arrangements, terminating final salary schemes and settling funding shortfalls.
  • Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) v Minister for Higher Education and Training – Represented BUSA in judicial review proceedings challenging the validity of regulations made by the Minister of Higher Education and Training regulating the allocation of mandatory and discretionary grants to employers by Sector Education and Training Authorities.
  • Mediation – Represented mining groups in a mass personal injury claim in a mediation and ensuing negotiation ultimately resulting in settlement.
  • Training – conducted training in Kenya, Nigeria and Angola for a US headquartered global multi-national.
  • Old Mutual – Advised Old Mutual and its board of directors in an investigation resulting in the suspension and subsequent termination of employment of the group chief executive, and represented the company in subsequent High Court litigation initiated by the former chief executive to challenge the decisions of the company and its board.
  • Cross border investigation, arbitration and related litigation – Advised a multinational financial services group on allegations of corruption in Tanzania; and advised an African natural resources group in an investigation into fraud by a minority shareholder in a cross-border investment in West Africa and ensuing litigation in the London Court of International Arbitration and in the High Courts in Mauritius and South Africa.

Awards

  • Chambers and Partners consistently ranked Chris in Band 1 for Employment law for the past nine consecutive years (2015 to 2023).
  • Legal 500 ranked Chris in Tier 1 in 2015 and 2016 and as a Leading Individual for the past five consecutive years (2017 to 2021) for Labour and Employment.
  • Chris was recognised by Who’s Who Legal 2018 in the category Employment & Benefits: Labour & Employment.
  • Recognised by Best Lawyers 2017 for Labour and Employment law.

AREA OF EXPERTISE

Corporate Investigations Dispute Resolution Employment and Benefits

Qualifications

  • BA (Hons) from the University of Cape Town.
  • BA (Hons) in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford, UK.

INSIGHTS

UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights at 10: The Impact of the UNGPs on Courts and Jurisdictional Mechanisms Collective effort and culture change can curb violent strikes Unpacking the New Agreement on Collective Bargaining and Strikes New national minimum wage gets closer to implementation with release of Nedlac report The employment relationship and how it is affected by business transfers in countries across Africa Cross Border Employment Law: Mergers & Acquisitions and Employee Transfers Multi-unionism is changing the landscape of industrial relations Tinkering with the labour market: amendments to the LRA now imminent
Brochures
Employment

Overview

Chris Todd is partner and a member of our Corporate Investigations Practice.

He specialises in employment law, public law, and alternative dispute resolution.

His focus has been public law dispute resolution and employment in the public sector. He advises on investigations and enquiries, board disputes, and business transfers, including privatization initiatives and outsourcing.  He is a negotiation and mediation specialist.

Chris has served two periods as an acting judge of the Labour Court and on private tribunals in employment disputes.  Chambers Global 2015 & 2016 ranked Chris in Band 1 for Employment.

He is accredited by CEDR as a commercial mediator.

Experience

  • Law Society v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) – Acted for the CCMA in litigation brought by the Law Society to challenge rules of the Commission regulating the rights of parties to be represented by lawyers in certain types of proceedings before the commission.
  • Policy and Employment regulatory work for Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) – Appointed as legal advisor to BUSA on labour market policy and the legal and strategic issues arising from recent amendments to employment laws.
  • City of Johannesburg pension fund restructuring – Advised and led the City’s team in decade long litigation and ADR processes with a number of pension funds relating to the City’s restructuring of its retirement fund arrangements, terminating final salary schemes and settling funding shortfalls.
  • Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) v Minister for Higher Education and Training – Represented BUSA in judicial review proceedings challenging the validity of regulations made by the Minister of Higher Education and Training regulating the allocation of mandatory and discretionary grants to employers by Sector Education and Training Authorities.
  • Mediation – Represented mining groups in a mass personal injury claim in a mediation and ensuing negotiation ultimately resulting in settlement.
  • Training – conducted training in Kenya, Nigeria and Angola for a US headquartered global multi-national.
  • Old Mutual – Advised Old Mutual and its board of directors in an investigation resulting in the suspension and subsequent termination of employment of the group chief executive, and represented the company in subsequent High Court litigation initiated by the former chief executive to challenge the decisions of the company and its board.
  • Cross border investigation, arbitration and related litigation – Advised a multinational financial services group on allegations of corruption in Tanzania; and advised an African natural resources group in an investigation into fraud by a minority shareholder in a cross-border investment in West Africa and ensuing litigation in the London Court of International Arbitration and in the High Courts in Mauritius and South Africa.

Awards

  • Chambers and Partners consistently ranked Chris in Band 1 for Employment law for the past nine consecutive years (2015 to 2023).
  • Legal 500 ranked Chris in Tier 1 in 2015 and 2016 and as a Leading Individual for the past five consecutive years (2017 to 2021) for Labour and Employment.
  • Chris was recognised by Who’s Who Legal 2018 in the category Employment & Benefits: Labour & Employment.
  • Recognised by Best Lawyers 2017 for Labour and Employment law.

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