Meridian’s rankings now run Africa-wide. Here is what changed, and what the evidence does not yet support.
One formula, one continent
The Top 10 African Law Firms applies the West Africa 50 method to every market Meridian tracks. A matter scores one point, regulatory work three quarters. Size adds weight above US$100 million and again above US$500 million. Cross-border work adds a quarter. Breadth, footprint and named people add a little more, each capped. Undated or secondary-source matters count at half. The window runs from 1 October 2024 to 1 October 2026.
Aluko & Oyebode leads. Templars, UUBO and Olaniwun Ajayi follow. Bowmans is fifth, on South African counsel to Groupe Canal+ on MultiChoice and counsel to Telkom on the R6.575bn sale of Swiftnet. Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr is tenth.
Read the table with one caution. Meridian’s record is deepest in West Africa. Outside it, a position is a floor, not a ceiling. A firm ranks on what the record shows, not on what the market says.
Lawyers, named by the source
Lawyer Rankings now covers more than 100 lawyers across West, East, North and Southern Africa. A lawyer is credited only where a public source names them on the matter. Matters must be dated inside the twelve-month window. Credits that could not be confirmed were removed.
IP: a register, not a ranking
Africa IP Intelligence records intellectual property work by nine firms in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt. Each entry is marked Verified, Partially Verified or Reported. Only one firm has two verified IP matters. That is not enough to rank anyone. The register will become a ranking when the matters support one.
What the audit changed
Meridian reviewed its transaction record newest first. Swiftnet is restated at R6.575bn. Vivo Energy’s acquisition of Engen is dated December 2017. The Aldar and ADQ offer for SODIC is dated December 2021. An unsupported US$250 million value on an Ethio Telecom record was removed. The Kenya Bankers Association card-fee tax dispute was corrected: it was not a Mastercard matter. Incolease’s inaugural issue is corrected to EGP2bn.
Several submitted matters were confirmed against public sources and now count. Others were confirmed as deals, but no source names the credited firm; they stay submitted and do not count. Where no public source could be found at all, the record says so. Many fields remain empty. They stay empty until a source fills them.
The method holds
Directory recognition does not decide a Meridian ranking. Evidence does. Where it is thin, the firm is not ranked. Firms can submit matters through the submission page; nothing submitted counts until it is verified.
The market leaves a record. The record is only as good as its sources.
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