Business lawyers near me

Burger Huyser Attorneys offers business-law services across Gauteng through its Commercial Law and Contracts practice, run by specialist consultant J’Retha van Rensburg and supported by admitted attorneys including Mari Köhne, with files coordinated through the firm’s head office in Linden, Randburg (49 First Avenue, 011 888 0246) and the Johannesburg-area branches in Sandton, Roodepoort, Bedfordview, Alberton, and Midrand. The service covers the full commercial-law arc — drafting and reviewing contracts, shareholders’ agreements, lease agreements, company registrations, acquisitions and disposals, and commercial dispute work that escalates into the firm’s general litigation practice when negotiations fail. South African commercial work sits primarily under the Companies Act 71 of 2008 for company-law matters, the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 for business-to-consumer contracts, and common-law contract principles (offer, acceptance, consideration, and the requirement of contractual certainty) for general agreements.

What a Business Lawyer Actually Does (Scope of Work)

A business lawyer in Johannesburg or anywhere in Gauteng does more than review the occasional contract. The work spans the full commercial life cycle of a business, from incorporation through growth transactions and into dispute resolution when agreements break down. The core scope of Burger Huyser’s commercial practice breaks down into six recurring workstreams.

Contract drafting and review

This covers preparing commercial agreements from a blank page or reviewing counterparty drafts against the client’s commercial position. The most common document types are supply, distribution, services, sale-of-business, and confidentiality agreements. Each is governed by common-law contract principles — offer, acceptance, consideration, and contractual certainty — and judges apply those principles strictly. A missing termination clause, an undefined performance metric, or an unclear payment trigger will routinely void the clause the drafter thought they had.

Shareholders’ agreements and company constitutions

Bespoke shareholder arrangements that govern voting, dividends, deadlock resolution, drag-along and tag-along rights, and pre-emption on share transfers. These are typically paired with a tailored Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) drafted under the Companies Act 71 of 2008. Aligning the two documents from the start avoids the recurring source of paralysis in two- or three-partner owner-managed businesses: a deadlock that crystallises because no mechanism was written into either the MOI or the shareholders’ agreement to break it.

Company registrations and statutory changes

Registering new companies and close corporations, registering external companies with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), and processing changes to directors, share capital, and registered office. The lawyer who registers the company and the lawyer who keeps its statutory records current are doing legal-risk work, not just administrative work: the Companies Act imposes director duties under sections 75 and 76, plus ongoing financial-record obligations on the company, and non-compliance is both a statutory offence and a basis for personal liability.

Acquisitions and disposals

Sale-of-business and sale-of-shares transactions, including due diligence coordination, sale agreements, restraint-of-trade clauses, and CIPC lodgement of the resulting share-allocation changes. Larger transactions must be screened against the merger-notification thresholds published under section 11 of the Competition Act 89 of 1998, which determine whether a formal filing with the Competition Commission is required before the transaction can be implemented.

Lease and commercial-property agreements

Commercial lease review and drafting, including escalation clauses, repair obligations, and the Consumer Protection Act implications where the tenant is a juristic person earning under the asset or annual-turnover threshold set out in the Act’s definitions. Lease work frequently overlaps with the firm’s notarial practice, since deeds of lease and notarial bonds sit alongside the commercial agreement.

Commercial dispute work

When a contract dispute escalates beyond correspondence and a letter of demand, the file moves to the firm’s general litigation practice for pleadings, discovery, and motion- or trial-court work. That escalation route runs through directors Nadine Roesch-Prinsloo (Roodepoort) and Herman Bonnet (Pretoria), and the firm’s litigation team files in the Gauteng Division of the High Court and the regional Magistrates’ Courts as the claim value dictates.

Why Engage a Specialist Business Lawyer in Gauteng

South African commercial contracts are governed by common-law principles that judges apply strictly. Vague wording routinely voids the clause the drafter thought they had, and the cost of unwinding a poorly drafted agreement after signature is invariably higher than the cost of having it drafted properly in the first place.

Shareholders’ agreements drafted without deadlock-resolution mechanisms are a recurring source of paralysis in two- or three-partner owner-managed businesses. Remediation once a deadlock has crystallised is materially more expensive than building the mechanism into the original agreement — and the deadlock usually lands at exactly the moment when the business cannot afford the legal cost.

The Companies Act 71 of 2008 imposes strict duties on directors (sections 75 and 76) and material personal-finance-recording obligations on the company. Non-compliance is both a statutory offence and a basis for personal liability against the director. A business lawyer who treats company registration as a pure filing exercise, rather than as a risk-managed governance setup, is doing the client a disservice they will only discover when a regulator or a counterparty asks harder questions later.

A Gauteng-based firm with branch coverage across Johannesburg, Sandton, Roodepoort, Bedfordview, Alberton, and Midrand can take instructions in person at the office most convenient to the client’s operations rather than routing everything through one location. Burger Huyser’s commercial work is anchored by consultant J’Retha van Rensburg and admitted attorneys including Mari Köhne, with cross-practice escalation routes into the firm’s family-law, litigation, and notarial teams where a commercial matter has collateral threads — a contested lease that escalates to eviction proceedings, a shareholders’ dispute that touches on an antenuptial contract, or a sale-of-business transaction that generates an employment-law workstream.

What to Look for When Choosing a Business Lawyer

Criterion	What to ask	Why it matters
Commercial-law-specific experience	Ask for examples of recent work in your sector — supply, services, distribution, sale-of-business, or shareholders’ agreements.	Practitioners who only occasionally review contracts miss the drafting shortcuts that a specialist would catch.
Cross-practice escalation routes	Confirm the firm has admitted attorneys in litigation, labour law, and notarial practice — not external referrals.	Commercial files routinely generate litigation, employment, or property workstreams; handling those in-house avoids duplicated briefings and missed context.
Plain-language contract drafting	Read a sample draft end-to-end. If you need a glossary, the working relationship is going to be expensive.	The best commercial lawyers write clauses the business owner can read without translating them.
Transparent fee structure	Ask for a fee quote per matter or a stated hourly rate, with a written scope estimate before drafting starts.	Surprise legal costs are the single most common complaint against any law firm; the cost conversation should be in writing, up front.
Local regulatory fluency	Confirm familiarity with CIPC filings, the Companies Act 71 of 2008, and the Competition Commission thresholds under section 11 of the Competition Act 89 of 1998.	Each of these has a procedural layer that, if mishandled, delays the deal or exposes the client to liability.

Burger Huyser’s commercial practice is set up to meet each of these criteria in-house: specialist consultant J’Retha van Rensburg leads the practice, admitted attorney Mari Köhne handles a substantial share of the contract and company-law work, and escalation routes run directly into directors Nadine Roesch-Prinsloo and Herman Bonnet for litigation, consultant Marius Ferreira for labour-law threads, and notaries Natasha van Deventer, Amanda le Roux, and Chanté Marais for the property and notarial layer.

The Local Filing and Procedural Layer: Where Commercial Work Hits the Map

South African commercial work touches four regulators and court fora on a recurring basis. The procedural layer is not optional — missing a filing or filing in the wrong seat delays the deal, and in some cases invalidates the transaction.

Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC)

The CIPC is the national registry for company incorporations, annual returns, director changes, and beneficial-ownership filings under the Companies Act 71 of 2008. Standard private-company registrations, MOI lodgements, director amendments, and share-allocation changes all run through the CIPC’s electronic filing system. Burger Huyser coordinates CIPC lodgements from the head office regardless of which branch the client uses as their day-to-day contact point.

Magistrates’ Courts and the Gauteng Division of the High Court

Commercial disputes up to the Magistrates’ Courts’ jurisdictional limit (currently set under the Magistrates’ Courts Act 32 of 1944, as amended) file in the district Magistrates’ Court for the area where the cause of action arose or where the defendant resides. Commercial litigation above that threshold generally files in the Gauteng Division of the High Court, with the Johannesburg seat hearing Johannesburg-area matters and the Pretoria seat hearing Centurion and northern-Gauteng matters. The Johannesburg and Pretoria seats are both within the same Gauteng Division, so the choice of seat turns on where the parties, the cause of action, and the underlying transaction are located.

The Competition Commission

Mergers and acquisitions that meet the thresholds published under section 11 of the Competition Act 89 of 1998 require a formal filing with the Competition Commission before the transaction can be implemented. The thresholds are set by ministerial notice in the Government Gazette and are adjusted periodically; the current large-merger threshold is a combined annual turnover or asset value of R1.15 billion with a target threshold of R190 million, with intermediate and small merger categories sitting below that. Failure to notify a notifiable merger is a contravention of the Act and can render the transaction void.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Tax-registration work typically accompanies company registrations (income tax, VAT, PAYE, UIF). Most commercial lawyers coordinate with the client’s accountant on SARS registration rather than handling it directly, since the SARS filing is closely tied to the client’s chosen accounting and payroll setup.

Practical Considerations: Cost, Timeline, What to Bring

Fees, timelines, and the documents you bring to the first consultation all shape how efficiently a commercial-law file runs. Burger Huyser quotes on a per-matter basis after the initial scope review at the head office in Linden, Randburg, and will not begin drafting without confirming the cost conversation in writing.

Workstream	Typical fee basis	Typical timeline
Contract review (existing draft)	Per document or hourly	1–2 weeks depending on length and complexity
Contract drafting (from blank page)	Per document or hourly	2–4 weeks including negotiation
Company registration with bespoke MOI	Fixed fee (CIPC filing + MOI)	A few working days once the name reservation is confirmed
Shareholders’ agreement	Bespoke quote after scope conversation	4–8 weeks depending on negotiation pace
Sale-of-business or sale-of-shares transaction	Bespoke quote after scope conversation	4–8 weeks (longer where due diligence is extensive)

For the first consultation, bring any existing draft agreement or counterparty document, the company’s MOI and registration certificate if already incorporated, identification documents for proposed directors or shareholders, a short written summary of what the transaction or document needs to achieve, and any prior correspondence with the counterparty. The more complete the briefing, the more accurate the fee quote and the faster the first draft.

Business Lawyers in Gauteng: Coverage Across Johannesburg, Sandton, Roodepoort, Bedfordview, Alberton, and Midrand

Burger Huyser Attorneys’ commercial practice runs through the firm’s Linden, Randburg head office (49 First Avenue, 011 888 0246), with branch coverage that lets Johannesburg-area clients meet a practitioner at the office most convenient to their operations rather than routing every instruction through one location.

Branch	Coverage area	Telephone
Randburg (head office, Linden)	Greater Johannesburg, Randburg, northern suburbs	011 888 0246
Sandton (Bryanston)	Sandton, Rosebank, Hyde Park commercial corridor	011 253 3080
Roodepoort (Helderkruin)	West Rand	011 668 0030
Bedfordview	East Rand	011 201 7190
Alberton (Randhart)	Southern Johannesburg basin	011 439 3990
Midrand (Vorna Valley)	N1 corridor between Johannesburg and Pretoria	010 022 4082

Commercial-law clients whose work touches the Pretoria or Centurion side of Gauteng are served by the firm’s Centurion branch (012 644 4990) and the Pretoria branch (012 471 5700). The CIPC operates as the national registry for company-law filings under the Companies Act 71 of 2008, and Burger Huyser coordinates CIPC lodgements, company registrations, and statutory changes from the head office regardless of which branch the client uses as their day-to-day contact point. All branches are open Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 4:30pm.

If you need a business lawyer in Johannesburg or anywhere in Gauteng, contact Burger Huyser Attorneys’ commercial practice through the head office in Linden, Randburg (49 First Avenue, 011 888 0246, after-hours 061 516 6878) or at the branch closest to your operations — Sandton (011 253 3080), Roodepoort (011 668 0030), Bedfordview (011 201 7190), Alberton (011 439 3990), or Midrand (010 022 4082). The firm drafts and reviews commercial contracts, shareholders’ agreements, company constitutions, lease agreements, sale-of-business and sale-of-shares transactions, and handles the related CIPC lodgements and statutory filings under the Companies Act 71 of 2008, with cross-practice escalation into the firm’s litigation, labour-law, and notarial teams where collateral workstreams arise. Commercial work is led by specialist consultant J’Retha van Rensburg and admitted attorney Mari Köhne. The firm carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”) and is recognised as Commercial Law Firm of the Year 2025 – South Africa by the 5 Star Lawyers Awards.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a business lawyer cost in Johannesburg?

Fees depend on the document or transaction. Contract reviews are typically quoted per document or on an hourly basis, company registrations are usually a fixed fee covering the CIPC filing and the Memorandum of Incorporation, and bespoke work like shareholders’ agreements or sale-of-business transactions is quoted after a scope conversation. Burger Huyser Attorneys’ commercial practice gives a transparent fee quote after the initial scope review at the head office in Linden, Randburg, and will not begin drafting without confirming the cost conversation in writing.

What is the difference between a business lawyer and a commercial lawyer in South Africa?

In practice the terms are used interchangeably. Both cover contract drafting and review, company work, and commercial disputes. Business law is often used more broadly to include the full range of work a business needs (contracts, employment, property, disputes), while commercial law sometimes signals a focus on company and contract work specifically. Burger Huyser’s Commercial Law and Contracts practice handles both ends and escalates into the firm’s litigation, labour, and notarial teams where collateral workstreams arise.

How long does it take to register a company in South Africa?

A standard private company registration through the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) can typically be completed in a few working days once the proposed name has been reserved and the directors’ and incorporators’ details have been confirmed. A bespoke Memorandum of Incorporation drafted to the client’s specific governance requirements adds drafting time on top. Burger Huyser’s commercial practice handles the registration end-to-end, including the MOI, the CIPC filing, and (where required) the initial SARS tax-registration hand-off to the client’s accountant.

Can Burger Huyser draft a shareholders’ agreement and register the company at the same time?

Yes — the two pieces of work typically run together and are best handled by the same practitioner so the MOI and the shareholders’ agreement are consistent on voting, dividends, deadlock resolution, and pre-emption rights. Burger Huyser’s commercial practice drafts both, and can also handle the CIPC registration and the initial tax-registration coordination as part of the same engagement.

Does Burger Huyser handle commercial disputes, or only contract drafting?

Both. The commercial practice drafts and negotiates the underlying agreements; when a dispute escalates and litigation becomes necessary, the file moves to the firm’s general litigation practice under directors Nadine Roesch-Prinsloo (Roodepoort) and Herman Bonnet (Pretoria), with motion-court and trial-court work run through the Gauteng Division of the High Court.

Where is Burger Huyser’s Johannesburg office, and what are the hours?

The head office is at 49 First Avenue, Linden, Randburg, 2194 (Tel 011 888 0246, mobile/after-hours 061 516 6878). Branch offices covering the broader Johannesburg and Gauteng area are in Sandton (011 253 3080), Roodepoort (011 668 0030), Bedfordview (011 201 7190), Alberton (011 439 3990), and Midrand (010 022 4082). All branches are open Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 4:30pm.