Peter Leon

Peter Leon is a partner and Co-Chairman of the Africa Practice Group at global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills and is based in the firm’s Johannesburg office. His areas of expertise include mineral and petroleum regulation in developing countries, black economic empowerment and indigenisation law, international investment law and financial services regulation. Peter regularly advises on major mine development agreements and resources regulatory issues across Anglophone Africa. He also has significant experience in contentious matters involving States in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the International Who’s Who of Mining Lawyers (and other peer reviewed global legal directories) he is one of the world’s pre-eminent mining lawyers. In Who’s Who Legal Mining 2016 Peter was described as “‘world-class’ and ‘very knowledgeable in mining law and regulatory issues”. One of the respondents even described him as “the best guy to turn to for advice in the region’.”

Peter is a regular speaker at mining and international trade law conferences, courses and Parliamentary hearings in South Africa and internationally. He is also an honorary lecturer at the University of Dundee in Scotland. As an accomplished speaker he has written extensively on topics which include mining, resource nationalisation, black economic empowerment and indigenisation law and international investment law.