TimesLIVE Podcasts Business Law Focus

Business Law Focus

The Business Law Focus podcast series covers the latest and most important developments in business law and tax. Through exclusive interviews with leading experts in the field and the lawyers actually arguing the most important cases, these interviews cut through the noise to provide legal insights that matter for the C-suite, entrepreneurs and professionals.
Weekly English South Africa Business
48 Episodes
20 – 40

Cross-border ESG due diligence rules in the spotlight

In the next edition of Business Law Focus, host Evan Pickworth interviews Mansoor Parker, Executive in the tax practice at ENSafrica. The spotlight is on the implementation of corporate due diligence and accountability of undertakings with business activities in the EU – and notably what this means for SA companies…
5 Sep 2022 13 min

Offshore trusts and pension funds are all the rage, but they have consequences

Many South Africans are increasingly looking to move money into offshore pension funds and into offshore trusts. In this edition of Business Law Focus, host Evan Pickworth speaks to international tax expert Dr Albertus Marais, founder of AJM, on the risks and severe penalties of not reporting payments to offshore…
31 Aug 2022 10 min

Jury out on global minimum tax

In this edition of Business Law Focus, host Evan Pickworth interviews Michael Hewson, founder and director of Graphene Economics on the potential impact of the moves towards a global minimum tax. Since July 2021, 137 countries (accounting for more than 90% of the global economy) have signed a deal aimed…
25 Aug 2022 13 min

Time for a data protection health check

Business Law Focus host Evan Pickworth interviews Era Gunning and Ridwaan Boda, executives at ENSafrica, on why it is time for a data protection health check, especially by those corporates who have been complacent on compliance. With the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA’s) first anniversary having come and gone…
20 Jul 2022 15 min

Overcoming gender gaps in the legal profession

In this edition of Business Law Focus, host Evan Pickwoth interviews Lerisha (Lee) Naidu, who has been appointed as Managing Partner of Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg as of 1 July this year. With transformation of the legal sector high on the agenda, they discuss how gender gaps can be overcome…
23 Jun 2022 14 min

What's needed to get SA's mining exploration investment on track

In this edition of Business Law Focus host Evan Pickworth interviews ENS executives Andries Myburgh and Ntebaleng Sekabate on the opportunities and threats relating to mining exploration and specifically the urgent need for improved incentives to enhance investment. They speak at the conclusion of the recent Mining Indaba in Cape…
16 May 2022 17 min

New Code a timely slap in the face for bullies in the workplace

In the latest edition of Business Law Focus, host Evan Pickworth interviews Johan Botes, Partner and Head of the Employment & Compensation Practice at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg on the new Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace. They discuss the key features of…
9 May 2022 20 min

What would SA's ideal labour law regime look like?

With South Africa's unemployment rate hitting record levels of over 35%, labour law reform is seen as a key avenue to help stimulate jobs and investment. This will, however, require political will and keener insights on the economic impact of policies. Host Evan Pickworth interviews Fritz Malan and Jan Norval…
7 Apr 2022 16 min

African growth – the need to take responsibility

In this edition of Business Law Focus, host Evan Pickworth interviews Michael Foundethakis, recently appointed Chair of the Africa Steering Committee at global law firm Baker McKenzie. Michael has a glass-half-full outlook for Africa, based on recent deal-making activity and success. While this positive outlook does not ignore the need…
22 Mar 2022 16 min

10 Budget speech predictions

In this edition of Business Law Focus, host Evan Pickworth interviews tax executive from ENSafrica, Mmangaliso Nzimande, on what lies ahead in Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s inaugural national budget speech on 23 February. With the government set to walk a tightrope between reining in spending and generating revenue, all while…
18 Feb 2022 16 min

Cricket South Africa breaks the silence on the Boucher disciplinary

In this edition of Business Law Focus, host Evan Pickworth interviews Cricket South Africa’s lead independent director, Steven Budlender SC. With the announcement of a disciplinary process against coach Mark Boucher leading to a veritable cacophony of commentary, Budlender SC explains the sound legal and governance rationale for the decision,…
10 Feb 2022 16 min

The future of mandatory Covid-19 vaccination

With vaccine rates remaining low in Africa and SA, the question of mandatory vaccines is high on the agenda early in 2022. In this edition of Business Law Focus, host Evan Pickworth discusses the sticky question of enforcement, risk assessments and policy hurdles companies seeking a mandatory vaccine policy must…
18 Jan 2022 22 min

Keep the taxman in mind when liquidating

In terms of the Statistical Release on liquidations and insolvencies published by Statistics South Africa in July 2021, there has been a 21.5% increase in the number of liquidations in the first seven months of 2021 compared to the first seven months of 2020. This has not deterred SARS from…
22 Sep 2021 14 min

The tug of war over VAT refunds

Claiming and determining the veracity of VAT refunds is a perennial headache for both SARS and the taxpayer. In this edition of Business Law Focus, host Evan Pickworth, interviews tax manager at ENSafrica, Annelie Giles, on the extent of the problem and what can be done to fix it.
16 Sep 2021 18 min

'Stablecoins' and the move to decentralised finance

Business Law Focus Editor Evan Pickworth speaks to Ashlin Perumall, Partner in the Corporate/MA Practice at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg and fellow of the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR). The readiness (or lack thereof) for the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) in Africa, a rising…
20 Aug 2021 11 min

What are the implications of the recently enacted Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Act?

In this episode of the Business Law Focus podcast, Editor Evan Pickworth interviews Janet MacKenzie and Darryl Bernstein, experts from global law firm Baker McKenzie, on the implications of the recently enacted Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Act. The criminalisation of harmful data messages and the intersection between this Act and the…
2 Jul 2021 17 min

What does the future hold for SA's labour market?

With businesses and the economy caught in a whirlwind of strikes, protests, lock-outs and retrenchments - on top of trying to recover from Covid-19 losses - Business Day Law & Tax Editor Evan Pickworth interviews Audrey Johnson from ENSafrica’s employment department on what the future holds from a labour perspective.
7 Jun 2021 15 min

Shifting patterns in Africa’s infrastructure funding

Baker McKenzie’s latest report - New Dynamics: Shifting Patterns in Africa’s Infrastructure Funding - shows the state of the African infrastructure market, and how the major global players’ approach infrastructure lending on the continent is changing. The report’s data shows that multilateral and bilateral lending into Africa has declined -…
26 May 2021 9 min
20 – 40