Rosalind Davey

Rosalind Davey

Partner and Team Leader
Johannesburg, South Africa
T: +27 11 669 9510
E: rosalind.davey@bowmanslaw.com
  • Overview
  • Experience
  • Publications & Insights

Overview

As an employment lawyer, Rosalind is often in sensitive situations involving dismissals or retrenchments and she does not shy away from them. What matters to her is how such situations are approached: respectfully, professionally and, above all, compassionately.

Compassion and professionalism have served Rosalind and her clients well since she discovered, as a candidate attorney, that labour law, with all its legal and human complexities, was the branch of law she wanted to pursue.

Currently, as Team Lead in Employment & Benefits at Bowmans, Rosalind directs a team of eight lawyers, including two partners and a senior consultant, working mainly with clients in road freight and logistics, banking, mining, retail and fast-moving consumer goods.

Around 50% of her practice involves employment litigation, including urgent applications, interdicts, reviews, dismissal disputes, arbitrations and general litigation. The remainder consists of non-litigious employment law matters and matters of a commercial nature with employment implications, such as strategic planning, restructuring and outsourcing.

Rosalind also has experience in social media law – a field she entered when very few lawyers were in it and there was little thought leadership. Her social media law experience includes drafting social media policies and providing training on understanding and managing the risks of social media in the workplace.

Much of her work involves strategic thinking, which to Rosalind means looking at the facts to see what she needs to do to obtain the optimal outcome for her client.

Attention to detail is important to her as a litigator, as are integrity and trust. Clients need to know that their lawyer ‘has their back’ and has sound ethics. Lawyers are officers of the court and may not compromise on their ethics, she believes.

Rosalind acts as a Judge in the Labour Court and is an author.

Education:

  • University of KwaZulu-Natal, Bachelor of Arts (BA) 
  • University of KwaZulu-Natal, Bachelor of Laws (LLB)

Professional memberships:

  • South African Society of Labour Law
  • International Bar Association

Specialist Services

Relevant Experience

Jurisdictions worked: South Africa

  • General labour/employment law including:
    • Advisory and opinion work
    • Transactional work
    • Due diligence
    • Employment litigation
    • Transfers of undertakings
    • Retrenchments
    • Discrimination
    • Unfair labour practices
    • Handling strikes
    • Collective bargaining
    • Alternative dispute resolution
    • Drafting contracts and policies
    • Adjudicating disputes
    • Appearances in the Labour Court, Magistrate’s Court and employment Tribunals
    • Remote work and hybrid policies
    • Vaccine mandates
  • Social media law – drafting policies, providing advice and training on, among others:
    • Constitutional law
    • Defamation
    • Delict
    • Vicarious liability
    • Managing possible brand damage
    • Ownership disputes
    • Protecting confidential information and trade secrets
  • Providing training to clients

Signature Matters

Awards

Rosalind received a Certificate of Contribution: World Justice Project

Publications & Insights