Tori Herholdt
Partner | Cape Town
Contact
T: +27 11 669 9489
Overview
Tori Herholdt is a disputes lawyer focused on domestic and international arbitration and litigation.
Advising mainly on contractual and other commercial disputes for large corporates, Tori also advises on the regulatory landscape relevant to auditing and accounting and particularly on auditor liability issues.
She has been involved in a number of large local and international arbitrations and high-profile High Court cases (including in the Commercial Court), working as part of teams representing various large corporate clients. She is also well-versed in guiding her clients in mediation proceedings.
In addition, Tori has advised her clients in their engagements with and in investigations by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) and the Special Investigating Unit. She has also guided clients in their involvement in certain inquiries such as the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, and investigations and inquiries convened by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).
A seasoned litigator, Tori has an affinity for large, complex matters with multiple moving parts that require careful coordination and the ability to think laterally, broadly and several steps ahead, while always maintaining focus on her client’s best interests and commercial objectives.
Her arbitration experience includes proceedings governed by the arbitration rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the Arbitration Foundation of South Africa (AFSA).
Working on matters in jurisdictions outside South Africa has added to Tori’s skill set and she has recent experience in arbitrating in Zimbabwe and is currently litigating in Tanzania.
Experience
Jurisdictions worked in: South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe
Languages Fluent in: English
Tori has recently advised/assisted in advising:
- a major industrial, special and medical gas manufacturer and distributor in in High Court proceedings it has launched against each of the 9 provincial Departments of Health in South Africa (together with the National Department of Health and National Treasury) in a claim for approximately R370 million;
- a listed mining company against breach of contract proceedings for an amount of $195 000 000 in the Tanzanian High Court;
- a listed mining company in a protracted shareholder dispute in respect of a material shared asset;
- a large firm of registered auditors in contractual and delictual actions (including an almost R1 billion contractual claim brought by an auditing client, and various multi-million rand delictual claims brought by an auditing client’s creditors, former employees and investors), as well as on reviews and constitutional matters, in the High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court;
- a large firm of registered auditors during multiple regulatory investigations and inquiries by professional bodies (including IRBA and SAICA);
- a listed mining company in UNCITRAL arbitration proceedings launched by it against several defendants in a contractual dispute regarding the repayment of amounts following its exit from an agreement to extract and beneficiate vanadium pentoxide. The award was subsequently enforced in the High Court;
- a JV between two major mining companies and one of the JV partners (a listed company) in successfully defending liquidation proceedings brought against each of them in the High Court;
- a JV between two major mining companies (one listed) in arbitration proceedings before AFSA;
- the major shareholder of a listed company and others within their group in successfully opposing proceedings instituted in the Commercial Division of the High Court, Johannesburg seeking the unwinding of a transaction involving the transfer of shares (worth approximately R330 million) and other instruments;
- a listed company, and three of its subsidiaries, in successfully defending an AFSA arbitration launched by an aggrieved purchaser in a specific performance claim arising from a Sale and Purchase of Shares Agreement; and
- representing a mobile communications company in a number of high profile and complex urgent review applications involving major players in the telecoms industry regarding i) the licensing of high demand spectrum by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and ii) certain temporary radio spectrum licenses issued by ICASA at the advent of the COVID-19 national disaster.
AREA OF EXPERTISE
Qualifications
- BA and LLB degrees from the University of Cape Town.
INSIGHTS
Overview
Tori Herholdt is a disputes lawyer focused on domestic and international arbitration and litigation.
Advising mainly on contractual and other commercial disputes for large corporates, Tori also advises on the regulatory landscape relevant to auditing and accounting and particularly on auditor liability issues.
She has been involved in a number of large local and international arbitrations and high-profile High Court cases (including in the Commercial Court), working as part of teams representing various large corporate clients. She is also well-versed in guiding her clients in mediation proceedings.
In addition, Tori has advised her clients in their engagements with and in investigations by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) and the Special Investigating Unit. She has also guided clients in their involvement in certain inquiries such as the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, and investigations and inquiries convened by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).
A seasoned litigator, Tori has an affinity for large, complex matters with multiple moving parts that require careful coordination and the ability to think laterally, broadly and several steps ahead, while always maintaining focus on her client’s best interests and commercial objectives.
Her arbitration experience includes proceedings governed by the arbitration rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the Arbitration Foundation of South Africa (AFSA).
Working on matters in jurisdictions outside South Africa has added to Tori’s skill set and she has recent experience in arbitrating in Zimbabwe and is currently litigating in Tanzania.
Experience
Jurisdictions worked in: South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe
Languages Fluent in: English
Tori has recently advised/assisted in advising:
- a major industrial, special and medical gas manufacturer and distributor in in High Court proceedings it has launched against each of the 9 provincial Departments of Health in South Africa (together with the National Department of Health and National Treasury) in a claim for approximately R370 million;
- a listed mining company against breach of contract proceedings for an amount of $195 000 000 in the Tanzanian High Court;
- a listed mining company in a protracted shareholder dispute in respect of a material shared asset;
- a large firm of registered auditors in contractual and delictual actions (including an almost R1 billion contractual claim brought by an auditing client, and various multi-million rand delictual claims brought by an auditing client’s creditors, former employees and investors), as well as on reviews and constitutional matters, in the High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court;
- a large firm of registered auditors during multiple regulatory investigations and inquiries by professional bodies (including IRBA and SAICA);
- a listed mining company in UNCITRAL arbitration proceedings launched by it against several defendants in a contractual dispute regarding the repayment of amounts following its exit from an agreement to extract and beneficiate vanadium pentoxide. The award was subsequently enforced in the High Court;
- a JV between two major mining companies and one of the JV partners (a listed company) in successfully defending liquidation proceedings brought against each of them in the High Court;
- a JV between two major mining companies (one listed) in arbitration proceedings before AFSA;
- the major shareholder of a listed company and others within their group in successfully opposing proceedings instituted in the Commercial Division of the High Court, Johannesburg seeking the unwinding of a transaction involving the transfer of shares (worth approximately R330 million) and other instruments;
- a listed company, and three of its subsidiaries, in successfully defending an AFSA arbitration launched by an aggrieved purchaser in a specific performance claim arising from a Sale and Purchase of Shares Agreement; and
- representing a mobile communications company in a number of high profile and complex urgent review applications involving major players in the telecoms industry regarding i) the licensing of high demand spectrum by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and ii) certain temporary radio spectrum licenses issued by ICASA at the advent of the COVID-19 national disaster.
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