SHAPING LEGAL EXCELLENCE AND THE NEXT GENERATION OF LAWYERS

At Cox Yeats, we believe that delivering exceptional legal counsel starts with truly understanding our clients’ business realities, not just their legal needs.

Founded in 1964, we’ve grown into a full-service, independently run law firm with offices in Durban, Sandton, and Cape Town, known for providing strategic legal insight and cultivating long-term partnerships with some of South Africa’s most dynamic businesses. Putting Clients First: Strategy, Simplicity and Partnership Legal expertise may be our product, but what sets us apart is the way we deliver it.

At Cox Yeats, our client relationships are built on accessibility, responsiveness, and strategic alignment. Each client engagement is led by a partner who is deeply invested in the client’s business objectives, supported by a cross-functional team with deep sectoral knowledge, from construction and infrastructure to maritime, commercial, environmental, and corporate law.

Our structure allows our professionals to operate with both independence and integration, encouraging entrepreneurial thinking within a supportive network. This means clients benefit from hands-on legal leadership without sacrificing depth or scale. We don’t just advise on legal risk; we help businesses unlock opportunities and future-proof their strategies. Our approach is holistic.

We consider personal circumstances, language challenges, and life experiences alongside academic achievements. Our goal is not just to select top-performing students, but to identify individuals who are driven, grounded, and capable of delivering legal advice with both rigour and empathy.

Once on board, our graduates benefit from deep mentorship, exposure to high-level matters, and the opportunity to build their profiles. Many of our partners today began their careers as candidate attorneys at Cox Yeats.

As South Africa’s legal landscape evolves, with shifting regulations, transformation imperatives, and global competition, Cox Yeats is trusted for offering more than just technical precision. We offer perspective, rooted in a legacy of excellence, a culture of service, and a commitment to delivering value.

Built on Expertise: Sector Aligned, Future-Focused

Our legal services span more than 20 specialist areas, including business rescue and restructuring, energy and natural resources, insurance, competition law, intellectual property, mergers & acquisitions, employment law, and real estate.

What distinguishes our offering is our ability to advise not only on law but also on the environments in which our clients operate. From guiding multinational construction projects and resolving cross-border maritime disputes to advising on complex B-BBEE strategies or defending against cyber threats, we offer legal solutions that are commercially sound and globally relevant.

We are especially proud to be a Level 1 B-BBEE Contributor, which not only reflects our transformation commitments but also allows clients to claim 135% of their legal spend with us as B-BBEE procurement. This is part of a broader effort to help our clients meet compliance requirements while building more inclusive, future fit businesses.

Investing in the Future: A Graduate Programme That Reflects Our Values

As a firm committed to long term excellence, we know our greatest asset is our people. That’s why our graduate recruitment programme is designed not only to find the best legal minds but to develop them into future leaders of the profession.

We seek out candidates with strong academic performance, but we also value real-world experience, emotional intelligence, and resilience. Whether a student has worked part-time in retail or led a student committee, we see these as signs of initiative and adaptability as key qualities in the legal profession.

A Law Firm Built for What’s Next

As the business and legal environment grows more complex, our firm continues to evolve, expanding into new practice areas, embracing technology, and strengthening our impact in key sectors.

But at our core, the philosophy remains unchanged: clear thinking, expert insight, and client service that builds trust and delivers results. Whether we’re helping a client navigate regulatory change, defend a market position, close a high-stakes deal, or build a career, our work is guided by the same principle: we invest in people, and we solve for the long term.

Learn more about our expertise: www.coxyeats.co.za