Bavesh Pillay

Bavesh Pillay is a Partner and leads the firm's Construction practice group in the Johannesburg office, practicing in Construction Law. He has particular expertise in energy infrastructure and commercial property development projects, with a focus on specialist “front-end” work involving the vetting and drafting of construction contracts, equipment supply agreements, and professional services agreements using standard forms including FIDIC, NEC, and JBCC. He also provides legal advice on contractual, commercial, and regulatory issues as well as dispute resolution.

Mr. Pillay has advised on numerous major projects, including the Karpowership Project, advising lenders on the leasing of powerships and FSRU procurement; the Nokeng Fluorspar Mine, providing commercial advice to sponsors on lender requirements and EPC contractor disputes; the Actis Rack Centre Nigeria Data Centre project, formulating procurement strategy for a major data centre development; and Eskom SOC Limited on the NEC contracts and dispute resolution strategies for the Ingula Project, as well as advising on contracts and disputes for the Medupi and Kusile projects. He has also advised on the Platinum Plaza Hotel Development in Ghana, the Old Mutual Stella Street Development in Sandton, and the Trafigura/Puma Energy petroleum storage terminal in Mozambique.

Bavesh holds an LLB (cum laude) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and an LLM from Harvard Law School. He is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa.

He has been ranked by Chambers Global in Band 4 for Construction (2025-2026), recognized as Up and Coming in previous years, and ranked by IFLR1000 as a Notable Practitioner in South Africa (2025). Clients describe him as "great at ensuring a solution is reached that's a win-win for all parties in a negotiation" and "exceptionally sharp."