Heather Irvine

Heather Irvine is a Partner at Bowmans in the Johannesburg office, specialising in Competition Law. She is co-head of the firm's Technology Sector and a senior regulation specialist with deep experience in the ex post and ex ante regulation of dynamic technology markets, including artificial intelligence, communications, social media, e-commerce, online platforms, media, broadcasting and fintech.

Heather has acted for global multinationals and South African listed and state-owned companies in some of the continent's most complex high-profile mergers, and has advised on complaints about anticompetitive conduct across multiple African jurisdictions, including Botswana, COMESA, Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia. She has significant experience in negotiating remedies and public interest commitments with African competition regulators, and assisted the former South African Minister of Economic Development in implementing interventions in large mergers under the Competition Act framework, including in the Walmart/Massmart transaction. She has also secured regulatory and merger clearances in multiple jurisdictions for Groupe Canal+ in its proposed US$2.9 billion acquisition of MultiChoice Group.

Heather holds a B.A. and B.A. (Hons) (cum laude) and an LL.B. (magna cum laude) from the University of Cape Town. She served as a researcher to Justice Albie Sachs of the South African Constitutional Court and is an officer of the International Bar Association's Antitrust Committee.

She is ranked in Band 2 by Chambers Global for Competition/Antitrust in South Africa (2021–2026), recognised as a Leading Partner by The Legal 500 for Competition in South Africa (2023–2026), and is a Highly Regarded lawyer by IFLR1000 for Competition (2020–2025). She has also been featured by Global Competition Review as one of the 100 Successful Women in the Field of Global Competition Law.