OUR VERY OWN BRIDGET VAN DER BIJL WINS GLOBAL LEGAL AWARD IN NEW YORK

Bridget van der Bijl, our legal manager of Employment Law, walked away with the prestigious Global Legal Counsel Award in the Individual Employment Law category at the 10th annual Global Counsel Awards presented in New York last night.

The award recognises Bridget’s work in supporting the business when dealing with strikes and labour disruptions as well as the employment law consequences of Anglo American’s disposals and restructuring efforts over the past four years.

Bridget was singled out from more than 4,500 nominations, whose names were put forward by corporate counsel and law firm partners globally, and who all excel in their specific roles.

Kevin Lester, head of Legal SA, says it is rare that lawyers from the African continent get recognition at an international level. “One of our own being selected for such an award is wonderfully motivating for our team members and we are all very proud today.”

Bridget and her team’s work were previously awarded the 2014 African Legal Award (ALA) in the category Legal Counsel of the Year. This recognised her management of the company’s longest running five month strike at Platinum, ensuring the entire Group was up to speed with extensive new labour laws introduced in 2014 and able to dealing with 167 employment law litigation cases.

 “Winning yet another award is testimony to Bridget’s deep commitment to Anglo American and its business units as well as the success of the collaborative engagement model around employment law that our internal clients have developed together with Bridget and her team during these past few rather tumultuous years,” says Kevin.

Bridget says it is an honour and blessing to be awarded the accolade. “While it qualifies as a major highlight of my career, I don’t think the award should only be mine. It is a reflection of the team’s work and is thanks to the support of my employment law team and colleagues at Group Legal SA, under the leadership of Kevin Lester, as well as Colleen Elliott, head of HR South Africa and the HR executives in the business units and their teams.”