Darryl Bernstein

Darryl routinely assists clients with international, domestic and multijurisdictional litigation and arbitration proceedings, with a particular focus on shareholder disputes, disputed claims in insolvency and business rescue proceedings, banking and matters involving the enforcement and perfection of security as well as commercial disputes involving clients in the constructing, engineering, IT and mining sectors. Darryl also acts on behalf of various state organisations and commercial tenderers in the resolution of tender disputes and administrative reviews.

Darryl also assists clients with commercial advisory work, focusing particularly on Technology and Telecommunications. His practice includes advising clients on data protection issues, internet and e-business services, and digital commercial and regulatory requirements. He has advised a range of large global multinationals and domestic clients, including telecommunications operators, technology vendors, software and hardware developers and retailers. This advice routinely extends to internet and e-business services, communications regulation and compliance, the negotiation and preparation of domestic and cross-border technology licensing arrangements, multijurisdictional privacy and data protection issues, including the cross-border transfer of information and the establishment of local and international license and franchise operations.

In anticipation of the commencement of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI) in South Africa, Darryl obtained an International Association of Privacy Practitioners (IAPP) qualification in both European Privacy Law (on which POPI is based) and the general Foundations of Privacy Law. His relevant data privacy experience in the financial services and technology sector includes performing data security and privacy risk assessments and advising clients on security and privacy regulatory compliance, data security and privacy best practices and cross-border data flow. He has also assisted local and multinational clients with restrictions on collection and use of consumer information, leveraging personal information for advertising and marketing purposes and privacy policies for organizations and their websites.

• Advising a locally listed staffing and business process outsourcing company in a multijurisdictional investigation into the conduct of various executives which are alleged to have contravened various laws, regulations and fiduciary obligations.
• Advising a fine art auction house and dealer in an investigation and recovery in relation to allegedly fraudulent claims relating to the provenance and authenticity of high value art works.
• Advising a Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed construction, engineering and mining contractor in the recovery of funds owed to it arising out of various construction disputes and their ancillary funding arrangements.
• Represented and advised the Group Five Housing and Motlekar Cape joint venture in opposing an application to overturn the award of the construction of a ZAR 370 million housing development by the Western Cape government's Department of Human Settlements.
• Represented and advised one of the world's largest oil and natural gas service multinationals in relation to the disputed termination of a lease and development agreement in Ghana, coupled to the successful recovery of remitted funds.
• Representing one of the largest mining companies in the world along with certain of their employees in litigation aimed at ensuring the proper interpretation, alternatively the constitutional striking down, of provisions of legislation which facilitate reckless lending and perpetuate inequality and unfairness through abuse by certain debt administrators.
• Representing an American multinational technology company with businesses relating to internet-related services and products in a matter arising out of the online publication of allegedly defamatory media.
• Representing an American multinational computer technology corporation specialising in cloud and database services in contested litigation relating to the termination of a service provider for breach of compliance guidelines.
• Advised a US listed, global e-commerce marketplace in the South Africa investigation of senior employees for conduct in breach of certain codes and policies and further assisted in and held the investigations relating to such conduct, ultimately resulting in the termination of senior executives.
• Represented and advised a domestic technology and hardware manufacturer in the investigation of conduct in breach of certain codes and policies, including the termination of employment in respect of responsible employees and the reporting of a suspicion of an offence under South Africa's corruption legislation.

• Leading Individual in Dispute Resolution, Chambers Global, 2011-2017 

• Law Society of the Northern Provinces - Member
• International Bar Association (IBA)
• Society of Construction Law - Member
• London Court of International Arbitration - Mauritius International Arbitration Centre (LCIA-MIAC)
• International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) - Member