NSDV Rebrands – Targets Multiple Stakeholders

By Rodney Weidemann

The mining industry – and even more so, the law firms that service it – have long had a reputation for being staid and by the book, an image reinforced by their penchant for suits, shag carpets and mahogany panelling.

That has all changed with the recently rebranded NSDV (formerly Nupen Staude de Vries), a boutique specialist firm with an alternative approach, in that it not only advises on legal risks and problems, but also offers pragmatic business solutions based on its wide-ranging management experience.

According to NSDV director and co-founder Lili Nupen, the aim of the company’s rebranding exercise is to position the business as an integrated professional services entity, as opposed to merely a law firm.

“NSDV’s customers are particularly drawn to our organisation’s youth, its new ideas, and the staff’s personable approach to matters. NSDV also aims to be different to mining’s more traditional and old-school feel by adopting as its new colour scheme pinks and blues to represent its balance between being light and fun, but still very serious when it comes to business,” she says.

“We chose to adopt our old acronym as the company’s new name, as most people referred to us in this manner anyway. Our new corporate colours are designed to imply a business that is very approachable, easy to talk to, and fun to work with. I like to think we also exude a level of ‘feminine’ energy that stands out significantly in the broadly masculine world of mining. These are all attributes that are sorely lacking in the legal and mining industries.”

A new school of thought

She notes that it is because of this new approach and the strong relations built prior to rebranding that the company has experienced significant recent growth.

“The key aspect of the new NSDV is that we have repositioned ourselves as an integrated advisory and legal solutions business for the mining and related sectors.

We have done this to highlight that our firm specialises in several unique areas that ultimately work hand in hand – namely the mining, environmental, and construction industries,” she says.

“Our integrated, oriented and practical offering within the mining sector has really taken off, particularly with many of the junior miners that generally don’t have the resources to employ their own legal teams, so they contract us in as needed.

“We operate on the principle that mining has a multitude of stakeholders, and success depends on having good relationships with all of them. This includes the communities affected by the mining – we see part of our role as being to clearly understand their needs and engage with them.”

To this end, she says, NSDV has created two new solutions, one designed to significantly assist junior miners and the other aimed at community engagement. The first of these, a Mineral Rights Management offering, focuses on helping juniors and established players manage their rights compliance.

“Essentially, we undertake a complete review of their mining rights and environmental authorisations – something of a mini due diligence – and take responsibility for managing and ensuring the compliance of these rights, such as lodging renewals timeously, or alerting the client to the fact that the numerous mining and environmental regulatory report are due.

“For us, it is all about ensuring they remain compliant with what we consider to be their most valuable asset, since you don’t really have a mine without a mining right and their ancillary authorisations.

“We also ensure compliance, and with this solution, we are able to foresee potential problems early – such as another entity applying for the same right or launching some form of legal challenge – and can thus address these rapidly through a timeous response.”

NSDV’s key aim, she continues, is to get its clients into a position where they can begin mining quickly and can operate without interruption. Because NSDV looks after the various applications and licences through this solution, all the customer has to do, essentially, is dig the ore out of the ground.

Finger on the pulse

“I think one of the main reasons our offering is so attractive to mines is that both mining and environmental law changes regularly, and because keeping up to date with legislation is not their core business, they struggle to stay up to date.

“On the other hand, we are a law firm and thus have our finger on the pulse with regard to such amendments. Furthermore, we have good, close relationships with the relevant departments, so are perfectly positioned to alert clients to changes even before they happen, given we are aware of the drafts in process.”

The other offering being developed by NSDV is its Community Engagement Solution. “With recent case law like the Xolobeni judgment, along with changes in mining legislation, we have noted that communities are finally being recognised and taken more seriously within the process. Look at the recent Shell interdict for example.”

Until recently, she adds, communities tended to be left outside the tent and thus lacked a voice in the process. Dealing with these communities was, in fact, usually viewed as a mere “tick a box” approach for mining organisations.

“Our solution is instead designed to bring these communities into the conversation from the outset. We view this as more than just a compliance issue – these communities are clearly also stakeholders, so we believe they should be treated the same way the mining company would treat unions, employees, or shareholders.

“This is the other core reason for our rebranding – we want to be viewed as a knowledgeable business that is able to educate clients in a way that helps them to make things easier, faster and more sustainable.

“We are aware that lawyers are seen as trusted advisers, and we certainly provide such a service to clients. However, because we are essentially a professional services organisation, we can also provide trusted advice in relation to anything that falls within the construction or environmental arena as well,” she says.