our people
Deborah Carmichael
practical experience
Deborah Carmichael is an Executive at ENS in the Banking and Finance practice.
She specialises in complex transactional cross-border and local matters. She has more than 20 years of experience in advising a wide range of clients, including major international and domestic investment banks, development finance agencies, and industry bodies, on various debt products, including acquisition finance, asset finance, bank funding, and public sector debt. She has a track record of delivering innovative and bespoke solutions for her clients, drawing on her deep finance experience over years of deal making. Deborah cut her teeth as a borrower side transactional lawyer and, in addition to her lender side practice, continues to act for borrowers on a regular basis in her practice where she advises entities on their strategic debt products, helping them navigate the changing regulatory and commercial landscape.
In the banking and financial services regulatory space, Deborah is involved in some of the most market-shifting projects in the banking sector, such as advising the central bank of South Africa on the interest rate transition and its implications for the market.
She is the author of numerous articles on finance and South African investment related matters, and co-authored the South African Legislation Guide for South Africa in the IFLR1000 2010 Guide to the World's Leading Advisors.
Deborah is recognised as a leading/recommended lawyer by:
- The Legal 500 EMEA Guide 2025 (Key Lawyer) Banking and Finance (South Africa)
- IFLR1000 Financial and Corporate Guide; Banking and Finance – 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 (South Africa)
- Who’s Who Legal 2022 Capital Markets: Structured Finance (South Africa)
- Best Lawyers® 2024, 2023, 2021, 2020, 2019 – Structured Finance Law (South Africa)
qualifications
- LLB (University of Cape Town)
- Admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa
