ABOUT

I started my legal career in 2001 when I was admitted as an attorney. I practised as litigator at Van Niekerk Attorneys where I later became a partner. I opened my own firm in 2009. For the past 13 years I've focused on High Court litigation and mainly Family Law, inter alia divorces, parental rights and responsibilities (care and contact), relocation applications, unmarried father’s rights, parenting plans, maintenance and domestic violence matters.

 

After years of witnessing the damaging effects of litigation on families already in distress, I was looking for alternative ways of practising law and add value to clients. In 2008 I trained as mediator and became a member of the South African Association of Mediators (SAAM) and started to focus on assisting clients through mediation. I have a keen interest in mediations involving disputes in family owned businesses.

 

I realised that apart from mediation there was also other ways to practise law. I attended a training session in collaborative law, with Nicole Kopping-Pavars, a highly respected collaborative divorce attorney, previously from South Africa, now living in Canada. Collaborative divorce is the newest method of alternative dispute resolution in family law. I am excited to use this method of practicing law, in which the lawyers for both sides (parties) agree to assist the clients to resolve conflicts by employing cooperative techniques rather than adversarial strategies and litigation and where all parties involved commit themselves to achieving a negotiated outcome.