Ge

General

Please note that we have updated the disclaimer in the email signatures. In light of the ENS judgment, the firm needs to protect itself from any liability. Please update your email signature with the attached version as soon as possible.

​

Pro bono

World Day of Social Justice is celebrated annually on 20 February. It serves as a platform to address social inequality and to encourage dialogue. This World Day of Social Justice, we will be celebrating with the residents of New Beginnings Foundation, a homeless shelter situated in the heart of Boksburg. Residents have been invited to join us to discuss social justice and protest-poetry in a Social Justice Poetry Workshop on 11 February 2022 at 11am.

 

The Pro Bono and Citizenship Department welcomes all volunteers passionate about equality to assist at this event. Volunteers will be asked to assist with food preparation, lead focus-groups and present on social justice and the importance of poetry. Training material will be provided.

 

If you are interested in volunteering, please confirm with the Pro Bono and Citizenship Department on or before 6 February 2023.

 

Kindly see links below to social justice poetry as inspiration for the event:

Maya Angelou - Caged Bird

Tatamkhuku Afrka - Nothing's Changed

Nina Simone - Mississippi

​

Message from our General Counsel - Dimitra Kouvelakis 

"6 758 days

965 weeks

221 months

Which equates to 18 and a half years.

 

That’s how long I have been at the firm.

 

On the 14th of June 2004, being my first day at Routledge Modise situated at 2 Pybus Road, Sandton; former president Nelson Mandela, carried the Olympic torch on Robben Island, the first time the Olympic flame had travelled to Africa.  Just as this was an iconic moment in the history of the nation, this was an iconic day and the start of an exciting legal journey for me.

 

Things were a little different in back then in 2004. Mobile ‘phones had a brand new feature: cameras. Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkhaban was the number one movie at the box office. Video tapes were being replaced by DVDs.  And just to put it all in perspective, Shannen Etter, my the candidate attorney who is articled to me, was just four years old.

​

I joined the firm as an associate working for a senior director by the name of Hylton Cochrane (who is now retired), and in my first week of joining, I was involved in an urgent application for a client for whom I still do work for as a client of the firm.   Since this firm was bigger than the firm where I had worked previously, it was at times intimidating, but that was soon overcome by the excitement of being involved in big and complex matters, being surrounded by well-respected and knowledgeable attorneys, which involved obtaining a high speed education in the real world of law.  However, what made me feel ‘at home’ and happy to go to work each day, were the people in the office.  And it is because of our staff and colleagues that distinguishes our firm from all the others.  Our firm possesses a unique camaraderie and family culture that makes us special – it is this ethos of ‘family’ that is a common thread that has been inherited and passed down since our incorporation in 1892 until today, and it is this ethos that should be respected and maintained in the next 130 years to come.  

 

My first year-end function in 2004 held at the Grayston Hotel (now the Maslow)  (including the others that followed in subsequent years), will never be forgotten.  There were many social events amongst the long working hours, stress, difficult matters and clients to allow us as colleagues to re-group and enjoy each other’s company outside of ‘work’.  Over the years we had many cultural evenings, the RM annual soccer tournaments, random after work drinks at the office, month-end drinks and the like.  We would discuss matters, ask for legal advice, debate legal issues.  We’d celebrate the wins and the high points; share anger or tears when things didn’t go well. And thanks to the firm, I encountered experiences I hadn’t expected, all of which contributed to me becoming the attorney, and person, that I am today.  The best advice that I received as a junior which I implement to this day, is to:

• Keep being interested

• Keep being informed

• Keep being involved; and

• Keep being inspired.

​

Our firm has always been blessed with special people – people that you can rely on, confide in, work with and have true friendships with.  This is I can attest to.  My life journey since joining Lawtons, from obtaining my Masters Degree, getting married, having my children in 2014 and 2016, was made easier due to the support, encouragement and understanding of my colleagues.  The firm was, like my parents and family, a safe and strong foundation from which one could grow and mature. 

 

I don’t need to tell you that our firm has had its challenges. The challenges may have been more plentiful in the last few years. But just as I’ve seen the firm at its lowest, I have also seen it at its best. Wherever the office has been, whatever name we’ve carried, our success has always been down to its people who’ve been more than just brilliant lawyers with many accolades. We’ve been friends, concerned with more than just our own cases and clients, and creating a firm with qualities the world doesn’t usually associate with law firms. Compassion. Empathy. Kindness and Acknowledgement.  A willingness to help each other, stand by each other, lift each other up. We must not lose these qualities.  We might have lost that a little in the last few years, but they’ve been unusually harsh and unforgiving years – and yet we’re still here. I am still here. And I know that between the old colleagues who’ve been with me for my 18 years or less, and the newer additions to a firm that has 130 years to look back on, we won’t just survive – but with the right approach, we’ll flourish.

 

We must remember that change is constant and inevitable in this life, and our firm has undergone many changes.  But change can either challenge or threaten us.  Our beliefs pave our way to success or block us. 

 

On this note, I will close with the following quote by Justin Havens:

 

“Never live in the past for it can’t be changed, never live in the future for it has not been written yet, live for today because what you do today is what you use to make your future”. 

​

So thank you to my Lawtons Africa family, for being such a key part of my own story – and please raise a glass to, and celebrate a firm that has every right to look back with great pride, and forward with great hope. Cheers!"

​

Conclusion

Remember to send us any comments, suggestions or proposals you might have regarding the newsletter or the firm itself.  You can either send this with your name or keep it anonymous by clicking here.  Wishing you success, happiness, opportunities, and prosperity in life.  We hope all your goals and dreams come true in the coming year.

​

Jeff, Veronica and SJ