By Nomfundo Manyathi-Jele

Durban attorney Brett Bentley (45) has won the 2013 LexisNexis Prize for Legal Practitioners for the best article by a practising attorney published in De Rebus.

He has won the award for his article titled ‘Separating the baby and the bath water. Garnishee and emoluments attachment orders’ published in 2013 (Mar) DR 22. The article dealt with the emotive topic of emolument attachment orders (commonly called garnishee orders), which in some instances have been abused and which in turn has resulted in a knee-jerk reaction of calling for their abolition without proper consideration of the alternatives open to judgment creditors. The article proposed a middle ground where emolument attachment orders are maintained but the laws amended to afford debtors greater protection.

Mr Bentley has won an iPad and one year’s free access to his choice of five online titles in his own personalised library of online law publications.

Mr Bentley said that winning this prize was a ‘big surprise’ but a great honour to be awarded this prize in a magazine, which is the official journal of the attorneys’ profession.

Mr Bentley is the founder and senior attorney at Bentley Attorneys in Mount Edgecombe where he specialises in credit law and debt recovery.

Meanwhile, Sandton candidate attorney Ben Winks (28) has won the 2013 Juta Prize for Candidate Attorneys for his article titled ‘Expropriation – a minefield?’ published in 2013 (July) DR 44.

In his article, Mr Winks provided a critical analysis of the Constitutional Court’s landmark judgment in Agri SA v Minister of Minerals and Energy 2013 (4) SA 1 (CC), where the constitutionality of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 was upheld.  The article argued that both the majority and minority judgments erred in finding that the wholesale transfer of mineral rights from private ownership to common heritage under state custodianship was not a limitation of the right to property in s 25 of the Constitution.

Mr Winks specialises in media and information law, as well as constitutional law and is currently an associate in the dispute resolution practice group at Webber Wentzel.

Mr Winks said that he was delighted, not only because he regards the award as prestigious, but also because the prize will greatly assist him in undertaking further research and writing. The prize was a 12-month single-user subscription to the online Juta’s Essential Legal Practitioners Bundle valued at R 10 380 or book vouchers valued at R 7 500 which he opted for.

Nomfundo Manyathi-Jele, nomfundo@derebus.org.za

This article was first published in De Rebus in 2014 (June) DR 30.