By Barbara Whittle

Johannesburg firms Christodoulou & Mavrikis Inc and Madhlopa Inc have been linked as part of the Law Society of South Africa’s (LSSA) Synergy Link empowerment initiative, where Christodoulou & Mavrikis Inc will provide skills transfer and other support to Madhlopa Inc in the field of aviation law. They will focus on the relevant legislation, aircraft finance, aviation insurance, growth opportunities and challenges for African airlines, as well as how to develop and market an aviation practice.

Mashudu Thenga, director at Madhlopa Inc said: ‘We are very excited about the programme. At its completion, we will definitely venture into the aviation industry knowing that we have acquired the requisite skills needed to make our business viable.’

‘This is the kind of programme South Africa needs to empower young and upcoming legal practitioners through skills transfer. An attorney with skills and expertise is an empowered attorney. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the LSSA for coming up with this excellent programme and for the opportunity afforded to our firm in participating in it. We would like to also thank Christodoulou & Mavrikis Inc for their time and effort in transferring their knowledge and skills to us,’ says Sello Matsepane, associate at Madhlopa Inc.

Chris Christodoulou of Christodoulou & Mavrikis Inc – the ‘transferring’ firm – notes that aviation law is an area of immense interest to practitioners. ‘However, the acquisition of skills is made difficult due to a lack of focused academic training and dedicated resource materials. We hope that by participating in the LSSA’s Synergy Link programme together with Madhlope Inc and others in time, we will fill a small gap that will encourage universities and other course providers to focus on this area of law. In the meantime, if our participation results in the facilitation of meaningful aviation work being directed to our partners in the programme, then we will be able to say that the LSSA and its participants have succeeded in this process,’ says Mr Christodoulou.

Compiled by Barbara Whittle, communication manager, Law Society of South Africa, barbara@lssa.org.za

This article was first published in De Rebus in 2013 (Oct) DR 21.