Award winners at the annual Pro Bono Awards held on 7 March 2024. (Photo credit: Yolanda van der Stoep.)

By Margaret Fish

ProBono.Org exists to ensure that those who cannot afford the services of the legal profession are able to receive free legal assistance through its clearing house centres in Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town.

In order to thank legal practitioners for their selfless pro bono work for the vulnerable, the annual Pro Bono Awards were hosted at Bowmans on 7 March 2024. In his keynote address, Justice Zak Yacoob reminded guests of the values enshrined in the Constitution, which introduced a new era in our struggle for democracy. When lawyers take a pro bono case, they are not only helping an individual poor person, but they are also achieving the values of the Constitution and helping to heal the divisions of the past. The law can be an effective weapon in the fight for democracy.

Special awards on the night went to:

• Child Law: Heather Pretorius – Fiona Marcandonatos Inc.
• Labour Law: Inbam Pillay – LEM Consulting.
• Family Law: Tracy Marais – Tracy Marais Attorneys.
• Wills: Norton Rose Fulbright SA Inc (Candice Pillay and team).
• Domestic Violence: Fatima Laher – Bowmans.
• Housing: Sarah Goldman – Lawtons Africa.
• Deceased Estates: Patricia Afagwu – Umennaka Attorneys Inc.
• Deeds and Conveyancing: Norton Rose Fulbright SA Inc (Carina van Vuuren and team).
• Community Advice Office: Orange Farm Human Rights Advice Centre – Richard ‘Bricks’ Mokolo.
• Refugee Law: Ndou Attorneys.
• Varsity College Student Group: Group 1, Pretoria Campus.
  • Individual Student: Michaella Grove – Pretoria Campus.
• Advocate Award: Loyiso Makapela and Thato Mokhethi.
• University Law Clinic Award: Natasha Ellen Bekker – University of Pretoria.

In addition, there were several special mentions. These went to Charl Albasini, Virginia Sekgothe, Elgene Roos, Jennifer Finnigan, Alan Jose, and law firm, Fasken.

Margaret Fish is the Communications Manager at ProBono.Org.