Cox Yeats expands footprint to Johannesburg COX

Yeats Attorneys – one of KZN’s largest locally-based legal practices – boldly expanded its footprint nationally on March 1, 2020 by opening a Johannesburg office in Sandton. This will now enable the firm to offer a quality professional service to businesses based in Gauteng, alongside existing Johannesburg and KwaZulu-Natal clients. “Our Johannesburg office will enhance our service offerings to national and international clients, more specifically in the fields of construction law, insurance litigation, general commercial litigation, banking litigation as well as property and sports law,” said Managing Partner, Michael Jackson.

The law firm, with its main office located in uMhlanga, Durban, operates locally, nationally and internationally, offering expertise and specialisation in the commercial and personal legal fields. Expansion is not new to Cox Yeats, which led the migration of top law firms to the north of the Durban 10 years ago. Here, Cox Yeats developed one of the largest commercial legal teams of any law firm in KwaZulu-Natal, competing with national firms that have large offices across the country. The firm increased threefold in size – from 14 law professionals to 52 – and the need arose for it to spread its wings. Consequently, in the latter half of 2019, Cox Yeats made a bold move to Ncondo Chambers, its new purpose-built offices within uMhlanga’s Ridgeside office precinct.

Jackson is all too aware of how far the firm has come since it was established more than 55 years ago on the two core principles that it continues to stand on today: integrity and personalised service.

“Central to our approach of doing things differently is an emphasis on building relationships by getting to know our clients and their businesses. “We don’t have a onesize-fits-all approach. Instead, we find the best solution for each situation,” said Jackson. The result is that Cox Yeats has clients that have remained with the firm since its inception.

Both evolving and experienced professionals make up its highly specialised teams, which makes Cox Yeats a true life partner for its clients. The specialised teams have diverse expertise in the fields of corporate and natural resources, construction and engineering, property, maritime, insurance, labour, insolvency, recovery of assets, and information and communication technology. Each team has its own structure and unique approach. Common to all teams is quality service, quick response and client confidence. This ethos allows team members to leverage off each other’s different insights, allowing for “vibrant cross-pollination” and attention to detail.

Over the past few years, Cox Yeats lawyers have adapted to take full advantage of technological changes. “The principles of hard work and commitment, coupled with young and energetic attorneys who pride themselves on their individuality, innovation and competitiveness that is tempered by the experience of long-standing professionals, will enable Cox Yeats to embrace our fast-changing and challenging world with enthusiasm and excellence,” said Jackson.

Heading up the Cox Yeats Johannesburg office is Gary Pritchard, a former director of a large international law firm based in Sandton. He focuses on construction and engineering law as well as on general commercial litigation, including insurance and banking litigation, construction and sports law. “Pritchard is a wellrecognised legal professional with more than 28 years experience. He will be assisted by associate, Phillip Cronje,” added Jackson.

Joining Pritchard in the Johannesburg office is partner, Emili Souris and consultant, Charles van Wyk. Souris specialises in property and real estate, and has practised as a property law professional for more than three decades in all areas of property law.

Van Wyk has more than 40 years experience in dealing with all aspects of exchange control from within the commercial and legal fields.

“We are inspired and excited by this new chapter in our firm’s journey. We are committed to continuously growing in expertise and people, so that we remain in the best position to serve our clients,” said Jackson.

Over the years, the firm has been consistently rated among the top law firms in the country. Nine of the firm’s senior attorneys are ranked by the legal publication Best Lawyers as leaders in their fields, which is a compelling indication of the high calibre of the firm’s legal professionals. Cox Yeats recently achieved the remarkable distinction of being the highest rated law firm in KZN in the PMR.africa survey for the Business Sector: Law Firms 2020. This is the first time the firm has achieved the Diamond Arrow award in this provincial category.

In a further accolade, it has, for the third consecutive year, received the PMR.africa Diamond Arrow award for the number onerated law firm in South Africa in the category: medium-sized law firms in SA.

Currently, all Cox Yeats partners, professionals and support staff are fully set-up, working remotely from home. They are also working from the office when necessary, and so remain fully available to clients. “Cox Yeats will do our utmost to ensure that the service we provide to our clients is not interrupted,” concluded Jackson.