SA’s Jeremy Gauntlett awarded QC in London

SOUTH AFRICAN senior counsel Jeremy Gauntlett has been approved by the UK’s Queen on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, Lynda Truss MP, for elevation to the ranks of Queen’s Counsel (QC).

Gauntlett, who handled some of the country’s high-profile cases including representing President Jacob Zuma in the Nkandla matter last year, said the investiture will take place in February in Westminster Hall at the Palace of Westminster.

The former Sir Alfred Beit Scholar and Law graduate at Stellenbosch University, practises from chambers in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Brick Court, London. He is past chairman of the South African Bar, judge of appeal of Lesotho and Law Reform Commissioner. He has been elected a Bench of the Middle Temple, London, and serves on the Financial Markets Tribunal of Dubai and the Shanghai International Arbitration Court.

Stellenbosch University said the award of Queen’s Counsel is for excellence in advocacy in the higher courts. “It is made to advocates who have rights of audience in the higher courts of England and Wales and have demonstrated the competencies in the Competency Framework to a standard of excellence,” the university said. The university said Gauntlett has been a Visiting Scholar at Oxford, University College, London, and the Bingham Centre and served for 21 years on the Council of UCT until April 2016. – Staff Writer