Four thousand, two hundred and fifty three (4,253). That is the number of clients the Durban office saw in 2019. Stop for a minute and think about how many people, households and families were affected positively by the assistance rendered to those people, and then think about how many people would have been adversely affected were we not able to render this assistance.

That’s why the Durban office of ProBono.Org held their first ever virtual Appreciation Day event. This annual event was held on Friday 30 October 2020 to acknowledge those legal practitioners who have gone above and beyond in providing free legal assistance to those who cannot afford it.

This was Durban’s fifth annual Appreciation Day and it was an honour to have Justice Edwin Cameron deliver the keynote address. He reiterated the importance of pro bono work and the value of social justice in South Africa. Apart from our help desks, during 2019 our office focused on our work with the elderly, developing young legal practitioners and raising awareness of gender based violence.

As always, the event was attended by members of the legal community, attorneys and advocates alike, as well as stakeholders in the field of social justice and human rights and some of our committed sponsors such as LexisNexis SA and the IIE’s Varsity College.

The award winners were:

1. Deceased Estates help desk – Priyanka Govender from Legator McKenna Incorporated 
2. Consumer Law help desk – Kerry Forbes from Kerry Forbes and Associates 
3. Ntuzuma help desk – Sanelisiwe Nyasulu from Garlicke and Bousfield  
4. Housing help desk – Vinay Yetwaru from Vinay Yetwaru Attorneys  
5. Refugee help desk – Mellisha Hurchund from Mellisha Hurchund Attorneys 
6. Umlazi help desk – Craig Weston from NSG Attorneys  
7. Labour Law help desk – Thulisiwe Ngcobo from Daly Morris Fuller  
8. Family Law help desk – Romy Simmons from Barkers Attorneys  
9. For most helpful big firm – Garlicke and Bousfield Inc. 
10. For most helpful medium firm – Barkers Attorneys 
11. For most helpful small firm – Shashi Marajh and Company
12. For most number of attorney seminars presented – Nike Pillay from Livingston Leandy  
13. For most number of community seminars presented – Shaista Singh from Shepstone and Wylie