Ziyanda Sibeko, 30, is a partner in the dispute resolution department at Webber Wentzel. He has a diverse general commercial litigation practice and experience often involving highly regulated industries such as mining, petroleum, gas, and oil industries including medical schemes industries, insurance, financial services, construction and public procurement. His work extends to commercial arbitrations, environmental law, forensic investigations, public and administrative law and general contracts disputes. Ziyanda has experience in high court, supreme court of appeal and constitutional court litigation. His says his biggest achievement is becoming a partner at Webber Wentzel and takes pride in working alongside the best legal brains and talent in the country. He is also proud of having trained about 20 candidate attorneys, most of whom have been retained as junior associates and some who have gone on to achieve greater things abroad. He says his family and the people he meets at and through his work have inspired him to excel. Ziyanda does pro bono work in Daveyton, where he lives, and for organisations such as the South African Aids Council and trust. He is also involved in outreach programmes through his church.
Masters of Laws (LLM) Specialising in Environmental Law, University of the Witwatersrand
Postgraduate Certificate: Advanced Administrative Law, University of the Witwatersrand
Postgraduate Certificate: Advanced Company Law I and II, University of the Witwatersrand;
Postgraduate Certificate: Prospecting and Mining Law, University of the Witwatersrand
Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
My biggest career highlight and achievement is having been promoted to partnership at Webber Wentzel, which is the best law firm in South Africa.
I am passionate about the practical training of junior lawyers and candidate attorneys. I pride myself in having compassion, excellence and integrity, which are my core values. I am often invited as a guest speaker at university law and career programmes given my experience. I also work with a number of black female junior counsel at the bar on most of my matters because I believe in the transformation of briefing patterns and to ensure that I contribute to the transformation of the legal profession in my own way.
I also do community work by assisting organisations such as the South African Aids Council and its trust and other organisations on a pro-bono basis on matters related to advancing their national programmes. I am also involved in outreach programmes at my local church. I am a community leader in Daveyton where I am from and often take up matters affecting the residents.
I have also written and published various articles on commercial disputes and environmental law. My master’s dissertation topic was on the development and application of the precautionary principle in South African environmental law.
Yes, Mr SJ Thema, who is one of the senior partners at Lawtons Africa. I met him at a conference of the Black Lawyers Association in Durban while I was still student leader of the BLA student chapter. SJ gave me my big break into the legal profession and assisted me in securing articles of clerkship at Routledge Modise Attorneys which later became Hogan Lovells (South Africa).