Quietly making an impact: Natasha Brand's unconventional journey in law takes her to Cox Yeats' growing BRI practice

Natasha Brand’s breadth of legal experience will add further depth to Cox Yeats’ growing Business Rescue, Restructuring, Insolvency and Insurance (BRI) practice, says Gareth Cremen, partner and head of the firm’s Johannesburg BRI practice.

“Her broad litigation and commercial experience, combined with her practical approach to problem-solving, will add significant value to our clients and strengthen our growing presence in the Business Rescue, Restructuring, Insolvency and Insurance space,” says Cremen.

In fact, Brand brings considerably more time in the law than her two years since her admission as an attorney might suggest. The new Cox Yeats associate first began working as as a legal secretary in 2009, before taking a longer and less conventional route towards becoming an attorney herself.

Originally studying towards a BCom Management degree, Brand was later encouraged by a lawyer at her first firm to reconsider a career in law and switch to a BCom Law. She continued working while studying, later embarking on her LLB part-time in her mid-thirties.

After completing her LLB at 39 years old, Brand subsequently undertook her articles and was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa in August 2024.

Reflecting on that journey shortly after her admission, Brand shared that before the support and encouragement she received when first working as a legal secretary, she'd previously been dissuaded from her dream of being a lawyer by some who told her she was too soft for a hard-nosed profession. "I learned, you can be soft but strong," she shared. "I learned, you can be soft but strong. You can be kind but also set boundaries. You can be quiet but make an impact with a few words. You can inspire others by just being you. Never give up on your dreams.,.. It doesn't matter if you start later in life, just start!”

Brand completed her articles at global law firm Dentons, before practising as an attorney at a boutique banking and finance firm.

Her experience encompasses banking and finance, corporate and commercial law, M&A, due diligence investigations, and commercial dispute resolution, including work in South Africa and internationally across energy, environmental, mining, and infrastructure sectors.

Her arrival in Cox Yeats’ Johannesburg office this month is also another step in the firm’s investment in its BRI practice. It follows the March promotion to partner of Steven Saunders to partner, who has been involved in recent work including the DealMakers Awards-shortlisted Concor restructuring. Saunders said at the time of his promotion that he was looking forward to contributing to the “continued growth of our BRI practice”.

For Brand, joining Cox Yeats offers another opportunity to build on the varied experience accumulated during her journey through the profession. “I look forward to contributing to complex business rescue and insolvency matters while continuing to grow my expertise and help clients navigate challenging legal and commercial situations,” she says.