As the World Moves: there's more to law than the law (Women's Month) 

There is more to building a successful career in law than being an excellent lawyer, says Michelle David, Chair of leading African law firm Deneys, who was re-elected for another four-year term last week. Michelle's story of how she built her own uncharted path to legal leadership is a lead feature in a special Women’s Month edition of As The World Moves. 

From early in her career, Michelle understood that markets and decision-makers change, and tomorrow’s legal business does not necessarily come from traditional sources. Now in a position to help shape the firm and opportunities for those coming through as Africa, the world, and the legal profession transform, Michelle believes it is “exceptionally important that we all have equal opportunities to be somebody in the building”.

Each year, August is Women’s Month in South Africa, commemorating the milestone march of 20,000 women of all races on 9 August 1956 to protest Apartheid pass laws, and celebrating the strength and resilience of women and their contribution to society.

That strength, resilience, and contribution is on show throughout the second issue of As The World Moves. Deneys directors Purnel Gangiah and Karen Ainslie offer an illuminating perspective on the changing face of South African law. Karen recalls entering a profession in the early 2000s that had relatively few women in senior positions, while Purnel began her career with Deneys nearly fifteen years later, with female leaders and role models around her. As the current and prior Chairs of the Women in Red Committee at Deneys, respectively, they discuss leading with compassion, and creating space for the next generation to find their own paths.

The changing nature of leadership, and the many different contributions required to build a modern law firm, runs throughout this special pdf magazine. Chief Information Officer Maurae Wooding and Chief Marketing Officer Cherisse Rao take readers behind the scenes of Deneys’ transformation into an independent firm earlier this year, and the extraordinary work by business support teams that helped make the seemingly impossible, possible.

“There is a fearless nature about this firm, a history of doing things first, and it showed in everything we did,” says Cherisse. As Michelle says, there is more to law, than the law.

Elsewhere, Desiree Reddy, a director and Head of the firm's Financial Services and FinTech practices, reflects on how fintech and digital assets could help advance financial inclusion across Africa. For Head of Social Impact Law Candice Pillay, “more” means something different. From landmark litigation to individual lives changed through access to justice, she discusses the pro bono ethos at Deneys, and why two simple words displayed in her office – "Choose Kindness" – remain fundamental to her approach.

Fellow director Rosalind Lake, the leader of the cybersecurity, data privacy, and AI team at Deneys, shares her remarkable journey from being a young lawyer repeatedly told, “but my girlie, you don’t understand the law”, to becoming a globally recognised cyber lawyer. Working at the intersection of cybersecurity, data privacy, and AI, Rosalind reflects on why relationships, judgement, curiosity, and innovation matter alongside technical expertise.

This special edition also looks towards the next generation through Rising Stars Q&As with three newly promoted Senior Associates: Johannesburg public interest lawyer Nicola Irving; Cape Town real estate attorney and conveyancer Tholakele Mrubata; and Johannesburg-based admiralty, shipping, and transport lawyer Nicholene Mazibuko.

Read the full special Women’s Month edition of As The World Moves.