The Team
Owen Salmon SC
Owen has been a practising lawyer since 1984. He is a senior advocate at the Johannesburg Bar, and is a member of Maisels Group – see www.maiselsgroup.co.za. He has served as an Acting Judge in the Johannesburg High Court, and is a Senior Adjudicator on the panel of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law for domain name disputes. With a special interest in interpretation, Owen’s field of expertise is intellectual property law. He has lectured at various South African universities both in a guest and semester capacity, and has delivered and published several articles and papers on matters relating to intellectual property law.
He is married to Isabeau, who is a musician. Their eldest son, Pierre, is a thermodynamics engineer working in the UK. Their second son, Dion, is a CA working in corporate finance in Johannesburg, and their daughter Margaux is a development and environmental science graduate of Stellenbosch University, currently working in the UK.
Outside of work, Owen spends his time taking long walks with Isabeau, listening to music and playing the guitar, in the gym, and with creative writing.
Maria Alegria
Maria is currently PA to Rafik Bhana SC, having worked as PA to Owen from 2004 until 2018. Maria is a qualified bookkeeper, and has a Secretarial Diploma.
Maria has two daughters: Sabrina is a B.Comm graduate currently working in Rustenburg, and Anita is in her 3rd year B.Comm Law.
Michele Gioia
Michele was a member of the Johannesburg Bar from 2010, when he joined Maisels Group after working as an attorney for several years. He emigrated to the UK in March 2017.
At the Johannesburg Bar, Michele had a special interest in tax, commercial and construction disputes. He successfully acted as Counsel in the largest tax dispute in South Africa; in one of the largest commercial criminal trials ever in South Africa; and in setting aside a preservation order relating to an alleged tax debt of approximately R70 million. He was instrumental in the settlement of a number of construction disputes, a field in which he has also served as both Arbitrator and Adjudicator.
Michele is married to Deborah, an attorney, and they have twins in primary school. When not spending time with his family, Michele can be found on the golf course.
Adriaan Reyneke
Adriaan is a graduate of the University of Pretoria with BCom Law and LLB degrees. After completing articles of clerkship as a candidate attorney, he joined the Bar and became a member of Maisels Group in 2011.
Adriaan has a predominantly commercial practice, focussing on banking, insolvency, property and contractual matters. He has completed certificate courses in Mining and Prospecting Law (from Wits University), and on the Consumer Protection Act (University of Pretoria).
He is married to Samantha, a practising attorney. They are the proud parents of Taliah and Ariah, still in pre-primary. Adriaan enjoys playing the guitar, hiking, golf, travelling, and spending time with friends and family.
Aimée-Louise van Dyk
Aimée was involved in litigation from 2007. In 2010, whilst Head of the Banking, General Litigation and Commercial Recoveries Department at one of the largest law firms, she was awarded the Certificate in Advanced Company Law from the Nelson Mandela Institute of Law (in association with Wits University).
Aimee joined the Johannesburg Bar in December 2012. Her practice focussed on Company Law, Insolvency, Banking, Contractual and Insurance litigation. Shortly before the first edition of this book went to publication, Aimee left the Bar.
Aimée is married to Stéfano, a businessman specialising in logistics and procurement. An avowed music enthusiast, she regrets the ongoing failure to find sufficient time to play her guitar(s) – at least, she says, sufficiently often to qualify as a muso.
Prince Michael Verveen
Before joining the Johannesburg Bar in 2011, Prince worked for several years at Coca Cola Fortune. He headed up the Industrial Relations portfolio, and was also its Legal Adviser and Human Resources Manager. During his tenure at Coca Cola Fortune, Prince was involved in over 50 cases at the CCMA, Labour Court and Competition Commission. Prince also undertook articles and was integrally involved in municipal auditing and compliance.
As a member of Maisels Group, Prince’s areas of practice include labour law, dispute resolution, company law, municipal law and property law. He appears regularly in the High Court and Labour Court, and has also appeared in the Constitutional Court.
In his spare time, Prince enjoys watching and participating in sport – with a particular interest in sports cars.
Sue van Niekerk
Before joining the Johannesburg Bar in 2013, amongst other things, Sue spent 10 years as a prosecutor at all levels of the prosecution services. In her last four years there she was a Senior State Advocate in the Directorate of Special Operations (Scorpions), where she was involved in the investigation and prosecution of complex commercial and organised crime. Sue has also served as legal adviser to the National Credit Regulator on credit law, the National Credit Act, enforcement, procurement, service agreements and labour matters. Sue’s practice as an advocate remains in these fields.
Manilla Freed
Manilla joined Maisels Group in 2014 after a number of years with a Johannesburg firm of attorneys. With a particular interest in both corporeal and incorporeal property law, Manilla’s practice as an advocate was divided between IP matters and town planning, sectional titles, evictions, environmental law, mineral law, property valuation, and provincial and local governance. She emigrated to the UK in 2018.