THE ATTORNEY

José da Silva

Was admitted as attorney of the High Court of South Africa in 1990. After serving his articles at what was then Friedland Hart & Partners, he joined the esteemed Pretoria law firm Weavind and Weavind, where he became director in 1994. José joined Gildenhuys van der Merwe (nowadays known as Gildenhuys Malatji) in 1997 where he established the Employment Law Department, which he headed until he left to establish his own firm in August 2019.

José specialises in labour litigation before the CCMA, bargaining councils and the Labour Court. He also drafts employment contracts, advises on labour implications of mergers and acquisitions as well as on the implications of rendering state-owned enterprises corporate.

His expertise extends to business restructuring and sale of businesses; retrenchments and employment-related matters such as pension fund issues. Besides practising and advising in these areas, José also chairs disciplinary inquiries and conducts investigations on behalf of employers, including areas such as employee misconduct, fraud, nepotism and sexual harassment. He also negotiates with unions on behalf of clients.

José’s proficiency in Portuguese has given him the opportunity to practice and assist clients in foreign jurisdictions including Mozambique, Angola and Portugal. He forms part of a legal team that is defending a South African Parastatal company against a claim of US $300 million in Lisbon, Portugal.

Qualifications

BProc
Advanced Diploma in Labour Law
Certificate in Sports Law
Advanced Diploma in Pension Funds Law
Conflict Dynamics accredited mediator

Jose da Silva

Reportable judgement

Reportable judgement by Labour Appeal Court on reinstatement as remedy for substantively unfair dismissal and limitation of backpay

Donovan vd Westhuizen

With the commencement of his articles of clerkship at Van Rensburg, Koen, and Baloyi Attorneys, Donovan was exposed to and developed his understanding of civil litigation, with particular focus on contractual disputes, third party claims, eviction processes, and insolvency proceedings.

Shortly before being admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa in July 2017 and seeking to explore new field of knowledge within the legal arena, Donovan settled in a small labour focused practice where grasped the foundations of South African labour law.

Over the proceeding years, Donovan established his own practice, served as an attorney and associated for several law firms, where he not only expanded his knowledge and understanding of civil litigation, contractual disputes, insolvency proceedings, and labour disputes but successfully applied such skills to achieve favourable outcomes for many clients.

In 2023, Donovan joined Da Silva Attorney as a consultant attorney and has established himself within the formidable team of Da Silva Attorney, applying his skills in labour disputes at the CCMA and Labour Court, civil litigation related to contractual and commercial disputes, insolvency proceedings, and the development and implementation of employment and workplace policies.