| Whether
Anthony Grant is flying his Piper Arrow or litigating,
he likes adrenaline. Anthony specialises in insolvency
litigation and asset recovery, and directs our Debt
Recoveries Department and Debt Recoveries Call Centre.
We caught up with Anthony on terra firma for a shot
of caffeine …
I enjoy
the urgency of litigation. Quick action
can make a real difference to a client who is under
pressure. This can range from the urgent liquidation
of a large corporate debtor to an interdict preventing
the plagiarizing of a client's design.
We like
to get to the heart of clients' debtor problems.
This can mean liquidating a corporate debtor or sequestrating
an individual. It does not take much to trigger liquidation
for an undisputed debt - either an admitted or deemed
inability to pay a debt. A corporate debtor is deemed
to be unable to pay if a registered letter of demand
has been sent and the debtor has not made payment within
21 days.
Debtors
sometimes hide assets to frustrate liquidation.
The investigative work involved in tracking down these
assets can be exciting. A wife recently administered
some much-needed justice to her abusive husband. She
phoned in and told us where her husband, who was a major
debtor, had hidden substantial assets. The court-appointed
trustee was able to a make a substantial recovery.
Industrial
espionage recently threatened a client.
A competitor bribed a client's employees to spy on his
operations. We got an urgent order authorizing a search
of the competitor's premises. Stolen management accounts,
bank statements and other confidential information were
recovered. In the end, we obtained an interdict against
the competitor to stop him from interfering with my
client's business. A substantial damages claim is underway. |
We aim
for tangible results in our Collections Department
and Call Centre. It is very easy to
shuffle paper in the collections industry and not
produce any cash for clients. We like to think that
we have succeeded only if clients see results. The
Call Centre focuses on municipal debt and has the
real benefit of being fast and effective. It takes
a call centre operator five minutes to pick up the
phone, trace a debtor and persuade him of the wisdom
of making payment.
Municipal
debt is in need of management. Municipalities
have historically relied on outdated customer data
and the power to withhold rates clearance certificates
to facilitate their debt collection. The problem is
that contact data quickly becomes outdated when consumers
move, while clearance certificates only give leverage
when the owner wants to sell. A municipality could
carry a debt for years if it waits for a property
to come up for sale. The Call Centre helps our municipal
clients clean up their data, track down debtors and
get fast payment.
Flying
has opened up new possibilities. I
recently had to bring an urgent application in the
Johannesburg High Court on half an hour's notice.
Earlier this year, I flew one of my partners to Mozambique
to meet with a client involved in a dispute over a
beach lodge. The dispute has just been favourably
settled. Sometimes being an attorney and a pilot works
out well.
|
ffee
with anthony
