| Pat Dewes is an avid
fan of the TV series Boston Legal. He feels that
the director has got courtroom drama just right,
but perhaps stretches the glamor of our profession
rather thin. Over a cup of coffee we found out what
Pat's career as a litigator means to him …
You won't find any best selling novels
on conveyancing. I'm flinching at the
reaction of my conveyancing colleagues, but that
is the bottom line. Conveyancing is important,
but litigation can be a pure adrenaline rush.
After all, authors like John Grisham make fortunes
writing about litigation attorneys, not conveyancers.
One of the rewards is variety.
If you look through my filing cabinets you'll
find files dealing with anything from diseased
potatoes, to provincial boundaries, medical negligence
and plantation fires. As a litigator, you have
to develop a working knowledge of your subject
matter - you're always learning something new.
I'm not a good loser. This can
be a bit tedious on the golf course, but it is
important for my work. I like the fact that clients
entrust their problems to me with a view to producing
a positive result. Victory is important.
A milestone was winning a significant damages
claim for a KFC franchisee. Our client
owned the most successful Kentucky Fried Chicken
outlet in South Africa, which was listed amongst
the top 100 KFC outlets worldwide. We instituted
legal action when a municipality constructed a tunnel
along our client's road frontage and sales dropped
dramatically.
|
The matter went
all the way to the Appellate Division. I received
the judgement by fax at nine in the morning and
went round to my client's offices, unannounced,
with a bottle of champagne. No further litigating
was done that day!
Courts are fascinating
places. There's the human drama that
inevitably surrounds conflict, not to mention
suspense as to the outcome. Ritual also plays
a role. It may seem archaic, but ritual is important
because it influences behaviour and attitudes.
A magistrate or judge, for example, is always
seated on a platform, above the lawyers, the litigants
and everyone else in the courtroom. This encourages
a respect for the court, regardless of how you
may feel about a particular judgement.
Joining Venn Nemeth and Hart has been
like coming home. I have spent my career
to date in another Maritzburg law firm, where
I was chairman of the board. The irony is that
two partners from Venn Nemeth and Hart offered
me a conveyancing position while I was completing
my articles. I declined because I did not want
to be a conveyancer.
Litigation isn't Boston Legal.
But I do think that litigators have got the best
part of the job. And, surprisingly, I still think
that when I am preparing for a court hearing in
the early hours of the morning …
|
ffee
with pat 
