Return to Cape Town

In September 2014, I was fortunate to be one of a team of DLA Piper lawyers from around the world to participate in a pro bono teaching programme at the University of the Western Cape - a public university located in Cape Town and widely considered to be one of the best universities in South Africa. The course, which lasted five days, focused on teaching students from South Africa and neighbouring countries about Special Economic Zones, with a special emphasis on the use of such zones in the African context.

The appreciation shown by the students was truly incredible and made the experience all the more rewarding. The students were attentive, engaged and actively took part in the discussions, showing a clear interest in the subjects being covered.

I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in the programme, as I felt that our work added genuine value to the students' experience. From a personal perspective, having spent a year on an LLM programme in Cape Town myself, I was pleased to be able to give something back to the beautiful country of South Africa and Cape Town in particular.

Moreover, the experience permitted me to interact and engage with other members of the team and get to know colleagues from other DLA Piper offices, whom I had not previously met. The team included Claire Donse (Paris) who both taught and organised the programme, Timothy Lohse (Palo Alto), Cezanne Britain (Johannesburg), Kathleen Ruhland (Minneapolis) and Andrew Chegwidden (Dubai).

I am very thankful for the help and support of all the participants, especially the students themselves, and look forward to similar opportunities in the future.