Taniesha Vaswani

Corporate and Transactional Work –

· Reviewing documentation, drafting resolutions, coordinating signing processes, and managing pre-closing conditions in connection with preference share redemption and share subscription transactions.

· Reviewing service-level agreements.

· Drafting documentation relating to derivatives and equity-linked note arrangements.

· Conducting research and providing advice in relation to the voluntary winding-up process of a JSE-listed company.

· Filing annual returns and beneficial ownership declarations and drafting documentation for annual general meetings of shareholders.

· Reviewing documents and drafting reports in connection with due diligence matters.

· In respect of loan transactions - drafting and reviewing facility agreements and related security agreements, drafting resolutions, managing conditions precedent and subsequent, and liaising with foreign counsel.

Pension and Retirement Funds –

· Drafting rule amendments and regulatory responses to the FSCA

· Conducting research into various aspects of pension fund law (including the Two-Pot Amendments, member benefits, profit-sharing arrangements, and fund restructuring arrangements).

Forensics and Investigative Work –

· Conducting asset-tracing research, researching trust-related matters and proceedings to pierce the corporate veil, and drafting an affidavit to the NPA in relation to state-capture crimes.

Insolvency Matters –

· Drafting answering affidavit and creditors' claims.

My role encompassed a broad range of responsibilities. Among other tasks, I oversaw the day-to-day operations of the physical pro bono office, including ensuring that our weekly Small Claims Court initiative functioned smoothly and coordinating the allocation and reallocation of pro bono matters to practitioners.

I also led the rest of our small pro bono team in collaborating with various nonprofit organizations to host legal education sessions empowering entrepreneurs, learners, and community members in Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain.

I would provide guidance whenever a practitioner needed help in respect of their pro bono matter and I also maintained my own caseload, including as described below.

SMMEs and NPOs –

· Drafting confidentiality agreement and terms and conditions for a small cleaning business, with due regard to the requirements of the Consumer Protection Act.

· Advice on the structuring of the non-profit organization and the tax consequences

Family Law, Litigation & Estates –

· Assistance with bringing divorce, maintenance, and protection order applications.

· Preparing documents in connection with actions and applications, including applications for the variation of divorce orders, writ of execution, default judgment, and the institution of Equality Court proceedings.

· Drafting and reviewing all wills of the office before execution, assisting with the general winding-up process of deceased estates, and lodging creditors' claims against the executor of a deceased estate.

In the Law Students' Council, I had the onus of communicating major events in the law faculty to all law students timeously and clearly through email and social media.

I was also the first go-to person for students with queries, and law firms, organisations and other entities wanting to advertise events to the faculty

This role was especially relevant during COVID-19 when in-person classes and exams were being replaced with online learning and digitally-run exams. My role, alongside my colleague from the LSC, consisted of relaying concerns of law students to the IT department of UCT

It was incredibly challenging to organize a Final Year dance during the pandemic. However, it was fun to brainstorm ideas, to converse with sponsors and eventually the dance committee decided to distribute gift bags in place of a dance for the Final Years (in order to comply with COVID lockdown regulations at the time).