Chairman and senior partner of leading law firm Scanlen and Holderness, Sternford Moyo, is the new president of the International Bar Association (IBA).
Hailing from Zimbabwe, Moyo is the first IBA president of African descent in the history of the 74-year-old organisation. He succeeds Brazil’s Horacio Bernardes Neto with a two-year tenure through to December 31, 2022.
He has held numerous senior IBA roles, including Council member, management board member, advisory board member and chair of the African Regional Forum, deputy secretary-general for Southern Africa, co-chair of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, trustee of IBA-established entities, such as the Southern Africa Litigation Centre and eyeWitness to expose atrocities worldwide, and member of the task force on Illicit Financial Flows, Poverty and Human Rights.
Recognising the achievements of his predecessors and committing to build on their efforts, Moyo, whose firm is one of the founder members of the pan-African network LEXAfrica and also a member of Meritas, commented: “It was great and visionary leadership that conceived and implemented the idea of the International Bar Association; to create relationships and exchanges among individual lawyers, bar associations and law societies; to pursue capacity building for bar associations; to promote continuing professional development in order to enhance service to the public; to protect and promote the rule of law, human rights, effective administration of justice and core values of the legal profession; to promote harmonisation and uniformity in the resolution of difficult legal problems; and to work with international juridical organisations.
“The IBA, under the direction of my predecessors and its executive officers, has been highly successful in advancing these objectives. Consequently, as I take over as president of our association, I am pleased to say that I stand on a platform of excellent work done by my predecessors and the employees of the association.
“My role shall be to work towards deepening the fulfilment of the objectives of our association and increasing diversity, eliminating all forms of discrimination in the practice of law and administration of justice. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my predecessors and employees of the association for the solid platform from which I shall be working.”
Moyo recently outlined additional objectives and areas of focus for his IBA presidency, including:
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- developing effective anti-corruption strategies;
- strengthening IBA project output from constituents to provide “role model” material to improve the practical exercise of law;
- updating guidance and recommendations regarding the extractive industries so that current strategies meet investor protection and developmental rights of the communities where the investment takes place;
- focusing on cyber security with the aim of working towards developing best practice guidelines for a new global framework for public institutions and private companies; and
- using digital resources to make the knowledge generated by the IBA more readily available to developing bar associations, lawyers in low-income jurisdictions and those at entry level in high-income jurisdictions.
Moyo’s professional career has seen him hold a variety of leadership positions, including having been a bar leader in Zimbabwe and in southern Africa, and corporate leader in mining, manufacturing, financial services and leadership development.
In 1990, he was selected by the United States Information Services to participate in a programme to familiarise young African leaders with the American legal system and its background. In 2004, he participated in a media advocacy course run by the University of Oxford.
As senior partner at Scanlen & Holderness, a large corporate law practice established in 1894, Moyo specialises in mining, corporate and commercial law.
The IBA, the global voice of the legal profession, is the foremost organisation for international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies.
Established in 1947, shortly after the creation of the United Nations, it was born out of the conviction that an organisation made up of the world’s bar associations could contribute to global stability and peace through the administration of justice.
In the ensuing 70 years since its creation, the organisation has evolved from an association comprised exclusively of bar associations and law societies to one that incorporates individual international lawyers and entire law firms.
The present membership comprises more than 80 000 individual international lawyers from most of the world’s leading law firms and some 190 bar associations and law societies spanning more than 170 countries.
The IBA has considerable expertise in providing assistance to the global legal community, and through its global membership, it influences the development of international law reform and helps to shape the future of the legal profession throughout the world.
The IBA’s administrative office is in London, United Kingdom. Regional offices are located in: São Paulo, Brazil; Seoul, South Korea; and Washington DC, United States, while the IBA’s International Criminal Court and International Criminal Law Programme (ICC & ICL) is managed from an office in The Hague, Netherlands.
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, established in 1995 under Founding Honorary President Nelson Mandela, is an autonomous and financially independent entity, working to promote, protect and enforce human rights under a just rule of law, and to preserve the independence of the Judiciary and the legal profession worldwide.
Scanlen & Holderness — Our people Scanlen & Holderness is a premier Zimbabwean law firm offering a full circle of legal services for a local, regional or international clients.
Our quality of expertise consistently earns us and our lawyers top ranking in both local and international legal surveys.
Throughout history, Team Scanlen has proudly influenced jurisprudential development in Zimbabwe.
Our continued involvement in landmark cases sets precedents in many areas of law.
We have our hand on the pulse of the law in Zimbabwe and over the years a number of our lawyers have been elevated to the bench of the High Court and Supreme Court including, but not limited to Justice Nicholas McNally, Justice Anele Matika, Justice Joseph Mafusire and Justice Nicholas Mathonsi.
The partnership as at January 2021 consists of the following:
Sternford Moyo Moyo is the senior partner and chairman of the firm which he joined in 1981 after graduating cum laudi (with distinction) and being named by Butterworths as one of the most outstanding post-graduate law students in 1981.
He provides overall leadership in addition to taking special responsibility for mining, commercial and corporate law.
He is a former president of both the Law Society of Zimbabwe and the Southern African Development Community Lawyers’ Association; co-chairperson of the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association; former chairman of Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe Limited, a leading commercial bank in Zimbabwe which is a member of the Standard Bank group; chairman of Schweppes Zimbabwe Limited; former chairman of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, board member of Padenga Holdings, board chairman of Dallaglio Investments and board member of Alpha Media Holdings Limited, one of the largest and most diversified media companies and PPC Zimbabwe Limited, the largest cement company in Zimbabwe.
He is one of the leading corporate and commercial lawyers in southern Africa.
During the early days of his career, he taught corporate, commercial and constitutional law.
He successfully completed the Media Law Advocates training programme run by the University of Oxford.
Scanlen & Holderness — Our people
Nellie RF Tiyago
After graduating from the University of Pretoria, Tiyago joined Scanlen & Holderness as an associate in January 2004.
In July 2008, she became the third female to be appointed partner since the inception of Scanlen & Holderness.
Over the years, she has specialised in corporate and commercial law.
Nellie is registered as a conveyancer, an administrator registered with the Estate Administration Council of Zimbabwe and is also a member of the International Bar Association (IBA).
She presently serves as a non-executive board member of Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe (Private) Limited, Stanbic Nominees (Private) Limited, and MMC Stockbrokers (Private) Limited.
She is also a member of the board of trustees of The Culture Fund (non-profit).
In 2020, Nellie served as a trustee and remains a volunteer for SOTZIM (Solidarity Trust Zimbabwe), a trust that was put in place in order to respond to COVID-19 in Zimbabwe and has successfully reopened hospitals and procured medical support for the nation.
She has also been active with the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) — Region 5 as a member of the Nominations Committee for the recently appointed Region 5 board and is presently on the Constitution Review Committee for AUSC — Region 5
Evans Talent Moyo
Moyo is in the professional staff committee which is responsible for internships, professional staff induction and recruiting of new lawyers.
He heads our Constitutional and Administrative Law department as well as our Criminal Law Department.
His areas of practise include employment law, real estate, arbitration and litigation as well as corporate law.
Moyo has litigated successfully in arbitration tribunals, High Court, Supreme Court and specialised courts for reputable corporate clients.
He has a passion for advocacy and pro bono work.
Memory KM Mafo
Mafo was admitted to partnership in January 2019. She joined the firm in March 2011 after having acquired four years legal experience in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
She is a pleasant proactive lawyer with interest in business management and leadership.
Mafo is looking to become a leading and influential corporate lawyer with global recognition.
She currently works in the Litigation and Corporate and Commercial departments.
Her practice experience includes representing clients in the superior courts of Zimbabwe in corporate and commercial disputes as well as representing clients in commercial arbitration proceedings.
In addition to being a member of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, she is also a member of the International Bar Association and remains a member in good standing in both organisations.
Her affiliations to both organisations allows her to be abreast with all the latest trends in the legal marketplace
Rudo Magundani
Magundani was admitted to partnership in January 2019. She graduated from the University of Zimbabwe in 2010 with a University Book Prize and the Law Society of Zimbabwe Book Prize for her outstanding academic achievements.
After University she worked for a human rights organisation, where she worked as a lawyer representing human rights victims.
In June 2012, she was awarded the Cambridge-Commonwealth Shared Scholarship top read for a Master in Law with the University of Cambridge (UK). In 2014, she joined Scanlen & Holderness.
Magundani is an avid litigator with a passion for labour law, human rights law, company law as well as international investment dispute resolution.
She enjoys competitive sports.
Brighton Mahuni
Mahuni obtained his LLB degree from Midlands State University. He is also a registered Conveyancer and notary public.
He joined the firm straight from law school as a legal intern in October 2014 and became an associate in April 2015.
Mahuni is an impressive litigator with a thorough approach to litigation. He also has a keen interest in commercial, corporate, banking, family, conveyancing, insurance and mining law.
Archford Rutanhira
Rutanhira is a graduate from the University of Zimbabwe and is a key part of the firm’s Dispute Resolution, Employment, Intellectual Property, Constitutional and Administrative departments.
He has acquired vast experience in civil and criminal litigation and has carved a niche for himself in employment law.
Rutanhira is a passionate and dedicated lawyer who is destined for greater heights in his career.
He currently sits on the board of one of the local pharmaceutical companies and the Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe under the Ministry of Health.
Thakor Ranchhod Kewada
Kewada was admitted as a Barrister at Law of the Inner Temple, London, United Kingdom, and also by the High Court of Zimbabwe.
He has been practising as a lawyer in Zimbabwe for over 40 years and headed the firm’s Intellectual Property division for many years.
Kewada has acted for a number of prominent local and international clients over the years, among them the principal parties involved in the financing and construction of national projects such as the rail and road bridge over the Limpopo River at Beitbridge, Beitbridge-Bulawayo railway line, the new Harare International Airport, the third mobile cellular telephone network in Zimbabwe and he recently conducted a landmark inquest of national importance.
He too is a consulting partner having reached the firm’s retirement age. Kewada continues to deal with all areas of corporate and commercial law, trusts and investments, estate planning, joint ventures, mergers, due diligence investigations and all forms of corporate and commercial matters.
Byron John Symeonoglou
Symeonoglou is the head of the property and conveyancing department and is one of the most experienced and skilled property and conveyancing lawyers in Zimbabwe today with over 35 years of experience.
Prior to commencing this speciality, he was at the Attorney-General’s Office, where he worked for over 14 years.
Symeonoglou is also the head of the estates administration department which specialises in wills and deceased estates planning and administration.
Symeonoglou is also a very active member in the Greek community, the History Society of Zimbabwe and other charitable organisations.
Symeonoglou represents the firm in the National Property Association and sits on the conveyancing committee of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, which makes recommendations and is influential in conveyancing matters and tariffs in Zimbabwe.
George Gapu
Gapu is the head of the Labour Law, Dispute Resolution and Litigation departments. A graduate of the University of Zimbabwe, he joined the firm in 2000.
Gapu has a special interest in environmental law and he is a co-founder of the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association, a public interest organisation promoting environmental justice in Zimbabwe.
He holds a diploma in International Environmental Law from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.
Gapu sits on the board of a micro-finance institution in Zimbabwe and several other non-governmental organisations.
Access to justice: Pandemic forces courts to incorporate remote technology IN the last months or so video conferencing has become a simple fact of life for many people — with a significant impact on dispute resolution and court hearings.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of running disputes remotely was unthinkable in many jurisdictions. The virus has forced the introduction of remote hearings, e-filing and similar measures globally. However, the success of remote technology in facilitating court hearings varies.
While commercial and civil practitioners are generally happy with their roll-out, in the criminal courts remote hearings are less common and the challenges of handling cases while protecting those involved from COVID-19 are proving tricky to overcome.
“It’s important to look at these new ways of conducting hearings and trials and see how they might be appropriate in the future. It might not be an either/or,” said Jane Anderson, co-vice-chair, IBA Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee.
The requirement for criminal defendants to appear in person, while observing social distancing, is a challenge that few jurisdictions have successfully managed.
An IBA Litigation Committee report produced in June 2020 showed the range of measures taken around the world. While most countries set rules requiring “urgent” criminal hearings to go ahead, delays are rife.
In England and Wales, the tension between keeping trials running and keeping the courts “COVID-secure” is at breaking point. The police have withdrawn from using the courts’ “Cloud Video Platform” for remand hearings from police stations.
Meanwhile, despite the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, saying in early January that the facilitation of remote attendance was the “default position”, some courts have issued statements saying this is not possible.
In mid-January last year, the Law Society of England and Wales called for urgent action to ensure court users’ safety, and a move to video by default for all Crown and magistrates’ court hearings.
In a statement also published in mid-January, the Criminal Bar Association said failure to move to more remote hearings and minimising in-person appearances would mean “there will come a point when the courts become too unsafe to continue”.
A question remains, however, as to whether defendants’ human rights are infringed if they do appear virtually. A report produced by the United States-based Brennan Center for Justice in September last year highlighted a study which found that higher bond amounts were set for defendants in criminal bail hearings conducted virtually, compared to in-person.
Research into immigration courts, meanwhile, found detainees were more likely to be deported when their hearings occurred via video conference.
On the other hand, the report also found that video hearings could improve access to justice for those in remote areas, or who lacked the time or resources to travel to court.
Anderson, who is based in Australia, says a combination of investment in infrastructure and training and the adoption of protocols and rules could well help alleviate the pressure on criminal justice systems.
Anderson says of holding criminal proceedings remotely: “If you are a judge that’s prosecuting, you have often got a lot of parties who you are having to control and direct in an environment where they are not all in the same place. That poses challenges but they’re not insurmountable.”
She agrees that concerns that a witness or defendant’s credibility might be reduced if they are not present in person are valid, but adds that: “As our technology improves and our connectivity improves there is potential for these concerns to be mitigated. It’s important to look at these new ways of conducting hearings and trials and see how they might be appropriate in the future. It might not be an either/or.”
“Let’s see how we can use this positively so that access to justice isn’t denied but is enhanced and widened,” says Anderson, who suggests the legal profession can lead in this.
The Brennan Center report says more research on the potential impact of remote technology on outcomes in a diverse range of cases, and consultation with a broad range of stakeholders, was necessary to help courts develop policies and protocols.
In contrast to the picture from the criminal world, remote justice in civil cases is welcomed.
“Commercial law has had it pretty easy. The switch to remote hearings has been ridiculously smooth,” acknowledges Tim Strong, co-chair of the IBA Litigation Committee and a partner at Taylor Wessing.
Strong says that in England and Wales the commercial courts were running hearings and trials over a range of video platforms within a month of the first UK lockdown in March.
“I have not had a conversation with anyone who have said that they are worried that the courts aren’t doing justice to cases,” Strong adds.
In the US, many civil trials have the additional burden of requiring a jury to be present, making remote trials more challenging.
“Most of the civil jury trials that have been done remotely are where there have been only two parties and a limited number of witnesses and a limited number of issues. For cases that involve any complexity at all most lawyers would want to be in court, and certainly most judges prefer that as well,’ says Frederick Acomb, senior vice-chair of the IBA Litigation Committee and a partner at Miller Canfield.
However, US pre-trial hearings have gone virtual and have been welcomed by practitioners.
“It gives much more of a feeling that things are happening, you are participating and you are getting your issues across,” says Chris Helmer, senior vice-chair of the IBA Litigation Committee and a partner at Miller Nash Graham & Dunn.
Despite these challenges, practitioners believe the adoption of video technology to keep the courts running during the pandemic will have a lasting effect — if not for substantive trials, at least for shorter hearings and case management globally.
“There is a clear need to simplify the way justice is rendered and also in an easy way to make the process quicker, safer and easier to understand for the parties,” concludes Jacques Bouyssou, vice-chair of the IBA Litigation Committee and a partner at Alerion Avocats.
IBA tackles mental wellbeing in the legal profession
The International Bar Association (IBA) last year embarked on a global project aimed at addressing the mental wellbeing of legal professionals as COVID-19 exacerbates tensions in professional and personal lives.
The key initial phase of the project consisted of two global surveys — one for individual lawyers, the other for law firms and other legal institutions, including bar associations, law societies and in-house legal departments. Available in both English and Spanish, the surveys were anonymous and took approximately ten minutes to complete.
The data gathered from the surveys will provide insight into: the pressing mental health concerns of legal professionals, the support they can expect to receive from their workplaces, how the wellbeing of lawyers and other stakeholders in the legal profession are affected by their work and working environments, identifying problems that each might have faced in getting the help they needed; and what law firms, bars and law societies should be doing to support those in distress.
Then IBA president Horacio Bernardes Neto convened the IBA Wellbeing Taskforce, which is led by IBA Bar Issues commission officers, with assistance from the IBA legal policy and research unit.
Mental wellbeing within the legal profession was one of Bernardes’ key priorities.
Bernardes Neto stated: “The devastating effects of depression, stress, addiction and other such attacks on our mental health may have preceded the current crisis, but there is no question that COVID-19 has exacerbated their impact. Yet, just as the pandemic has posed challenges for our profession and ways of life, and in the process refocused our attention to this critical issue, so it also presents opportunities for us to change for the better in the future.”
He added: “These studies will provide us with a vital global snapshot of our profession. I sincerely hope that they will lead not only to the sharing of best practice guides, but also to starting conversations in those parts of the world where mental wellbeing is not spoken about so openly, and lawyers perhaps find themselves suffering in silence.”
The wellbeing surveys have been developed in collaboration with consultancy firm Acritas (part of Thomson Reuters).
The majority of questions in the anonymous surveys for individuals and institutions alike are multiple choice and several questions pertain to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on mental wellbeing at the workplace.
Scanlen’s history and culture …
FROM modest beginnings the firm, Scanlen & Holderness, was founded by Sir Thomas Scanlen.
Born in 1834, the son of 1820 settlers, Thomas Scanlen’s early years were taken up with participating in the frontier wars in the Eastern Cape, being educated and looking after his father’s general dealer business and opening his law practice.
Sir Thomas Scanlen first set foot in what was then Rhodesia in September 1894.
For the previous 20 years he had been one of the most prominent personalities in the Cape.
He had been a Member of Parliament from 1870 to 1895 and a Cabinet minister for much of that time.
He had been Prime Minister of the Cape from 1881 to 1884 and then the leader of the opposition for five years after stepping down as Premier.
Thomas’ association with the law started in 1855 when he was admitted as Notary Public and in 1866 when he was admitted as an attorney.
He then participated in various partnerships, Scanlen and Gifillan, Scanlen and Metcalf, Fairbridge, Ardene and Scanlen and finally Scanlen and Syfret.
During Scanlen’s premiership, a Cabinet reshuffle took place, bringing Cecil John Rhodes into Scanlen’s ministry, as treasurer.
This event created the link, which eventually brought Scanlen to Rhodesia in August 1894.
In 1894, Rhodes offered Sir Thomas the appointment of chief legal officer in Rhodesia.
He was made legal adviser to the British South Africa Company and started his own legal firm.
The firm Scanlen and Syfret commenced business in Salisbury in October 1894.
Sir Thomas was only admitted as an attorney in Rhodesia on November 5, 1894, at the first High Court session to be held in Salisbury presided over by Judge Joseph Vincent.
By the date of his admission, Sir Thomas had already executed at least two deeds of transfer on October 22 and November 1, 1894, respectively.
That this was possible was due to the fact that Rhodesia had adopted the laws of the Cape Colonyat the order of Cecil Rhodes.
Hence, no difficulty arose in practising both in the Cape and in Rhodesia simultaneously.
Thus the early deeds executed by Sir Thomas reflect his firm as “Scanlen & Syfret, Cape Town and Salisbury”.
At this time in Salisbury, there were some 250 buildings. Of these, 24 were retail businesses, six were bars, nine were hotels, two were manufacturers with very limited number of professional and trades people.
When Sir Thomas took up full-time involvement with the Chartered Company in 1898, his son, Arthur Dennison Scanlen, who had completed his law degree at Oxford University, joined his firm.
In 1908 Sir Thomas became seriously ill with malaria. He was not expected to survive, but the old warhorse that he was, he did so and over the next few years travelled up the East Coast of Africa to Egypt and the following year through to Palestine, Greece, Italy and Switzerland.
Sir Thomas Scanlen died in Salisbury on May 15, 1912.
A new partnership is born …
If Sir Thomas was the seed which caused the firm to take root, and if his son Arthur was the stake which enabled the sapling to grow up straight, the enrichment and care which led to the formation of the branches and maturing and nurturing of the tree was provided by James Edmund Holderness, better known as “Jim”.
Jim was one of nine children born to Harry Hardwick Holderness, a Parish Priest of Adlingfleet, England, and his wife Mary.
Jim went to St Edmund’s Clergy Orphan School in Canterbury, his father having died when he was just over three years old.
When young Jim turned 17, his brother, Christopher (“Kit”) proposed that he should join him in Rhodesia.
Jim needed little prodding and, with the Anglo Boer War coming to an end, he travelled to Cape Town by ship and then took the train to Bulawayo arriving there early in 1902.
While at Kimberly, Jim had seen a newspaper billboard announcing the death of Rhodes.
As soon as he arrived at Bulawayo Station, he bought a bicycle from Duly’s so that he could ride to Matopos for Rhodes’ funeral.
Jim was employed as the judge’s clerk of Judge Joseph Vincent, who was senior judge of the High Court of Southern Rhodesia.
Judge Vincent mentored his young clerk, took him on circuit and generally encouraged him in every way possible.
Jim had served articles with Frames and Coghlan in Bulawayo. He was taken on by Arthur Scanlen as a professional assistant on January 1, 1906.
At that time, Arthur Scanlen was in partnership with “Jimmy” Nicholas, whose sister “Birdie”, was Arthur’s wife.
The firm at that time was known as “Scanlens” and the firm’s offices were at United Rhodesia Goldfields Offices, later known as Haddon Hall.
It was situated at the southwest corner of the junction of Pioneer Street and Manica Road diagonally opposite the Queens Hotel.
In 1907, Jim was invited to join Arthur Scanlen in the partnership at which time the name Scanlen & Holderness became the style under which the practice practised.
Around this same time, the firm moved to its second home further east along Manica Road to a building one away from the still standing, though considerably altered, Broadcasting House or Old Post Office.
This was to be the firm’s home for the next 43 years. This move was prompted by the general move to the commercial establishment from the Kopje to what, was then called, the Causeway.
Even today, most of the old buildings along Manica Road (now Robert Mugabe Road), between Kingsway (now Julius Nyerere Way) and First Street reflect the building boom which occurred in about 1910.
Buildings such as Store Brothers, Arnold Buildings and Feredays all reflect the hope, excitement and promise of that era.
The same two partners ran their business from 1908 until the death of Arthur in 1936. Equal shares in the partnership were only achieved in 1928.
Following the family footsteps
Following the death of Arthur, Jim toiled on as the sole partner and carried the whole burden of the firm with the help of a formidable bookkeeper/typist, Mrs Mae Mitchel whom it was stated, doted upon and fiercely protected her boss.
Although Jim must have been under enormous pressure during these years, he seems ever to have been courteous, caring and conscientious.
According to his eldest son, Richard, “all his life he was careful with money and had great sympathy for people who were hard up”.
This feeling of compassion must, no doubt, have been forged through his own childhood and sowed the seed which led his one son, Richard, going into the ministry, even though he had completed his law degree in anticipation of joining the firm.
The second son, John, had joined the firm as an articled clerk in 1931 obtaining admission as an attorney, notary, and conveyancer in 1937.
Hardwicke Holderness having completed his schooling at Prince Edward in 1932, studied law, first at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, after which he won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford.
Then followed the Second World War. Thus, only after its close in 1945 was he in a position to return home and take up his articles in the firm.
Both John and Hardwicke joined the Rhodesia Air Force Squadrons during the Second World War.
John flew spitfires and became one of “the few” of those redoubtables who flew so magnificently and courageously during the Battle of Britain.
Hardwicke became a bomber pilot with Coastal Command and finished the war as a Wing Commander, and decorated with the DSO and DFC. At the same time another Rhodes scholar and person long rooted in Rhodesia took up articles with him.
This was CPJ (Pat) Lewis, whose father had been Chief Justice and was to be a Judge of Appeal.
Hardwicke Holderness and Pat Lewis were to be the foundation upon which was built the next half century of legal service and practice by Scanlen & Holderness.
During the politically explosive years which followed, the firm fearlessly fought many legal battles on behalf of African nationalists and represented most of its hierarchy.
Included among its legal challenges were those in which the firm represented Madzimbamuto and Baron in seeking to have UDI declared illegal, and Chief Rekayi Tangwena in seeking to retain his land in the eastern districts of the country.
This tradition is continued today as Scanlen & Holderness represents many of those affected by the abrogation of the rule of law in Zimbabwe.
