header-logo header-logo

23 September 2022 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 7995 / Categories: Features , Profession , Human rights , International justice
printer mail-detail

Book review: The Mandela Brief

"One feels that one is experiencing some of the horror of living under an evil regime and what it takes to oppose such a regime as a lawyer."
  • Author: Thomas Grant KC
  • Publisher: John Murray Press
  • ISBN: 9781529372861
  • RRP: £25

Most conscious lawyers will know of Sir Sydney Kentridge SC KC—doyen of the South African and the English Bar, widely regarded as the greatest advocate of our time, now approaching his hundredth birthday. Many will know that he played an important role in the battles against the South African apartheid regime and that he represented Nelson Mandela in the famous Treason Trial. But few will know much, if anything, about the detailed history of those battles. Thomas Grant KC has performed a real service by enabling us to get a vivid sense of some of Kentridge’s most important cases, including riveting passages of verbatim extracts from transcripts. We get to see a great lawyer at work in deeply troubling times.

After 20 pages about Kentridge’s

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Womble Bond Dickinson—Paula Myers

Womble Bond Dickinson—Paula Myers

Womble Bond Dickinson appoints Paula Myers to private capital team in Leeds

mfg Solicitors—five promotions

mfg Solicitors—five promotions

Law firm mfg Solicitors announces five promotions at Birmingham office

Brabners—six promotions

Brabners—six promotions

Brabners adds six to partnership in record year for partner promotions

NEWS
Calls to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 have been renewed, with the Bar Council arguing the current threshold criminalises children too early and risks pushing them towards lifelong offending
The legal profession's AI challenge extends far beyond fabricated case citations, according to a warning about the next phase of technological risk
Law firms should use the transition period before the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assumes anti-money laundering (AML) supervision to strengthen governance and compliance, experts have warned
Cross-border disputes increasingly demand creative approaches to gathering evidence, with litigators needing to look beyond traditional letters of request
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified the distinction between contracts of 'indefinite' and 'perpetual' duration, with potentially significant implications for commercial drafting
back-to-top-scroll