Christiaan Cronjé

Christiaan Cronjé is a Namibian Attorney, Notary Public.  He holds degrees in both Accounting and Law from the University of Stellenbosch and a postgraduate diploma in Drafting and Interpretation of Contracts from the University of Johannesburg.  Christiaan serves on the board of a number of prominent Namibian institutions.  Christiaan is a member of the Law Society of Namibia, the Institute for Directors in Southern Africa and the Society for Trust and Estate Practitioners.

Practice Areas:

Christiaan provides a service that goes further than the mere drafting of contracts.  He assists clients in understanding the transaction, provides advice on all aspects of commercial transactions, including structure, risk, tax and financing relating to the transaction. 

Christiaan is able to assist in the negotiation of transactions, the conducting of due diligence exercises and managing of competition law issues.  Christiaan represents a number of clients in the financial services sector including Namibian commercial banks, insurance companies, pension funds and unlisted investment fund managers.  Christiaan is regularly involved in the structuring and implementation of listed and unlisted structures with regards to debt and equity instruments.

Christiaan is one of a handful of Namibian liquidators that regularly accepts appointments on insolvent estates.  In an economy where clients are faced with risks relating to insolvency risks from counterparties and with regards to their own solvency, the practical experience that Christiaan holds with regards to insolvency law has recently proven invaluable to clients.

Chambers and Partners in its 2021 Global Edition has ranked Christiaan as one of the leading lawyers in Namibia and indicated that Christiaan has “broad transactional expertise covering M&A and hostile takeovers, as well as tax planning and restructuring. His impressive client roster features a range of listed entities and private companies.”

Christiaan can be contacted by e-mail at cronje@cronjelaw.com. 

Helene Cronjé

Helene Cronjé is a Namibian Attorney, Notary Public and Conveyancer. Helene holds BComm (Law) and LLB degrees from the University of Stellenbosch.  Helene is a member of the Law Society of Namibia and the International Trade Mark Association (INTA).  Helene is further a registered agent for the filing and prosecution of trade marks and patents with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization.

Practice Areas:

CONVEYANCING AND PROPERTY LAW 

Helene is the responsible partner for the conveyancing department at the firm and is involved in a number of residential and commercial property developments, property transfers and bond registrations.  Helene is a dedicated conveyancer and is respected for her professionalism and her efficiency.  Helene is well known for the personal attention that she gives to her conveyancing matters.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

Helene further manages the intellectual property law department to excellence.  She is well regarded for her effectiveness and precision, and acts as the Namibian correspondent for a number of international clients from the United States of America, United Kingdom, India, China, Mauritius, South Africa and most English-speaking African nations, regarding intellectual property matters.  Helene currently assists various Namibian banks in the management of their intellectual property portfolios.

Helene’s experience includes trade mark searches, filing and prosecution of trade mark applications, trade mark litigation, trade mark maintenance, assignments, renewals, and general management of trade mark portfolios within Namibia and Africa.

Helene regularly attends international conferences in order to ensure that she remains up to date with the international developments in intellectual property law. 

Helene has built relationships and networks, over the years, throughout Africa and the world, which qualifies her to serve our global client base throughout the continent.

GOVERNANCE

Helene manages the firm’s company secretarial department, ensuring due diligence and compliance. Our office ensures quality and efficiency in the secretarial department by providing our clients with shelf companies and close corporations available immediately. We are able to efficiently assist our clients in the registration of Namibian Companies, Close Corporations and Trusts. We have also been actively involved in assisting various international entities with the commencement of their business operations in Namibia.

Helene can be contacted by e-mail at helene@cronjelaw.com. 

Heinrich Jansen van Vuuren

Heinrich Jansen van Vuuren is both a Namibian Attorney and a Chartered Accountant.  He is a member of the Institute for Chartered Accountants and holds a BAcc LLB degree from the University of Stellenbosch, a BCompt Hons as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Taxation from UNISA.

Heinrich is further a member of the Council of the Law Society of Namibia and a member of the tax committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Practice Areas:

Heinrich heads up the commercial department in the firm. 

He comes from a commercial background, having completed his training contract with Grant Thornton Neuhaus before being admitted as a Chartered Accountant in Namibia.  Thereafter, he gained experience in the corporate business environment during his employment as a financial manager in the financial services industry. Heinrich obtained in depth knowledge of portfolio optimisation, management of company assets, financial planning, -forecasting and -reporting, personnel management, compliance, taxation and various other aspects of the business environment.

Heinrich is mostly engaged in the structuring and negotiation of complex commercial transactions.  He has an immaculate attention to detail which allows him to add considerable value to clients.   Heinrich has recently been engaged in a number of listed and unlisted capital raising transactions.

Heinrich enjoys assisting clients and consulting on the effective structuring and negotiation of complex commercial transactions where he adds value with his working knowledge of business, finance and taxation.

Heinrich has a reputation as an exceptional commercial attorney.

Heinrich can be contacted by email at heinrich@cronjelaw.com

Suné de Klerk

Suné is an admitted Namibian Attorney and Notary.  She holds B-Juris and LLB degrees from the University of Namibia and has been employed at the firm since 2011.

During her studies she was the recipient of the UNAM   Vice Chancellor’s Merit Award for the Law Faculty and in 2013 she was also awarded as the best LLB student for 2013. In 2014, during her attachment, Suné received an award as the Best Justice Training Centre (JTC) Student.

Practice Areas:

Suné heads up our litigation department and is responsible for the litigation matters of the firm.  Suné has a reputation as being a highly efficient attorney.

Suné is currently engaged in a number of high-profile commercial litigious matters.  She has a keen interest in insolvency law and completed the Advanced Programme in Insolvency Litigation and Administration Practice course, presented by the University of Pretoria, in 2020.  

Suné is well regarded for her exceptional client service.  

Suné can be contacted by email at sune@cronjelaw.com.

Stefan van Zijl

Stefan is an admitted Namibian Attorney and member of the Law Society of Namibia. He holds LLB and LLM degrees from the University of the Free State.

Stefan assists with research at Mineral Law in Africa (MLiA) hosted at the University of Cape Town. The overall aim of MiLA is the evaluation and re-conceptualisation of key legal systems in Africa.

Practice areas

Stefan is employed in our commercial department.  Stefan has experience in mining law, competition law, tax related advice and litigation as well as general corporate and commercial work. He enjoys assisting clients with structuring, negotiating, and advising clients regarding the tax implications of various commercial transactions.

Stefan focuses on assisting clients with tax and commercial transactions and aims to provide feasible and workable solutions to complex problems.

Stefan can be contacted by email at stefan@cronjelaw.com. 

Carmen Ribeiro

Carmen is an admitted Namibian Attorney.  She holds an LLB degree (cum laude) from the University of the Free State  Carmen is currently enrolled as a student at the Chartered Governance Institute of Southern Africa  

Carmen is a board member on one of Namibia’s most prominent charitable organisations, the Church Alliance for Orphans.

Practice Areas:

Carmen is principally involved in our commercial department and assists clients in the management of their Namibian structures.   This involves all aspects from advice on Namibian law and the drafting of commercial agreements.  Carmen is well regarded for the attention to detail that she applies in the drafting or review of commercial agreements.

Carmen has assisted a number of clients in the establishment of intricate company structures in order to optimise tax and operational efficiencies as well as attends to the administration of existing client structures. 

Carmen further regularly acts as external company secretary to various reputable Namibian institutions, where she provides a company secretarial function at board and shareholder meetings and duly prepares the relevant board packs.

Carmen can be contacted by email at carmen@cronjelaw.com.

Katherine Amakali

Katherine is an admitted Namibian Attorney. Katherine holds an LLM in International Trade Law from the University of Stellenbosch and an LLB from the University of Namibia.  Katherine’s LLM thesis was on the “Effect of the Promotion of Investment Act of 2016 on the Investment Environment in Namibia: a legal perspective.”

Practice Areas

Katherine is employed in our commercial department.  Katherine specialises in regulatory compliance.   Katherine assists clients in obtaining the required licenses, permits and approvals to lawfully establish and continue with their operations in Namibia and she further assist clients in ensuring that their regulatory reporting is done in compliance with the relevant laws and regulations.  Katherine further has in depth knowledge of competition law and regularly assists clients in the preparation and filing of merger notices.

Within the firm’s Secretarial Department,  Katherine is responsible to act as the outsourced company secretary for Paratus Namibia and ensures that the full outsourced company secretarial.

Katherine can be contacted by email at katherine@cronjelaw.com

Heike Hecht

Qualifications:

Heike Hecht an admitted Namibian attorney, a sworn translator and holds a BA Hons. degree and Higher Education diploma from the University of Pretoria and BA Hons. and LLB degrees from the University of South Africa.

Practice Areas:

Heike is responsible for estate planning and estate administration at our firm.  Heike has a reputation for being a highly efficient estate administrator.  Heike assists clients in the drafting of wills and in the administration of deceased estates.

Heike further attends to the administration of insolvent estates and to the administration of matters where our firm is appointed as curator bonis.  Heike is well regarded for the care and empathy that she employs in matters.

Heike can be contacted by e-mail at heike@cronjelaw.com. 

Richard Steinbach

Richard holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of South Africa and a postgraduate LLB degree from the University of Stellenbosch. He comes from a commercial background, completing his attachment at a boutique commercial law firm in Cape Town and thereafter practicing as an associate at with one of the large law firms of South Africa.

Richard is an admitted attorney in the High Court of South Africa as well as an admitted legal practitioner in the High Court of Namibia

Practice Areas:

Commercial Law

Richard has experience with drafting and advising on various commercial matters and contracts including lease agreements, distribution agreements, loan and guarantee agreements, association agreements, non-disclosure agreements, independent contractor agreements and sale of shares/members’ interest agreements. He has a passion for assisting clients with negotiating favourable terms for commercial contracts.

Litigation

Richard also has a thorough knowledge of commercial litigation as well as experience with mediation and arbitration procedures.  Richard is currently involved in various litigious matters relating to business interruption resulting from Covid19 lockdown regulations.

Richard can be contacted by email at richard@cronjelaw.com.

Jacques Oosthuizen

Jacques is an admitted Namibian attorney and holds an LLB Degree from the North West University in Potchefstroom.

Practice Area

Liquidations

Jacques is employed as an administrator in our Liquidation Department.  In this regard he attends to the administration of insolvent estates.  Jacques is one of a handful of Namibian attorneys that deals with insolvencies on a daily basis.  Jacques further regularly advises clients on the practical implications of insolvency law on their operations.  

Trust Law

Jacques is further responsible to trust administration in our Secretarial Department.  In this regard Jacques attends to the establishment of trusts on behalf of clients and further to the day to day administration of trust structures. 

Jacques can be contacted by email at jacques@cronjelaw.com.

Jenaé Greeff

Jenaé holds both BA (Law) and LLB degrees from the North West University in Potchefstroom. Jenaé is attached to our firm as a candidate attorney.

Practice Areas

Jenae currently assists with trade mark searches, filing and prosecution of trade mark applications, trade mark maintenance, assignments, renewals, and general management of trade mark portfolios within Namibia. Furthermore, Jenaé assists with the management of correspondence and administration of the internal database of trade marks at the firm.

She is also responsible for the drafting of wills, ante nuptial contracts, under the mentorship and guidance of Helene Cronjé.

Jenae can be contacted by email at jenae@cronjelaw.com

Michelle Van Schoor

Michelle completed her LLB degree at the North West University in Potchefstroom in 2019 and joined the firm in January 2020 as a candidate attorney.  

Practice Areas

Michelle is employed in our litigation department  Michelle has a keen interest in medical negligence law.

Michelle can be contacted by email at: michelle@cronjelaw.

Adri Badenhorst

Adri Badenhorst holds both BCom (Law) and LLB degrees from the North West University in Potchefstroom.  Adri is attached to our firm as a candidate attorney.

Practice Areas:

Adri assists the Commercial Department with the execution of secretarial work and general administration of companies and in the closing of transactions.

Adri: can be contacted by email at adri@cronjelaw.

Anna Mart Adriaanse

Qualifications:

Anna-Mart holds a LLB from the North West University in Potchefstroom. 

Practice Areas:

Anna-Mart currently assists Helene Cronjé with Intellectual Property, including trade mark searches, filing and prosecution of trade mark applications, trade mark maintenance, assignments, renewals and general management of trade mark portfolios in Namibia.

Anna-Mart further attends to the drafting of wills and antenuptial contracts under the mentorship and guidance of Helene Cronjé.

Contact Anna-Mart at: annamart@cronjelaw.

Andria Kruger

Andria holds a LLB degree from University of the Free State.    Andria is attached to our firm as a candidate attorney.

Andria has experience in tax related was previously employed in the PwC tax department.  She has further completed a course in VAT with the University of South Africa.

Practice Areas

Andria is employed in our commercial department with a special emphasis on commercial transactions and in providing tax advice to clients.

Contact Andria at: andria@cronjelaw.com