DOING LIFE

THE SAMSUDINS DEFEATED BY ALEXANDERCOX - Wednesday, 31 May 2006 The firm ‘AlexanderCox Attorneys’, where have been employed as a legal secretary and bookkeeper since February 2002, struck victory today when after nearly 5 years of vicious legal battles finally sequestrated the Samsudin’s estate. Here is a write-up that appeared in the Legalbrief: “The R60m SA estate of businessman Dato Samsudin Bin Abu Hassan and his socialite wife, Melleney, will be finally sequestrated after the couple failed in their appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal yesterday. The couple have been involved in a protracted legal battle in their bid to prevent the final sequestration of their joint estate, says a report in The Mercury. On January 19 last year Judge Phillip Levinsohn ordered in Pietermaritzburg that the estate be finally sequestrated in a reserved judgment in which he ruled in favour of the liquidator of NRB Holdings, Pierre Berrange. In the 80-page judgment handed down at the time, Levinsohn found that Dato Samsudin – former chairman of the collapsed New Republic Bank – was guilty of misappropriating shares worth more than R40m from NRB Holdings in July 2002, and that he had committed various acts of insolvency.”

The good news was received at 09:30am and whilst a wave of EUPHORIA swept through the offices, AlexanderCox was officially announced closed for the rest of the day and 31 MAY was DECLARED an ALEXANDERCOX PUBLIC HOLIDAY! The legal team and support teams left for Tala Game Reserve where celebrations were in full swing for the remainder of the day. Here’s a photo I took at Tala of the whole Euphoric bunch – needless to say after numerous glasses of alcoholic beverages:

Back row:

Yours truly, Laurence Broster SC (senior counsel), Campbell Alexander (leading attorney, and my boss), Pierre Berrangé (the liquidator), Debbie Cox (Manager LitigAID), Julian Cox (attorney and my second boss), Gavin Morley SC (senior counsel)

Front row:

The Document Management Team (LitigAID) known as THE SISTERS - Jenny Mountain, Gerry Prior, Heather Potts, Glynis Askew, Penny Waymark and Thanusha Padayachee (Julian Cox’s legal secretary)

Absent:

Linda Musgrove and Julie Dawson (LitigAID Sisters)

- On a winning spree – Signing off