The three candidates recommended for appointment to the KwaZulu-Natal bench are advocate Bruce Bederson, advocate Carol Sibiya and attorney Vusi Nkosi.

Bederson has been an advocate at the KwaZulu-Natal bar for 21 years. In his interview, he said he had never taken silk because of the proliferation of “silks”, and the benefits of not doing so was to keep “your fees affordable and to make yourself readily available so people get good value for money from a senior junior”.

Sibiya, who has been an advocate for 13 years and has been responsible for mentoring many young black legal practitioners, is now serving as an evidence leader at the Zondo commission of inquiry.

Nkosi, who is a partner and director at the law firm Shepstone and Wylie, was roundly praised during his interview for his advancement of paralegals and assured that if he was appointed he would help the judiciary in rolling out the availability of paralegals to rural, often poor, people who could not afford litigating to exert their rights.

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