Warren attended Merchiston Preparatory School and Maritzburg College, where he matriculated in 1991. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Cum Laude in 1997, from the University of Natal, and received the Pat Merrett History Prize for his History Honours thesis.
He obtained his LLB and joined J Leslie Smith & Co, as a Candidate Attorney in 2000. He was admitted as an attorney on the 15
th February 2002 when he joined the firm as a Professional Assistant in the Litigation Department, and was thereafter appointed as a Director in March 2004.
Warren’s main focus is High Court Litigation, dealing with all forms of civil litigation, both delictual and contractual. He focuses on property litigation and commercial disputes. He is involved in a number of Land Claim matters and has a particular interest in Environmental Law, Municipal Law and the new Firearms Law.
Warren is a lover of history, an ardent cricket fan and plays squash on a regular basis.
We were able to track down Warren despite his busy schedule to find out a bit more about this dynamic director.
What is good about your practice? I find it very interesting as I am always learning new things.
You say you are always learning new things, is it about the law?
You never stop learning about the law, but I am also constantly learning about my clients. I am always meeting new and interesting people on a regular basis. In every matter I learn about my clients, their businesses or professions, as many disputes arise out of matters relating to a client's business or profession and you are required to learn all about it. You also deal with experts in different fields and learn all about their work too.
What makes a good litigator?
Someone who knows how to listen, understand and critically analyse. I believe that no one has learnt anything from talking. In order to be successful one must learn to listen and understand what the problem is. Once you have done this, you need to critically analyse the facts before you. I also enjoy the constant pursuit of knowledge which enables me to understand and assist my client's more comprehensively.
In my opinion every litigator should have a background in history and philosophy as these subjects require you to argue a particular hypothesis. For example, when preparing a seminar in history, one is embarking upon a similar exercise as preparing a legal argument. These subjects teach one how to write and use language effectively. This is an essential part of law as a large portion of our work is drafting documents, writing letters, addressing and communicating with people.