WHO IS LEGALESE?
ABOUT US
Legalese is a legal practice built specifically for ambitious companies within the tech and creative industries. Dissatisfied with the traditional legal practice mode, Legalese set out to redesign the way lawyers work and legal services are provided. Today Legalese is an industry leader, not just as lawyers within the tech and creative industries, but also amongst alternative legal service providers finding new ways to be better lawyers.
MEET THE TEAM
Eitan Stern
Legalese’s founder and director, Eitan is an experienced lawyer with a background in commercial and entertainment law and tech entrepreneurship. Eitan has worked with sectors across the board, from creative, advertising and media, to educational, non-profit and technology industries. He’s an established public speaker, lecturer, mediator, negotiator and DJ.
Phillip Kent
Legalese’s CEO, Phillip is an aviation law expert and commercial pilot, with over a decade of experience in the aviation industry as flight crew and airline director, and the author of South Africa’s authoritative drone textbook. Phillip’s unique combination of legal knowledge and practical experience enables him to deliver a specialised set of skills to Legalese.
Cerene van Huyssteen
As the Chief Experience Officer at Legalese, Cerene’s passion lies in fostering strong client relationships and spearheading the implementation of the inbound methodology to deliver exceptional legal solutions. She is deeply committed to providing excellent customer service, believing that the best solutions are those that put the client’s needs first.
Christian Tabor-Raeside
As Chief Legal Officer, Christian has extensive legal experience in advising on commercially-related issues and in drafting agreements for a wide variety of commercial transactions. He also has years of litigation experience which add to his approach when providing sound legal advice and resolving disputes. Christian has an affinity for and finds enjoyment in the art of words, specifically in crafting agreements that fit the unique needs of each client no matter their industry.
Lauren van der Byl
Lauren is an admitted attorney with experience in litigation, commercial law and data compliance. With her background in a large, multinational law firm, Lauren has a broad training base, which she aims to use in ensuring that the solutions that she provides to Legalese’s clients are tailor-made, reliable, and accessible. She has a dual focus at Legalese on both data and regulatory compliance including POPI and GDPR across industries, as well as a focus on commercial law which includes the drafting of various agreements, research and legal opinions.
Kyle Freitag
An admitted attorney with several years of commercial legal experience, Kyle brings knowledge and drafting skills relating to commercial agreements of all kinds, company structuring, research and legal opinions to our team, as well as a knack for simplifying complex contractual agreements. As a committed full-time nerd, Kyle keeps up to date with developments in the technology and gaming industries using his firm grasp on the law to spot potential opportunities or pitfalls along the way.
Rushni Ebrahim
Rushni is an admitted attorney with experience in litigation and commercial law. At Legalese, her focus is on drafting various agreements, research and legal opinions. Rushni majored in English Literature and Sociology prior to her LLB, and brings a fresh perspective on words and people to the table.
Karina Bezuidenhout
Karina, an Inbound Support Specialist at Legalese, brings extensive customer service experience and a background in aviation to her role. Transitioning to the office automation industry, she refined her support skills and discovered her passion for the inbound methodology. Karina prioritises building strong client connections and believes in putting client needs first, ensuring every interaction reflects excellence and professionalism.
Michael Kleynhans
With a robust background at one of the leading boutique firms, Michael is an admitted attorney specialising in commercial law. He has significant experience in drafting a wide variety of contracts and opinions as well as advising on M&A transactions and corporate structuring. His passion for yoga, culture and creative pursuits feed into his enthusiasm for finding client-centred solutions.
Simon Attwell
Simon has a background in the world of publishing and intellectual property disputes and experience mediating disputes in multiple areas of the entertainment industry, all kinds of commercial partnerships, family will and estate settlements and tech-related issues. He is an accredited Commercial Mediator through Conflict Dynamics South Africa and CEDR in the UK.
Stephan Viollier
Steph is a practising attorney licensed in South Africa and New York with a background in media and commerce. He specialises in intellectual property law, including trade marks; open source licensing; advertising law; counterfeit goods; domain name disputes and IP-related commercial agreements. Steph focuses on tech trends, with a fascination with data science, blockchain and crypto developments.
Join the team!
Do you see yourself as the next Lawyer of Legalese? Head over to our career page to find out more.
A new way of doing law
We do law differently. We’re bringing law to businesses in a way that works for you: easy, accessible, and affordable. We recognise that there is a new way that businesses operate, and that requires a new approach to delivering legal services. We are a customer-centric service provider, focused on delivering services the way you want to receive them. What does this mean practically? We aim to not just solve a single legal need, but instead manage a range of legal risks in an affordable way by leveraging tech solutions such as contract lifecycle management, fast turnaround times, digital signatures, signatory management, obligation management and clear workflows.
Chat to us to understand how we can work with you.
What can you expect from team Legalese
Our history of…
INNOVATION
TEAM
GROWTH
FUN
LEGAL
CULTURE
OFFICES
2015
Legalese was launched in the same place as many other great companies – in a founder’s bedroom with nothing more than a vision to disrupt the legal practice model. Legalese is launched as an offering to the entertainment industry and found quick success providing legal services to some of the industry’s top players such as Freshly Ground and the Rocking the Daisies Festival.
2016
The definition of the “creative client” was expanded to include artists, designers, and other creative entrepreneurs. Legalese started to become a household name in the creative industry in South Africa and gained recognition with weekly TV and Radio shows on SABC and 5FM.
2017
Legalese started to grow a team and added additional legal offerings apart from commercial and entertainment law – including trade mark registrations, and a regulations and compliance offerings. Legalese opened its first Joburg office based out of the RMB building Sandton, opening up access to the busy business life of the City of Gold.
2018
Legalese further expanded the definition of “creative client” to include the most creative entrepreneurs in our country – the tech founders and their industry-disrupting teams. Through strategic new hires and business development, Legalese set its sights on becoming the premium technology-focused law firm in South Africa. The alternative legal services and legal-tech sectors started to grow in South Africa as other lawyers began to create alternate offerings to traditional legal practices, with Legalese amongst the industry in the sector. Legalese’s team and offering continued to grow as more lawyers joined the new era of lawyers and with each new hire, Legalese was able to add additional skill-sets to their growing client base. This included labour law, data compliance, and cannabis-related legal services.
2019 – 2020
While initially badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Legalese was able to take the rapidly-changing environment and turn challenge into good luck by doubling down on the areas of focus needed most by its innovative client base. While always remote capable, the pandemic forced Team Legalese to be a primarily remote organisation – a feature which has proven to suit both lawyers and clients. This allows Legalese to hire lawyers and service clients in all parts of the world.
2021
Legalese set ambitious aims to continue growth throughout the tech community as well as assisting foreign companies to launch in SA, or SA companies to structure internationally. Legalese launched its first partner network, further expanding its service areas and capabilities for its client base. Legalese was nominated for best Alternative Legal Practice in Africa at the African Legal Awards.
2022 – 2023
Verging on our a decade in existence, Legalese has become a household name in the tech and creative communities in SA. With a solid client base, years of data and a team committed to the vision, Legalese has worked to streamline the way legal services are provided to ensure we stay ahead of the ever-evolving sector of alternative legal service providers which it helped create in South Africa. We can say with certainty that we’re building the law firm of the future.