Law School Produces Graduates of the Highest Calibre

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The commitment by UKZN’s Law School to excellent, effective, ethical and socially relevant legal education has again produced an impressive batch of summa cum laude graduates.

The following high achievers were recognised during this year’s School of Law Graduation ceremony: Mr Ugendran Odayar, Ms Seham Areff, Mr Caleb Jones, Mr Ntokozo Qwabe,Mr Jason Larkin, Ms Tafazwa Chiposi, Ms Sarah Kannapathi, Ms Tasmika Ramkaran and Mr Mohammed Saib.

Odayar  scooped the overall winner of the 2013 Annual Prize Moot Final in Pietermaritzburg and was the recipient of the Matthew Francis Incorporated Attorneys Prize for Best Civil Procedure student; the Venn Nemeth & Hart Prize for the Best Administrative Law student;  the J Leslie Smith & Company Prize; the Cox Yeats Prize for the Best Corporate Law student; the Werksman  Negotiable Instruments Prize; the LexisNexis Prize for Best Maritime Law student and Top Overall student; the Phatshoane Henney Group Honour Medal  and the Pietermaritzburg Attorney’s Association and F.B Burchell Memorial for the Annual Prize Moot Final Moot .

Odayar, who is currently serving his articles at Norton Rose Fulbright said he intends to use his LLB as a stepping stone in the pursuit of a career as an attorney.

‘I believe that this qualification will definitely assist me in reaching this stage. This achievement has showed me that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Initially I used to look at the board of LLB graduates who graduated summa cum laude and always believed that it was virtually impossible to achieve,’ he said.

Apart from the highlight of graduating summa cum laude, Areff and Qwabe are recipients of the South Africa at Large and KwaZulu-Natal Rhodes Scholarships respectively. The pair will use the scholarships to further their studies at Oxford University in England for two years. At the awards ceremony, Areff received the LexisNexis Prize for the Best Gender & Law student and the both she and Qwabe were awarded the Phatshoane Henney Group Honour Medal and the 22^nd Africa Human Rights Moot Competition.

Jones was another high achiever at the awards ceremony receiving the Abel Torf Prize for the Best Overall LLB student, the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society Prize for the Best Overall Student, and the Garlicke&Bousfield Prize for the Best Environmental Law Student.

Commenting on his achievements, Jones said studying for an LLB was no easy task as it often meant many late nights and hours behind books but the rewards were worth it.

‘Coming into my studies for my LLB my goal was to eventually graduate summa cum laude. Throughout the four years I had managed to keep my grades at that level and knew I was on par to achieve my goal. My family has been a pillar of strength for me during my degree and they were equally as happy as I was. It finally felt that the many hours of hard work had paid off and had been worth the effort. It was a personal victory for me to know that I can achieve whatever I set my mind on,’ he said.

-          Thandiwe Jumo