Jacquie Cassette

Jacquie Cassette

National Practice Head, Director

Jacquie Cassette is a Director and National Practice Head of our Pro Bono & Human Rights practice. Jacquie is responsible for the management of the firm's pro bono and human rights practice, both with regard to its existing projects and individual matters, as well as the identification of future projects. She practiced as an advocate at the Johannesburg Bar for a number of years before she joined Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. At the bar she practiced mostly in the fields of constitutional and administrative law (public law), pension fund law as well as general commercial law. She also has experience in the advertising industry, having acted as the Chair of the Advertising Industry Tribunal for a few years.

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Career

Jacquie previously taught at the Wits Law School for a few years before obtaining an LLM in International Human Rights Law at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana USA. After her year at Notre Dame she spent a year as an intern in the Office of the Prosecutor at the ICTY and ICTR in The Hague. Jacquie subsequently returned to South Africa to serve as a research assistant to Justice Goldstone at the Constitutional Court. From there she was employed as a senior investigator at the Office of the Public Protector for two years, before joining the Johannesburg Bar where she practiced from 2001 to 2013. She joined Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr as a Director in 2014.

  • In 2011 while still at the Bar and in her capacity as a member of the CCCAA (the Constitutional Court Clerks Alumni Association) Jacquie was instrumental in establishing a training project which offers training on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to members of the Alexandra community in Gauteng and the Mitchells Plain community in the Western Cape. The project, which is conducted on a pro bono basis, is a collaborative one between members of the CCCAA and Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs. The training programme comprised of full day seminars developed and facilitated by members of the CCCAA on various aspects of the Constitution and human rights. From 2011-2013 Jacquie assisted with the development and implementation of the programme which was initially piloted in Alexandra and then also rolled out in Mitchell's Plein.
  • While at the Bar Jacquie was a member of her Group's pro bono Sub-Committee and was involved in various public interest law matters.

Publications

  • “War Crimes Tribunals,” Institute for Security Studies, Annual Review, December 2000.
  • Co-Authored - Case Note – “Primogeniture Rule Upheld in Zimbabwe,” October 1999, De Rebus.
  • Co-Authored – Case Note – “Human Rights Cases Around the World, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia – Rape A War Crime,” April 1999, De Rebus.
  • Co-Authored – “The South African Legal System,” 1998, No. 6 (June) TREMA.
  • “United Nations Observer Mission in South Africa – A Significant Event,” 18 (1992/3) SAYIL, 1-22.

Education

  • BA LLB, University of the Witwatersrand
  • LLM (International Human Rights Law), University of Notre Dame (USA)
  • Year of admission as an advocate: 2000
  • Year of admission as a member of the Johannesburg Bar: 2001
The landscape for women in law
29 August 2019 Pro Bono & Human Rights

The landscape for women in law

National Practice Head and Director in the Pro Bono & Human Rights practice, Jacquie Cassette, recently joined SABC's Morning Live to discuss the landscape for women in law.

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr continues to support the Come Together Home
10 October 2014 Pro Bono & Human Rights

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr continues to support the Come Together Home

Come Together is a key project in Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr's Corporate Social Responsibility portfolio. We have seen the Come Together project flourish over the years. We are proud to be part of this worthy initiative, which has and will continue to make a significant difference to the lives of a number of children and adults in the Sebokeng community.

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