Luke Kleinsmidt

Experience

Luke has been in our Dispute Resolution department since July 2023, and has worked on a diverse range of litigious matters encompassing mediation, arbitration and court proceedings. Luke also has extensive experience in court administration.

Credentials

Education

LLB; University of Western Cape

LANGUAGES

English

News

Agriculture, Aquaculture & Fishing

Why the commencement date of liquidation is important, and how its possible manipulation should be interrogated

The case of Enyuka Prop Holdings (Pty) Ltd v United Merchants CC and Others 2025 JDR 2947 (GJ) untangles a web of what the court described as “ collusive dealings ” between two related...

Ministerial discretion in the allocation of fishing rights

On 18 December 2023 the former Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (Minister), Barbara Creecy, upheld the decision to refuse Jaffas Bay Fishing CC (Jaffas Bay) commercial...

The consequences of selective payments to creditors by insolvents

In sequestration proceedings, achieving equity for the body of creditors must prevail over the interests of a select few. This was the central point in Astra Constantine Inc v Jones...

International Arbitration

Safeguarding your good name: A podcast on defamation

In this episode of CDH Conversations, Tim Fletcher, Luke Kleinsmidt and Elham Shaik in the Dispute Resolution practice, discussed potential strategies when instituting defamation claims...

Opt in or out: Unilateral option clauses in international arbitration

The 2024 edition of the Clifford Chance Unilateral Option Clauses Survey considers the validity of unilateral option clauses in 120 jurisdictions around the world, including 28 countries...

Tribunal takes no nonsense with director removals

Section 71 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 (Act) sets out the process of removing a director of a company. Usually, subsections 3 and 4 would apply, which prescribe (i) a shareholder...

Robin Hood and the anti-dissipation interdict

The legend goes that once upon a time and in a land far, far away, Robin Hood and his merry band spent their time stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. With Little John, Friar...

Seeds of opportunity: Exploring cannabis and hemp cultivation laws in South Africa and beyond

In 2018, the Constitutional Court of South Africa decriminalised the private use and cultivation of cannabis for personal consumption in the renowned judgment of Minister of Justice...

From promise to peril: The duty of credit providers to conduct proper affordability checks

Credit providers have a general duty to conduct proper affordability assessments prior to granting loans or providing credit of any sort to debtors. Failure to adequately do so may...

Undoing what has been done: Setting aside transactions in terms of the Insolvency Act

The Western Cape High Court recently illustrated that timing and the nature of a transaction are key when relying on section 26(1) of the Insolvency Act 24 of 1936 (Act) for the purpose...

Unpacking the urgency of urgent applications: Not just for the taking

” The wheels of justice turn slowly .” We have all heard this phrase at one point or another. It is not uncommon for a litigant to wait years before a hearing date for a matter is...

How ‘appealing’ is an automatic right of appeal to the next highest court

An appeal involves an application to a higher court for the reversal of a decision of a lower court. For a court’s decision to be suspended pending the outcome of an automatic appeal,...

Director removals: Is there any reason to give reasons?

Navigating the inconsistencies in the manner in which our courts and regulators apply the law regarding director removals at the instance of the shareholders.

Understanding South Africa’s FATF greylisting

On 24 February 2023, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) took the decision to include South Africa on its " grey list ", thereby classifying it as a jurisdiction under increased...

All articles by Luke

Agriculture, Aquaculture & Fishing

Why the commencement date of liquidation is important, and how its possible manipulation should be interrogated

The case of Enyuka Prop Holdings (Pty) Ltd v United Merchants CC and Others 2025 JDR 2947 (GJ) untangles a web of what the court described as “ collusive dealings ” between two related...

Ministerial discretion in the allocation of fishing rights

On 18 December 2023 the former Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (Minister), Barbara Creecy, upheld the decision to refuse Jaffas Bay Fishing CC (Jaffas Bay) commercial...

International Arbitration

The consequences of selective payments to creditors by insolvents

In sequestration proceedings, achieving equity for the body of creditors must prevail over the interests of a select few. This was the central point in Astra Constantine Inc v Jones...

Opt in or out: Unilateral option clauses in international arbitration

The 2024 edition of the Clifford Chance Unilateral Option Clauses Survey considers the validity of unilateral option clauses in 120 jurisdictions around the world, including 28 countries...

Tribunal takes no nonsense with director removals

Section 71 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 (Act) sets out the process of removing a director of a company. Usually, subsections 3 and 4 would apply, which prescribe (i) a shareholder...

Robin Hood and the anti-dissipation interdict

The legend goes that once upon a time and in a land far, far away, Robin Hood and his merry band spent their time stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. With Little John, Friar...

Seeds of opportunity: Exploring cannabis and hemp cultivation laws in South Africa and beyond

In 2018, the Constitutional Court of South Africa decriminalised the private use and cultivation of cannabis for personal consumption in the renowned judgment of Minister of Justice...

From promise to peril: The duty of credit providers to conduct proper affordability checks

Credit providers have a general duty to conduct proper affordability assessments prior to granting loans or providing credit of any sort to debtors. Failure to adequately do so may...

Undoing what has been done: Setting aside transactions in terms of the Insolvency Act

The Western Cape High Court recently illustrated that timing and the nature of a transaction are key when relying on section 26(1) of the Insolvency Act 24 of 1936 (Act) for the purpose...

Unpacking the urgency of urgent applications: Not just for the taking

” The wheels of justice turn slowly .” We have all heard this phrase at one point or another. It is not uncommon for a litigant to wait years before a hearing date for a matter is...

How ‘appealing’ is an automatic right of appeal to the next highest court

An appeal involves an application to a higher court for the reversal of a decision of a lower court. For a court’s decision to be suspended pending the outcome of an automatic appeal,...

Director removals: Is there any reason to give reasons?

Navigating the inconsistencies in the manner in which our courts and regulators apply the law regarding director removals at the instance of the shareholders.

Understanding South Africa’s FATF greylisting

On 24 February 2023, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) took the decision to include South Africa on its " grey list ", thereby classifying it as a jurisdiction under increased...

All articles by Luke