Van Hulsteyns is one of the oldest law firms in Johannesburg and has its roots in the beginnings of the city itself.

Lewis Peter Ford and Carl Jeppe, after whom Fordsburg and Jeppestown are named, were partners at the firm, and Sir Willem Van Hulsteyn (after whom the firm is named) represented clients in leading South African cases, including the well-known 1921 case of Robinson v Randfontein Estates Gold Mining Co. Two sons of Johann Rissik, after whom Johannesburg’s Rissik Street is named, served as senior partners of the firm in the mid-1900s.

The firm practised as Van Hulsteyn, Feltham and Ford until 1972, when it amalgamated with Duthie, Douglas and Stuart and later with Webster, Dunbar and Saner. The firm’s name was contracted to Van Hulsteyns in 1982.

Van Hulsteyns undertakes some of the most complex legal work in South Africa, such as our engagement in  a multi-billion-Rand auditing claim, a high-profile corporate minority shareholder application, a substantial number of specialized banking actions, opposing the largest class action proceedings instituted in South Africa to date, representing a major creditor in the largest company business rescue proceedings in South Africa to date, and the recent conclusion of a litigation settlement on behalf of a listed company at close to R1 billion. Most of the litigation and commercial work which we undertake is with or against South Africa’s largest law firms.

Van Hulsteyns was the recipient of Standard Bank’s annual Credit, Rehabilitation and Recoveries Top Performer Award in the field of Specialised Litigation, in both 2016 and 2017, and regularly presents seminars for banking clients on the impact of evolving case law and complex areas of statute.

We have been in practice for more than a century, yet look to the future – our firm is focused on rendering a more efficient and cost-effective service through technological innovation, and a forward-looking approach to legal services.