Creating his own seat at the table

Octavia Tsibes
Elizabeth Joseph

Shimue Mbudje has been practising law for years, and recently started his own firm.

Mbudje, who was the most senior admitted partner at Mbudje & Brockerhoff Legal Practitioners, a firm that was recently dissolved, is now the only managing partner at Mbudje & Company Legal Practitioners - a venture he started less than a month ago.

He matriculated from the St Paul’s College and was immediately offered a bursary to study law by Ellis and Partners. He was given the choice to study at any South African university and opted for the University of Pretoria.

“Studying away from my parents really taught me a lot about myself and my abilities. It definitely taught be how to be more self-sufficient,” he says.

After attaining his LLB in 2012, he registered with the Justice Training Centre, which is the final step when studying law. During this period he completed his practical training and articles. Thereafter, when the pace was set, Mbudje worked at two top tier firms, where he gained experience.

“When I realised that I have added enough experience to my career and that I can practice law on my own, I decided that it was time to build my own nest. If I don’t do it now, then when?” he said.

Ups and downs

Mbudje said although it is a great achievement to start your own practice, it does come with challenges and the biggest of these has been the competition in the industry.

“Law has become such a popular practice and there are more people venturing out on their own,” he added.

He is inspired by seeing his peers in the same industry also stepping out on their own.

“I love seeing them grow and become pillars in the corporate and legal fields; it’s reflective of this exciting period in our nation’s growth.”

Downtime

When he is not busy conquering the legal world, Mbudje enjoys watching sport and says he is a huge football fan. He loves watching live local matches, as he believes in supporting anything and everything local. With his job being very time-consuming, he takes as much time for himself and spends it with his family.

Although he has only been on his own for a short period, he says he has big plans to grow his firm and deliver the best service - on par with recognised standards - because that is his way of building his brand, as well as the firm’s capacity.