Best Lawyer

South African Taswell Papier, from Cape Town, was recently named the world's 2006 Lawyer of the Year at the Legal Business Awards in London. He was the first African attorney to have been nominated for the awards that started in 1997. Taswell, born in Steenberg, was honoured for his pro bono work at the Mitchell's Plain offices of Sonnenberg Hoffmann Galombik. The firm was the first corporate firm to start up a dedicated pro bono office. Taswell ia a former president of the Cape Law Society and had his own law firm for 17 years. He graduated from the University of the Western Cape and has a master's degree in law from Harvard University. He has been invited to the New York Bar to speak on pro bono work, and the Mitchell's Plain office is to be used as a model in the UK.