My name is Machallan D’abreu and I am an admitted attorney, practicing as a professional assistant under the name and style of Shapiro & Haasbroek attorneys, which is a law firm situated in Brooklyn (Pretoria), and which specialises in Family Law. I write this letter to express my sincerest interest in joining your team. In my Third year of studies at the University of Pretoria I had the opportunity of participating in an internal moot court competition held by the University of Pretoria and which was sponsored by Norton Rose Fulbright. The experience taught me the practicalities of legal representation and most importantly that cases are won in the library, in that the more thorough your research is, the more likely you are to succeed. My experience in the moot court competition has revitalised my passion for the law and its role in upholding justice. Growing up I’ve always had a passion for learning and a thirst to improve myself, and in order for me to do so, I believe that I have to learn from the best and compete against the best. I have always believed in myself and that is why I have this never give up attitude no matter how tough the challenge. As the first born of two refugee parents, I learned the value of hard work and dedication. My parents came to South Africa with nothing but their personal belongings and a dream of a better future. Growing up I watched my father wake up every morning around 03h00 am and walk approximately 13 km to catch a train to go to work. Some odd years later I became a product of my father’s hard work, being the first in my family to go to University. My father is the living embodiment of the saying “good things don’t come to those who wait, but to those that work hard for it”. It is true that the apple does not fall far from the tree, because like my father, it was through my hard work, long hours and dedication that I am where I am today. My interest and later passion for Family Law started in my Final year of study wherein I had to submit a dissertation as part of my LLB course. My dissertation was on the lex domicilii matrimonii principle (the common law principle that dictates that a party’s matrimonial property system is determined by the husbands domicile at the time of the marriage). I tackled this issues from a comparative law and constitutional law perspective. In the course of my research I was exposed to the various issues and the lack of protection that married woman and children have suffered for a considerable period of our history. Since then and coupled with my personal circumstances, I vowed to utilise my expertise and any and all resources available to me to advance the field of Family Law. Subsequent thereto I began doing research into which law firms in the country had an established family law practise with a legal team who has made positive strides in the area of family law , and two names were noticeable, that of Mr. Selwyn Shapiro & Adv. Marc Haskins SC. I then made it my mission to work closely with these two man. My dream then came true when I was employed by Shapiro & Haasbroek Inc where I did my articles and thereafter brief Adv. Marc Haskins SC to argue my admission. I have worked very closely with Adv. Haskins SC and Mr. Shapiro, our most recent notable cases are that of Ndaba vs Ndaba wherein the Supreme Court of Appeal provided clarity in relation to pension benefits in a divorce action, and the M S / M J Makwakwa, divorce. It is evident that since completing my LLB I have dedicated my professional career to the advancement of Family Law and to this end I humbly request the opportunity to contribute further to the profession, by learning from other leaders in our profession. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your time and consideration. Yours faithfully Machallan D’abreu