Professional background and experience:

Riaan is an experienced commercial advocate who practices administrative, procurement, insolvency, business rescue, company law, mediation, and labour-related matters. He is a member of the Johannesburg Society of Advocates and the Protea Group of Advocates in Sandton. Riaan specialises in construction, engineering, infrastructure, and project adjudication as well as arbitration and litigation in the financial sector (banking, investments, and insurance). Having worked as a banking sector legal expert until 2005, Riaan is skilled in financial calculations and valuations related to finance. 

Riaan is accredited as a mediator with Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), Conflict Dynamics, and the Africa Centre for Dispute Settlement (ACDS). He is a chartered arbitrator and fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), a fellow of the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa), and a member of the General Commercial Panel of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa. 

He is also the Chair for CIArb's South African Branch and approved CIArb faculty member for arbitration and mediation. Riaan occasionally serves as an acting judge for the High Court of South Africa, South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg. 

Mediation experience and style: 

Riaan has considerable mediation experience both as a mediator and representing clients in mediation. These cases have spanned infrastructure, financial, partnership, family, property, commercial and petroleum disputes.

Comments from clients:

"We thank you for all your wise and dedicated efforts to resolve all the issues and help conclude a final agreement between ourselves and 'petroleum company'. We wish you continued blessings and success!"

"Riaan's divine intervention restored our family."

“Well done to Riaan, I believe the situation was managed very well.”