WINDHOEK – Stephanie Melisant de Klerk (27) was born in Swakopmund in the Erongo region on July 20, 1987.
‘’I was born and grew up in Swakopmund for the earlier years of my life where I attended West Side High School from Grade 1 to grade 7. At the time it was called English High School, which is quite ironic because it was a primary and secondary school. Growing up in Swakopmund I was raised primarily by my grandparents together with my cousins because my Mum was an actress at the time so she was living in Windhoek and spent a lot of her time travelling overseas to participate in drama productions,’’she tells.
She finished a B.Juris degree and an LL.B (Hons) degree in 2010. She has been admitted to the High Court of Namibia as a legal practitioner with the Shikongo Law Chambers where she has been working since 2011. She wakes up around 06:45 and prepare for work, she usually skip having breakfast at home and have a yogurt at the office. On the way to work she first drops her cousin who lives with her at work and then onwards to her office arriving at about 07:55. Her secretary brings her coffee and she proceed to check her mails.
At around 08:30 she starts working which can include managing the legal clerks in her division, consultations, drafting court pleadings, drafting contracts, researching and drafting legal opinions, reviewing contracts, responding to correspondences for legal practitioners and clients. ‘’I usually work through lunch because I’m not particularly fond of leaving something I’m busy with half way because once my thoughts are on a roll, I hate to interrupt my thought pattern,’’ says de Klerk
She also added that she leaves her office at around 17: 45 to avoid traffic and to get more work done. This varies though based on what her schedule looks like the next day. Apart from her profession, de Klerk is an avid trainer and enjoy moderating and facilitating discussions with the purposes of motivating thought, encouraging alternative methods of finding solutions and strategising so as to attain identified goals. For that reason she is often contracted by a progressive entity called Perfect Politics CC to moderate and facilitate discussions by the Parliamentary Standing Committees – which is something she enjoy immensely.
De Klerk is one of the directors of a State Owned Enterprise and have enjoyed the abundance of skill and professionalism that she has been exposed to during my tenure. The future looks bright for this entity. ‘’I will say though that as a young Namibian woman I have become aware that having a career is not enough to sustain an above average lifestyle. I am constantly rearranging my strategies, working and rendering my services in many different forms’’ says de Klerk
What keeps her going is the happiness she finds in knowing what she is doing exactly what she sets out to do so many years ago when she was still at school her family and friends and those closest to her that form part of her daily existence that motivate her to have yet another fulfilling day. She also thanks God for having a plan for her and enjoys seeing each of his graceful ventures manifesting in her life and that in itself is a reason to get up every morning. Sometimes (and very seldomly) the stressful and high geared nature of her carrer makes her feel down but it never breaks her. “What one must understand is that in this profession we work with many clients and each case is at a different stage of the litigation process. So you may walk out of court with a victory today, only to get back to the office and find a desk full of yet more expectant clients waiting for their day in court and hoping that you will represent them in a manner that guarantees their success in Court.”
As a lawyer she had to get used to the notion of “you win some you lose some” and having good days and bad days in court pretty early on she had to develop a thick skin early on “so it doesn’t get to me as much as it used to when she started litigating”. If De Klek would have toi change something in her life it would be to find more time to spend with her family and friend as currently her work life occupies a huge portion of her daily existence. In the country she is bothered by the plight of the young professional/ entrepreneur who is unable to be visibly successful due to the high cost of living in Namibia. “It is simply not enough in this country to have a degree, and work a full day. One has to get involved in a constant race to get contracted to do extra work. I find that the agenda is that in order to get to the top, you need to get that tender or be a part of the consortium engaged to render a service to Government over a period of time. It is worrisome that connections and the “who you know” syndrome has overridden intellectual capacity and professional ability.”
De Klerk is also worried about the nature in which men and women treat each other in this country. “ I find that notwithstanding our many progressive laws on combating violence and abuse of both sexes, the law has not been transformed into the moral values and principles by which we engage each other as Namibians. There is disconnect between the laws of the country and the conduct of our citizens- which is worrisome. De Klerk would like to see more attention being paid to the struggles of the indigenous members of society and the services available to them. “It seems in this country if you cannot speak for yourself- you die in silence. It is sad that we are more involved with the poor when a politician decides to walk a day in their shoes than when no one is looking or paying attention,” she observes.
She is not aware of any specific subject requirements to study law and this will also vary from one university to the next. When she applied to the University of Namibia the requirement was a minimum C symbol for English and 36 points overall in all six subjects. This may have changed since.
De Klerk adds that though that in order to study law proficiency in English is an absolute must. “The understanding of the English language will form the best possible means for ones understanding of the many cases you will be required to read. And added advantage could be to take up a Latin class, as many of the common law principles are based on the Roman law that had Latin as its language of instruction. Also the ability and willingness to research and read is what separates good lawyers from excellent ones so mould this skill early on.”