Mission statement

Our firm consists of 7 Admitted Attorneys of the High Court, of which 4 are the managing Directors of the firm as well as 5 Candidate Attorneys and over 20 support staff who will unite to assist our clients to the very best of our ability.

Each Director specializes in their own distinctive legal field. The First Director, Chris Lessing, was admitted as an Attorney of the High Court in 1989 and has 35 years of legal experience as a General Civil Litigation Attorney with an area of expertise including but not limited to Family Law matters, such as divorce proceedings, drafting of anti-nuptial contracts, protection orders, attendance to matters at children's court, the administration of deceased estates, debt collections, admin orders, garnishee orders, and contractual law and is a well-known civil litigator amongst his peers. He has also played an integral role in the growth of the company by mentoring numerous candidate attorneys on their paths to becoming prominent members of the legal community.

The Second Director was appointed as a Director of the firm on the 12th of June 2000, Ignatius Marthunis Heyns. Heyns was admitted as an Attorney of the High Court on the 6th of June 1997, who noticed during his years of articles that there was a shortage in the Kariega (formerly Uitenhage) jurisdiction of Private Criminal Defence Attorneys. Heyns dedicated his time to do thorough research and attended countless trials, bail applications (opposed and unopposed), and court appearances in order to build up an esteemed name for himself in his field. Heyns is not limited to his work in the criminal field but expanded his trade and skills to include labour law and disciplinary hearings to his departments. Heyns also litigates in the High Court.

The Third Director marked an era of change for the firm by being the First female Director appointed at Lessing, Heyns and Van der Bank Inc. Wilma Espag Van der Bank is a strong and driven woman who wants to assist the vulnerable members of the community whom have been wrongfully arrested, assaulted, and detained. She set forth to establish a department to help those individuals institute legal proceedings against organs of the state for unlawful actions caused during the scope of their employment as well as Personal Injury claims department where she headlined newspapers for her esteemed work on these cases, and more. Recently, she expanded her skills and trade to include Road Accident Fund matters. Espag Van der Bank is also a conveyancer who works hand-in-hand with her conveyancing secretaries in the registration of properties and bonds with pride.

This paved the way for Tazneem Humphries, who was appointed as the Fourth Director of the firm. Humphries was admitted as an Attorney of the High Court in 2019. Humphries did her articles at the firm Lessing, Heyns & Van Der Bank at the Kariega branch with her principle being Ignatius Martinus Heyns. During this time, she gained criminal law litigation experience as well as received mentoring and exposure by the other Directors of the company to their legal fields, which paved the way for her to be a well-rounded civil litigation Attorney. After Humphries finalized her articles, she was appointed to lead the Gqeberha branch of Lessing Heyns and Van Der Bank Inc.

Lessing Heyns and Van Der Bank Inc. has come a long way and has evolved and diversified along with social times and has rightfully earned its seat in the modern South African legal system.