Retirement of Fairbridges Chair

Messages of goodwill flowed in for long-serving Chair of Fairbridges, Louis Rood, who has retired after 42 years at the firm, 34 on the board, and 10 years as Chair. He was only the 15th Chair of the firm, in 203 years since it was established in Cape Town in 1812. He has been an exceptional and influential leader of both the firm and the legal profession.

A BA LLB graduate of the University of Cape Town, Louis served his articles at Fairbridges in 1973 and 1974 and became a partner of the firm in 1981, and Chair in 2005. He has had an outstanding career, as a litigator, with more than 15 of his cases having been reported in the SA Law Reports. Over 40 of his articles have been published in various law journals, and he has appeared in panel discussions on national radio and television. More than 30 of his book reviews of legal works have been published. He was general editor of Fairbridges Law Letter for 27 years.

Louis is Chairman of the Library Committee of the Cape Law Society. In 2012 he received an Award in Recognition of a Lifetime Contribution to the Profession from the Cape Law Society.

He has served as a board member for 13 years of the international network of independent law firms, TerraLex, and as its Regional Vice-Chair for Africa & Middle-East. He served as Senior Vice-Chair, Chair of the Nominating Committee and Compensation Committee, on the Executive Committee and has also chaired special committees on corporate governance. He is one of only two recipients of the TerraLex Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2013 was namedTerraLex Lawyer of the Year. Louis is a member and trustee of various cultural, education and literary organisations and funds.

Fairbridges Wertheim Becker is grateful for the enormous contribution Louis has made over so many years. Fortunately he remains with the firm in his new capacity as a Consultant.