Dawn joined MHA in 2006 as head of the firm’s Labour and Employment practice. Since joining, she has advised numerous major public institutions and multi-national businesses in the private sector. She is consistently recognised as one of the country’s leading labour practitioners by Best Lawyers, and has acted as a Judge in the Labour Court, for four stints in 2015, 2019, 2023 and 2024.

Dawn participated in drafting the regulations to the Labour Relations Act, 1995, and Skills Development Act, 1998. Since her admission as an attorney in 1999, she has practiced almost exclusively in the field of labour law.

Dawn has experience in both individual and collective labour law, having represented clients in dismissal and unfair labour practice disputes at the CCMA as well as urgent applications interdicting strikes in the Labour Court. Dawn regularly appears in the Labour Court initiating or opposing reviews and Dawn has advised clients on S197 transfers, restructuring, retrenchments (small and large), changes to terms and conditions of employment and various other employment-related matters. She advises clients on internal employment-related matters and policies, and regularly chairs disciplinary enquiries and prosecutes internal misconduct, poor work performance and incapacity hearings. In the area of collective labour law, Dawn has advised clients on the issue of organisational rights, and has provided legal support and guidance during the Transnet nationwide strike in 2022.

Dawn supports businesses both private and public, local and multi-national, across all sectors, including the mining, telecommunications, manufacturing, aviation, transport and education sectors.

She has authored numerous articles offering insights into a variety of legal developments published in the South African Labour Bulletin (SALB), Contemporary Labour Law Journal (CLL) and Industrial Law Journal (ILJ) and has recently been published on the websites of independent national news media houses.

She is an active member of the South African Society of Labour Law (SASLAW), and recently presented at the 2023 SASLAW National Conference on the current status of the law relating to strike ballots in South Africa. Dawn also offers her services at the SASLAW Pro Bono Clinic and has assisted Pro Bono.Org from time to time.

Dawn has a BA (Hons)( Wits), LLB (UNISA) and an LLM degree in Labour Law (with distinction) from Wits.

Dawn’s recently reported judgments are:

• Statistics SA v Molebatsi & others (2019) 40 ILJ 2603 (LC)
• Njikelana v Kruger NO & others (2019) 40 ILJ 2380 (LC)
• Botes v City of Johannesburg Property Co SOC Ltd & another (2021) 42 ILJ 530 (LC)
• Mohube v CCMA and Others (2023) 44 ILJ 1683 (LAC)