Lawyers honour Savjani as legal firm closes

Savjani & Co legal firm has closed its operations after decades of outstanding service, including grooming lawyers some of whom became senior counsels (SCs) as well as four Attorneys General (AGs).

Following its closure, two senior associates at the company, Duncan Singano and Reena Purshotam, have since teamed up to form a new legal firm in town, Singano Purshotam Law Consultants.

The winded down company, owned by eminent legal professional Krishna Savjani who earned the SC title bestowed on lawyers with extensive experience by the country’s Head of State has litigated cases locally and internationally.

Purshotam confirmed in an interview yesterday about the winding down of the Blantyre-based legal firm.

Following the development, several lawyers have paid tribute to Savjani.

In a written response, former AG Kalekeni Kaphale, who started his career at Savjani & Co, said it would take an entire page to describe the experience he gained at the firm.

He said: “But to sum it up, it is the only firm that has produced so many lawyers that attained Senior Counsel status in Malawi and they include Modecai Msisha, SC, Maxon Mbendera, SC, Bright Msaka, SC, Mayer Chisanga, SC, Ralph Kasambara, SC and Chikosa Silungwe.

“All passed through that firm during their foundational years and that should tell you how dedicated and selfless Mr. Krishna Savjani, SC, OBE has been in imparting knowledge to those in his stables.”

Kaphale said Savjani has been more than a father figure and guru to those that followed his advice with keen interest.

He said some judges on the High Court and Supreme Court benches also went through Savjani’s legal firm.

Mbendera was AG during Bingu wa Mutharika’s last two years while Kasambara was AG during president Joyce Banda’s administration. Kasambara also served as AG and minister of Justice, during Bingu’s first term.

Silungwe was appointed by President Lazarus Chakwera as AG before he was replaced by the current AG, Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda.

In an interview yesterday, Chakaka-Nyirenda said he wished Savjani had entrusted someone to carry on the law firm.

“He made a name for this law firm and I would have loved the name to live on as a reminder to every legal practitioner of high ethical standards set,” the AG said.

Msisha also said in a written response that he was the first legal assistant employed by Savjani and he worked there from 1978 to 1991.

He said: “I saw the firm grow and was part of that growth. It was all about hard work and thinking through the issues. There was a lot of emphasis on professional conduct, ethics and courtesies.

“There was a lot of attention to detail. I was privileged to have been part of that success story. While one might wish the firm had carried on, but without the proprietor himself it may not have been the same.

“Mr. Savjani must have done what he thought was best for his clients. His protégés will be free to continue relationships with the clients they served under Savjani & Co in their own right. An orderly closure is much more preferable that an unplanned for ending.”

Writing on her Facebook wall, Purshotam said when she looks back at the past 16 years that she spent at Savjani & Co, it is primarily with gratitude for all the experience gained, from the life-long friends she made, and for everything that she have learnt at the hands of Savjani.

In a written response to our questionnaire, Savjani said his firm, established in 1978, is winding down or scaling down its operations.

“The process started some time ago and is continuing. Savjani & Co will still be providing advisory and consultancy services,” he said, explaining he was moving away from full time placement.

Malawi Law Society president Patrick Mpaka said in an interview yesterday they were aware of the process and it is a cause for mixed feelings, but the society understood Savjani would remain active in consultancy and advisory legal services. n