Christine Jesseman - Pro Bono and Human Rights Director
Johannesburg, South Africa
Christine Jesseman is the Pro Bono and Human Rights Director at DLA Piper's South African affiliate, DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyer (DLACDH). Christine is a member of New Perimeter's Advisory Board and has recently participated in three New Perimeter legal training projects in Africa. These projects have ranged from providing training to human rights lawyers from the South African Human Rights Commission in Johannesburg (South Africa) (SAHRC) to teaching LLM students at the University of Pretoria (South Africa) about economic development and running workshops on practical legal skills at the University of Tanzania. Christine has also recently been involved in international research projects for MADRE and TrustLaw.
Before becoming the Pro Bono and Human Rights Director at DLACDH, Christine spent several years at the SAHRC. Through Christine, New Perimeter was able to gain an inside view of the issues faced by lawyers at the SAHRC and tailor the training program to the lawyers' specific needs. New Perimeter was also able to leverage Christine's expertise in the specialist field of human rights and business to provide students at the University of Pretoria and the University of Tanzania with applied knowledge and insights into the intersection of these two disciplines.
“Christine has made an enormous contribution and been a great resource to New Perimeter since joining the board”, said Lisa Dewey, Director of New Perimeter. “Her enthusiasm and vision for pro bono are inspiring, and her intimate knowledge of the issues faced by Africa have been of great assistance".
As Pro Bono and Human Rights Director, Christine is responsible for the sourcing, development and oversight of DLACDH's pro bono and human rights practice, oversight of the firm's social and ethics committee and the administration of the firm's corporate social investment. Since she joined the firm, Christine has managed programs on legal issues related to inner city housing and assistance to the public at the Master of the High Court. Christine has also been involved in refugee and HIV/AIDS programs and deals with a number of human rights related matters including access to information, children's rights, the right to housing and a torture case.
Christine speaks at conferences in South Africa and abroad on issues such as intergenerational rights, children’s rights, women’s rights and the intersection of human rights and business.
New Perimeter thanks Christine for her dedication to pro bono and her work on improving education and access to justice across Africa.
I'm privileged to be involved with New Perimeter and its projects. There is an overwhelming pro bono ethic in the firm- it is wonderful to see such enthusiasm and collaborative effort from so many DLA Piper lawyers from so many different countries and disciplines. I think that New Perimeter is an example of what can be achieved with the right vision and motivation, and provides us with an opportunity to be a part of something which you can see making a difference in the world. Having the opportunity to help even one person is hugely rewarding, and reminds me why I became a lawyer.
