Meet the team

In the Labour law field, Tzvi has been involved in groundbreaking cases. He handled the first urgent application in South Africa to protect the rights of a whistleblower employed by a major bank. He was also responsible for the first application to court alleging discrimination in terms of the Protected Disclosures Act. He has further campaigned for the rights of unions to be registered and recognised within the workplace.

His approach on behalf of various unions was accepted in the Labour Appeal Court. He recently also won a major victory against the Western Cape Provincial Government on behalf of a partially-sighted client who had suffered unfair discrimination. In the field of personal injury, Tzvi has had numerous multi-million Rand judgments and settlements for injured clients and has litigated extensively in Johannesburg,
Durban, Pretoria, Kimberley and Cape Town.

He has substantial experience in medical malpractice claims and his most recent success was a wrongful birth claim for damages against two gynaecologists who failed to observe the evidence of birth defects.

AFFILIATIONS & COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS

• Executive Committee of the Cape Town Association of the Physically Disabled
• Former Executive Committee Of The Glendale Home For The Mentally Handicapped

PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATIONS

• Member of the Cape Chamber Of Commerce
• Former President of the South African Labour Lawyers Association
(SASLAW) (Cape Town Branch) 2001 – 2003
• Member of the South African Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (SAAPlL)
• Current Liaison Officer for the Jurisdiction of South Africa and Member of the Governing
Committee of the Pan European Organisation of Personal Injury Lawyers (PEOPIL)
• Member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers United Kingdom (APIL)
• Member of the American Association for Justice (AAJ)
• Member of the South Africa Spinal Cord Association (SASCA)
• Member of the South Africa Neuropsychological Association (SACNA)

Hayley has substantial experience in successfully litigating high profile, precedent-setting cases in the South African High Court, Labour Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court.

She has also:

• co-authored and/or presented numerous law reform submissions to the South African Law Reform Commission and Parliamentary Portfolio Committees;
• contributed to law-related academic research projects;
• conducted legal training seminars for private companies, CCMA Commissioners, Magistrates, other lawyers, civil society and social justice advocates; and
• lectured at several universities in South Africa and overseas on a variety of human rights, labour law, gender law, personal injury and transitional justice-related topics.

Angela has been with Malcolm Lyons and Brivik Attorneys since 2008 and oversees both the accounting and management of our Cape Town and Johannesburg offices.

In her spare time, Angela enjoys travelling and exploring Cape Town’s beautiful sights with her husband and two sons.

During her time at Stellenbosch University, Julia participated in various societies and fulfilled multiple leadership roles which ultimately assisted in the development of her critical thinking and thought leadership skills.

Julia is a passionate creative with a love for watercolour painting and design. She has a keen interest in all things history and enjoys watching documentaries. She is somewhat of a coffee addict and enjoys spending quality time with her friends and family.

Lucille obtained a diploma in administrative and secretarial studies and regards herself as a conscientious, sincere and reliable person who is always eager to learn. She enjoys working with diverse clients from different backgrounds. She strives for excellence in everything that she does and equally tries to execute it in a professional manner.

Her interests include outdoor activities and reading.

Candy completed an administration and client care course within LEAD (Legal Education and Development – Law Society of South Africa) in 2011 and was offered to study a civil diploma by Mr Brivik in 2019. She is currently studying a BCompt in Financial Accounting part-time with UNISA.

Her hobbies include learning new things, camping, playing tennis and music.

Mr Lyons on the strength of his own conviction pursued claims where he thought there was merit on behalf of plaintiffs and was determined to rectify any injustice when he could. The claims were varied. Although a large part of the practice grew to include recovery of damages against the Motor Vehicle Fund and its successor for the Road Accident Fund arising out of injuries which clients sustained in motor vehicle accidents, this was by no means the sole purvey of the practise.

Within a short time, he recognised that doctors were not impervious to mistakes and that their conduct could be below the standard and duty of care which was expected of them.

In the early years, it was not easy for a patient to question the conduct of the treating doctor who may have been negligent, and to pursue a claim against that doctor. A mindset of the “doctor is always right” persisted.

Obtaining medical opinion from practising doctors was also extremely difficult. At first, it was difficult to obtain co-operation from within the medical profession. Doctors closed ranks around their colleagues and it was almost impossible to obtain an opinion regarding the treating doctor’s conduct.

Mr Lyons over time was able to solicit opinions from the medical profession. It was the appeal to a sense of justice and of the undoing of a wrong which prevailed.

Attending various conferences abroad to educate himself not only on how such litigation has been conducted in Europe and in the United States of America but also by attending Medical conferences to better understand and equip himself medically to pursue claims on behalf of quadriplegics and patients with a brain injury. He imported this knowledge into the legal and medical fraternities of South Africa.

He applied this knowledge, to his many successful matters often having to educate not only persons within the medical profession but also experienced litigators and judges on what would be negligent conduct and also what the day to day lives of the severely injured entailed.

It is this broad-minded and innovative approach to the practice of law with the infusion of medicine that enabled him to successfully build his practice and the brand and to assist thousands of victims of personal injury during his career.

He has been described as an astute attorney with real class and style, a legend, a great teacher, dignified and generous.

The way in which you are remembered reflects the way in which you have conducted yourself in life.

We appreciate all your support, and kind words, and look forward to working with you in the future.