Cox Yeats is pleased to announce that Halstead Paola, a respected specialist property law firm, has merged with Cox Yeats to create a combined property team with more than 100 years’ experience in property law.  This merger is effective as of 1 June.

The amalgamation of Halstead Paola with Cox Yeats will result in a Cox Yeats Property Team that is one of the largest and most experienced property law departments in KwaZulu-Natal.

Cox Yeats, established in 1964, is one  of KwaZulu-Natal’s leading independent law firms. It provides legal solutions across a wide range of industry areas and disciplines including commercial, construction, property, maritime, labour, insolvency and mining and minerals law and litigation. It was founded on the two core principles of integrity and individual care for clients.

Halstead Paola, established 10 years ago, is a niche firm providing an integrated and focused range of property services.

As part of this amalgamation, Halstead Paola has closed its existing offices in  Umhlanga and Ballito. It has joined Cox Yeats at its Umhlanga head office and at its newly opened office located at the Simbithi Home Owners Association main offices in Ballito.

Head of the Cox Yeats Property Team, Robin Westley, said the firm intended strategically focussing on the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal where more than R2 billion worth of property transfers were recorded last year alone.

“It is already the province’s most  prominent property investment destination as well as the residential location of choice both now and going forward. With significant development set to continue with upcoming residential developments at Sibaya amongst others, massive infrastructure upgrades and continued investment at the Dube TradePort, we envisage significant returns on investment in this region. Our experienced property team will be well placed to contribute to that,” he said.

Managing Partner, Michael Jackson said that, in addition to its extensive experience in KZN, the new Cox Yeats team would provide both existing and new clients with a caring, professional practice.

“We offer our clients the benefit of significant resources and intellectual capacity, coupled with the personalised service and attention. We achieve this through specialised teams made up of talented, dynamic professionals who connect directly with their clients and who are also able to draw on other teams’ expertise to offer holistic solutions and advice. This kind of attention to detail and vibrant cross-pollination is what makes us a true ‘life partner’ to our clients,” he noted.

Tina Halstead and Lazelle Paola, now partners at Cox Yeats, bring more than 46 years of combined legal experience. From the Cox Yeats side, Westley offers over 20 years’ experienced, Roger Green has enjoyed a career of 40 years plus with Carol McDonald and associates Thabo Vilakazi and Kim Edwards adding to the mix.

“We are extremely excited that we are joining up with the Cox Yeats team of highly experienced professionals. Together with the rest of our team, we look forward to continuing to provide our wide and varied portfolio of clients with the efficient levels of personalised service and quick turnaround times that they have come to expect,” said Halstead.

Paola added: “We look forward to expanding on the service that we have offered our clients to date. We will also continue to work collaboratively with stakeholders across the entire property spectrum, addressing and meeting their legal requirements and enabling both investors and developers to fully realise the best return on their investments in this exciting region.”