About Gerhard
"Originally, I headed for music. I completed my directorate in piano and began studying the art formally, believing my future lay in melody and harmony. But life, like music, has modulations. Somewhere between the crescendo of chords and the silence between notes, I discovered law, and it became an obsession.
I enrolled for my LLB, and through what I can only describe as synchronicity, I stumbled into a position at Oosthuizen Du Plooy Attorneys as a Litigation Assistant. It wasn’t calculated. It wasn’t strategic. It was serendipitous. And strangely enough, some part of my music background, the discipline, the interpretation, and the structure, secured my position. With my foot in the door and my mind immersed in law, those four years became the scaffolding of something greater. They sharpened my reasoning, deepened my procedural instincts, and gave me a front-row seat to the beat of litigation. It was the perfect counterpoint to my academic studies, theory met practice, and the result was transformative."
"I have learned that you can plan your life like a score, but sometimes the most powerful movements are improvised. From music to law, from chance to conviction, I didn’t just get my foot in the door; I found direction. And while my career is still unfolding, I know I’m composing it with purpose, one deliberate note at a time."
On enrolling at the Gawie le Roux Institute of Law
"When the legal winds began to stir, my peers pointed to one lighthouse: GLR. Their reputation isn’t just spoken, it's echoed. In court corridors, in study groups, in the quiet confidence of candidates who’ve walked the path and emerged sharper, steadier, stronger. GLR isn’t just a school; it’s a forge. And I wanted to be shaped by fire, not warmed by comfort."
A masterclass in precision
"The PVT lecturers are not just educators, they’re artisans of the law. They don’t teach from a distance; they dissect, they challenge, they illuminate. Every lesson feels like a masterclass in precision, every module like a blueprint for practice. You don’t just learn the law, you learn how to live it.
I chose GLR because I wanted more than a programme. I wanted a proving ground. A place where excellence isn’t aspirational – it’s expected. Where the standard is high because the stakes are real. And I’ve never looked back. Because when you choose a school that believes in your potential before you’ve proven it, you rise to meet it. GLR didn’t just prepare me for law, it prepared me for impact."
400-hour vs 150-hour PVT programme of structured course work
"I don’t believe in shortcuts that skip the soul of a journey. Law is not a sprint through statutes; it’s a slow, deliberate walk through the architecture of justice. I chose the 400-hour PVT programme because I aimed for more than just a certificate; I wanted immersion. I wanted to feel the pulse of procedure and trace the veins of legal logic with my own hands, not just read about them in passing.
Even though my PVT contract spans over a two-year period, I knew that the longer route would offer a richer harvest. The 400-hour course gave me more structure, discipline, and the kind of sensory, methodical learning that sticks, the kind that builds muscle memory in the mind."
"It’s the difference between watching someone play piano and learning to play it yourself, note by note, with aching fingers and growing grace."
"In law, detail is not decoration; it’s the foundation. I’ve always believed that the long way around is often the only way through. The shortcut may look appealing, but it rarely teaches you how to navigate the terrain when the map disappears. So I opted for depth. For rigour. For the kind of training that doesn’t just prepare you for law, but prepares you for the courtroom, the client, the crisis. Because when the stakes are high, you don’t want to be the one who skimmed."
On facing challenges
"Imagine juggling fire while walking a tightrope. Between the relentless pulse of law firm deadlines, the cerebral demands of legal drafting, and the looming of upcoming board exams, I was also navigating law school, nurturing interpersonal relations, and sketching a blueprint for a master’s degree. Time, in moments like these, becomes both adversary and ally. It tests your resolve, but it also teaches you rhythm. I learned to dance with it, not perfectly, but purposefully.
What kept me grounded wasn’t just discipline. It was curiosity, commitment, and a kind of quiet stubbornness. I didn’t chase balance; I chased clarity. I kept my eyes on the goal, and like Henry Ford said, 'Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal'. So I didn’t look away.
Challenges didn’t disappear; they simply faded into the background, like noise behind a symphony. What remained in focus was the melody: the vision, the ambition, the reason I started. In law, we learn to hold contradictions, urgency, patience, precision, and empathy. My PVT journey taught me to hold life in the same way. And somehow, in the midst of it all, I didn’t just survive. I evolved."
Gerhard's tips for PVT students
- "Don’t think – just do: Overthinking is the thief of momentum. The 400-hour GLR PVT School isn’t something you tiptoe into; it’s something you dive into headfirst. Trust the process. Trust yourself. The water may be cold at first, but you will find your rhythm and adapt.
- Embrace the chaos and make it your own: Law isn’t tidy. It’s layered, unpredictable, and beautifully complex. The programme mirrors that. You’ll juggle deadlines, doctrines, and doubts. Let it stretch you. Let it shape you. Be open. Be mendable. Like clay on the wheel, you are being sculpted into something formidable.
- Treat every task like it matters because it does: Whether it's a notice of motion or a particulars of claim, give it your full weight. The habits you build here become the instincts you rely on later.
- Remember, the long way is often the shortcut: The 400 hours aren’t just hours. They’re scaffolding. They’re the difference between knowing the law and embodying it. They’re the difference between passing and persisting. So yes, do it. Fully. Fiercely. Faithfully."
"The programme doesn’t just prepare you for practice. It prepares you for purpose."
A final word
"I particularly look up to minds like Leonardo da Vinci, not just for what they mastered, but for what they dared to explore. Da Vinci didn’t limit himself to art. He dissected anatomy, designated machines, studied flight, and wrote with mirrored precision. He was a symphony of disciplines, a reminder that a genius isn’t confined to one room; it wanders the entire house.
That’s the kind of mind I aspire to cultivate. One that moves between music and law with curiosity as its compass. I don’t want to be good at one thing; I want to be fluent in many. I want to draft legal documents with the same elegance I write music. Da Vinci taught us that the boundaries between disciplines are often illusions. That creativity and logic are not opposites, they are intertwined in unity. And in my own journey, I try to honour that unity. I look up to polymaths. The explorers. The one’s who ask 'why not?' instead of 'why?'. Because in law, as in life, the most powerful tool is a mind that refuses to be boxed."
Last updated on 09/10/2025