Professional background and experience:

Gawie is co-founder and Director of Simplifi Law, a boutique advisory firm specialising in early intervention legal consulting, mediation, and strategic legal advice. Gawie specialises in mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, investments, commercial mediation, and general commercial law. His career spans a range of entrepreneurial and advisory roles, including serving as Executive Consultant at Fluxmans Attorneys (2022–2024) and as Co-Founder of both Buyisela Pty Limited, advising Black Economic Empowerment shareholders in the mining sector, and Malan Scholes Inc., a law firm focused on mining and commercial law. Earlier, he founded CJM Corporate Advisers and held a director role at Nucleus Corporate Finance, building a strong foundation in mergers and acquisitions, commercial law, and corporate finance. Gawie is an accredited mediator through Conflict Dynamics and the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), with accreditation achieved in 2016. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Laws (LLB), and a Master of Laws (LLM) in Commercial Law. 

Mediation experience and style:

Gawie is passionate about facilitating transactions and investments that are concluded, or where necessary, unwound, as simply and clearly as possible. He believes strongly that litigation should be avoided wherever possible, which has shaped his advisory and mediation approach. His mediation style is pragmatic and solution-oriented, with a focus on managing complex and often acrimonious commercial relationships. Gawie's clients appreciate his ability to simplify complexity and resolve disputes efficiently, minimising cost and preserving relationships.

Comments from clients:

“I have worked with many mediators in my thirty-one years in practice, and can truthfully say that your talent and skill as a mediator far exceed those of most of the other mediators I have worked with. You bring to the mediation process a rare combination of skill and experience as a commercial attorney, deep empathy and understanding for the emotions of the parties, an ability to see quickly to the heart of problems, and the creativity to generate possible outcomes that will be palatable to all parties.”