SMITHSLAW - Key Persons
Mrs Charine Smith specialises in Human Resource Management, Industrial Relations, Business Strategies and turn-around strategies. She is a qualified CCMA Commissioner and served on the panel of the CCMA and various Bargaining Councils. She is a formidable mediator and continues to remain a fellow of the Arbitrations Foundation of South Africa (AFSA) in which capacity she mediates a range of disputes encompassing labour, family and commercial disputes.
She has successfully concluded the national industry wage negotiations in the leather industry since 2005. Charine pursued studies in public and business administration which equips her to pursue her passion in strategic development and organisational redesign. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, a post graduate diploma in Business Administration (cum laude) and an MBA (cum laude). Her work in strategic development and organisational redesign is an extension of her treatise on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its impact on the workforce. She manages turn-key solutions in medium to large organisations, with the aim of preparing for the future of work, with great success.
Charine has successfully assisted and has received accolades from the Executives from Coca Cola for her assistance during the merger and her wage negotiation skills. She has played a major role in setting up policies and procedures for Aspen Pharmacare and other large corporates. She continues to serve as an Executive for a large group of Companies.
Advocate Oliver Herbert Smith, founder of Smith & Associates, has a profound passion for labour law which, coupled with his experience and skill, contributed to our success with Labour Court, CCMA and Bargaining Council matters. Being renowned as a creative and innovative thinker he has to date successfully represented companies such as Aspen Pharmacare, Coca Cola, Mondelez, Air Bus, Campari, Avery Dennison and the SPCA.
Apart from being legally qualified and admitted as an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa, he also served as a Commissioner with various Bargaining Councils and remains a fellow with the Arbitrations Foundation of South Africa (AFSA). In recent years he has focussed predominantly on litigious matters. Adv Smith has been involved with and instrumental in setting precedent with no less than ten reported matters. Most recently he represented in a matter that attracted attention of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and resulted in aspects of private schooling being demarcated as Essential Services. Adv Smith continue to avail himself to our clients for opinions and other litigious matters when briefed by our pre-approved panel of attorneys. He specialises inter alia in Labour Law, Family Law and Company Law.