Team | Kern Attorneys

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Meet The Team

Experienced and Strategic.

Zelmari Kern - Director The firm was founded by Zelmari Kern in 2014. Zelmari is an admitted attorney from Johannesburg and holds a Bcom Law Degree and honours LLB degree. She has extensive experience in labour law, commercial law, corporate governance, insurance law and has also completed an advanced course in labour law at the University of Pretoria and UCT and further completed an advanced course in the Companies Act at the University of Johannesburg.	Gregory Armstrong - Director Gregory Armstrong (LLB) is an admitted attorney, with High Court appearance, and has a general legal practice with extensive experience in High Court and Magistrates Court litigation; he practiced as a partner at a medium sized firm in Melrose Estate before joining Kern, Armstrong & Associates late in 2016; he heads up the general litigation, family law and criminal law department at Kern Attorneys.	Altus Kitching - Senior Associate Altus obtained his LLB and LLM from the University of the Free State. Altus was admitted as an attorney 2009 after completing his articles and was called to the Bar in 2010 where he practiced as an advocate for eight years. Altus is also an accredited international arbitrator and registered with the Association of Arbitrators. In 2021 Altus joined Kern, Armstrong and Associates as a senior associate and focuses on general litigation, construction disputes and arbitrations.
Michelle Toxopeüs - Candidate Attorney Michelle Toxopeüs is currently serving her articles at Kern, Armstrong and Associates. Before joining the firm, she was a legal researcher at the Constitutional Court of South Africa and worked at the Helen Suzman Foundation, also as a legal researcher. She holds a master's degree in environmental law and governance from the North West University and is a Robert Bosch GGF 2035 Fellow.	Mark Eccles - Consultant Mark Eccles was admitted as an attorney in 2001. He obtained his BCom and LLB from the University of Witwatersrand, LLM from University of South Africa and his Higher Diploma in Tax Law from University of Johannesburg. Mark has worked in the corporate world, private practice and in entrepreneurial ventures. From 1993 to 1998 he was a legal advisor at Gold Fields of South Africa, rising to group legal officer.	Emily Nairn - Junior Associate Emily studied at the University of Pretoria and obtained her BA (Law) degree and honours LLB degree and joined Kern, Armstrong & Associates in 2019. Emily is an admitted attorney who practises in the areas of general litigation as well as commercial and labour law.
Oliver Marshall - Legal Advisor Oliver Marshall holds a BA Law degree and Honours LLB degree from The University of the Witwatersrand. Oliver is currently completing a master’s degree in Commercial and Business Law while working as a legal advisor at the firm.	Nicole van Niekerk - Administrative Nicole van Niekerk studied at the University of Johannesburg and completed her BA degree in Marketing and Communications. Nicole has over 10 years experience in administration and client relations. Nicole’s role is to assist the Kern, Armstrong & Associates will all admin related tasks, together with maintaining healthy client relations.	Patricia Kgaregare - Administrative Patricia Kgaregare holds a N Dip and Btech in Journalism. She has satisfactory experience in business communications and joined Kern, Armstrong & Associates as a personal Assistant. Patricia will be assisting the company with all administration work. Patricia is open minded and always willing to learn.
Jacob Sibeko - Driver Jacob has joined our team to help ensure that all correspondence is safely transported to and from Kern, Armstrong & Associates's offices and our clients.