Hannes matriculated in 1989 at Menlo Park High School in Pretoria. He commenced his studies at the University of Pretoria the following year and completed his B.Com Law degree in 1993.
He finished his LL.B degree in 1995 and joined Savage Jooste & Adams Attorneys where he completed his articles.
In 1996 he was admitted as an attorney and conveyancer of the High Court of South Africa. Due to his interest in the law of insurance he joined Samib Underwriting Managers as their legal manager. He gained extensive experience in the field of insurance law but he felt that his skills and knowledge would best be applied in practice. He then joined Van den Merwe du Toit inc. in Pretoria as professional assistant for two years.
In 2000 he joined Cilliers & Reynders Attorneys as a director and started to grow the firm’s Insurance Department.
Hannes Grobler now heads the Insurance Department, assisted by Maudie Fritz. The department also specialises in motor vehicle accident recoveries and defense of third party claims, Civil-Magistrate’s Court, -Regional Court and -High Court litigation. The department boasts with a recovery rate on motor vehicle accidents of between 45 and 60 percent, often contributing to the profitability of the client.
Hannes represented Lloyd’s of London in the well-known and reported matter of Napier v Barkhuizen 2007 (5) SA 323 CC where there was a constitutional challenge on a contractual time limitation clause in a contract of insurance. This is the first matter where our Constitutional Court considered whether our Bill of Rights should apply horizontally and it confirmed that individual clauses in agreements may be tested against our Constitution.
Both contractual disputes as well as damages claims are dealt with in this department and his clients include major role players in the motor industry.
Hannes’ clients, amongst other, include the following: