About Michelle
Michelle Deyce was a top achiever in Gawie le Roux Institute of Law's Awards Ceremony for those who passed their LPC exams in the second session of 2024. She is a Senior Client Service Consultant at one of the leading financial institutions.
Background
"After matriculating from the Cape Academy for Mathematics, Science and Technology in 2007, I embarked on my legal studies at the University of the Western Cape in 2008. Unfortunately, I had to withdraw due to a severe illness. However, determined to complete what I started, I enrolled at the University of South Africa in 2015 and successfully obtained my Bachelor of Laws in 2020. A sound theoretical basis is key but I lacked the necessary practical experience and to remedy this, I enrolled and completed law school in 2022."
Motivation for enrolling for Gawie le Roux's Attorneys' admission exam courses
"At the time of registering for Paper 4 of the Attorneys' admission exams, I only had my limited law school knowledge and application to rely on. I needed some form of assistance but being a full-time employee meant it was not feasible to attend any in-person sessions. I heard about the Gawie le Roux exam preparation courses and immediately knew it would be the perfect fit for my circumstances.
The recordings afforded me the opportunity to get the best assistance whilst doing it at my own pace. Johan’s teaching style and his ability to break the concepts down really helped in cementing my own knowledge. I absolutely appreciated the fact that the study material was so comprehensive whilst the recordings beautifully supplemented the content allowing me to navigate through the material with such ease. Johan became my best 'weekend buddy' as I would work through the study guide during the week and spent undivided time on the recordings over weekends to confirm my understanding, get clarity on difficult concepts and add to my study notes.
I remember sitting in the exam venue and after completing all the questions. I went to check my answers and Johan’s voice echoed in my memory as I tried to 'mark' my own paper. I picked up a crucial mistake and whilst it meant I had to redo the entire question in less than 10 minutes, I do believe Johan saved me that day and resulted in my success. Thank you, Johan!"
On facing challenges
"As a full-time employee, a mother and partner it became increasingly difficult to juggle all the roles whilst still pursuing my individual goals. Admittedly, I also had some self-doubt as I have heard of many people who have practical experience but are still unsuccessful in passing the admission exams. As Murphy would have it, I also had a severe episode of bronchitis two weeks prior to sitting for the exam. I soon realised that I had to find ways to navigate through this part of my journey and a few things that helped me were:
- Securing a solid support structure; no man is an island.
- Having a designated study space. Studying after a long day at work seems even less attractive if the space is not already created just to step in and put on your study hat.
- Time management was key as I planned to cover parts of the material by set dates. This really helped as I also pushed myself to get most of the theory covered well in advance and allow for actual application and calculations before the exams.
- I tried to rid all negative thoughts and tried to maintain a positive 'can-do' attitude the entire time.
- I am very hard on myself so I may just caution other students to also remember to rest more, fuel your body and have fun whilst learning."
Keeping her father’s legacy alive
"I have always been driven by a deep desire to help others while striving for fair and just solutions. I believe becoming an admitted attorney will allow me the opportunity to exercise my passion for helping others whilst advocating for justice, protecting the rights of individuals and resolving disputes.
I have been told that my late father, Gustav Deyce, who was also an attorney, would read De Rebus publications to me at bedtime. Thus, on a very personal level, becoming an admitted attorney would allow me to keep my late father’s legacy alive. In Afrikaans, I would say:
"Ek wil 'n prokureur wees vir Daddie."
What's next?
“Although I have yet to secure articles, I remain steadfast in my pursuit of becoming an admitted attorney. I intend to register to write Paper 2 during the upcoming board exams in August 2025. This will be followed by Papers 1 and 3 in March 2026.
It is no secret that I have a great love and appreciation for family law as I am fascinated by the intricacies of family relationships and have a keen focus on the protection and best interest of the child.
I also have a strong inclination towards human rights law with a focus on disability law. The rights in our Bill of Rights enshrines the rights of all people, including disabled people. We have made great strides in this regard, but I would like to become a mouthpiece and beacon of hope for this marginalised group.
As Jimmy Dean said: 'We can’t control the wind, but we can adjust our sails' and therefore I will continue my journey toward realising my dream.”