It was smiles and cheers on Thursday night at the Boardwalk Convention Centre when Rushmere Noach celebrated a special 90-year milestone of practising law.
Associates, partners and friends gathered to reflect on the legacy of one of Gqeberha’s oldest and biggest law firms.
Speaking during the function, director Liane Koorsse said the success of the firm was owed to the dedicated team and loyal clients. “This is obviously a big occasion for us,” Koorsse said. “We have been able to get here with clients who have supported us through the years. “It is a huge milestone and we hope it can continue into the future.
“I think our board speaks to how forward-looking we are. It’s a board of 10 and they will also be taking the legacy of Rushmere Noach forward until we are hopefully 180.”
To mark the occasion, Koorsse revealed that the firm would be partnering with the Kariega Foundation Trust to create a legacy bursary.
The Kariega Foundation is the charitable arm of the Kariega Game Reserve. Speaking about the coming together of the two organisations, Kariega Trust director Lindy Sutherland said the partnership was the convergence of three legacies. “I have grown up with Rushmere Noach as part of my vocabulary since the day I was born,” Sutherland said.
Kariega Game Reserve was started by Colin Rushmere Jr, whose father founded Rushmere and Noach in 1933. Sutherland is the daughter of Rushmere Jr “It has taken 90 years of not just one legacy, but three, to create the environment for this legacy bursary,” she said.
“The first was from my grandfather, establishing Rushmere Noach. “We then had to wait for my dad to break away and create the game reserve and then for my brothers to build the Kariega Foundation Trust to the point where we could launch something meaningful.
“This is the convergence point of these legacies.”
From next year, the bursary will fund one student to attend Rhodes University. Koorsse said they were happy to build on their charitable legacy.
For the last 10 years, the firm has supported the Reach for a Dream Foundation. It is also a benefactor of the New Brighton-based Ubuntu project.
As published in the Weekend Post and HeraldLIVE - Nelson Mandela Bay 16 September 2023.
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