We are a bespoke new breed law firm, based in eMalahleni on the Mpumalanga Highveld, providing tailormade solutions to selected categories of clients.

We care deeply for our clients, our staff and our community. We embrace diversity. We continuously innovate in our services and the manner in which we provide it. We set high standards and measure ourselves against them.

We are a proud member of the PH Group of Associated Law Firms, the largest legal network in South Africa.

Our firm originated from a partnership established by Robert van der Merwe and the late John Golding in 1970, under the name and style of Golding & Van der Merwe.  

In 1983 Johan Potgieter joined Robert Van der Merwe as partner and they practiced under the name and style of Van der Merwe & Potgieter.

When Robert Van der Merwe retired from the firm in 1992, Johan Coetzee joined the firm and they continued to practice under the name and style of Potgieter Coetzee Incorporated. Melanie Beeken was appointed as director in 2000.

In July 2003 Johan Coetzee commenced to practice for his own account and in 2006 our name was changed to Johan Coetzee Incorporated.

In October 2014, we joined the PH Group of Associated Law Firms, and John Mophethe was appointed as a non-executive director and regional director representative of PH Attorneys at the firm.

In July 2018 Melanie Beeken returned to the firm as a director and Krisna Jenkins was appointed as a director August 2019.

On 01 November 2022 we changed our name to CBJ Attorneys Incorporated.

On 25 October 2025 Natalie Steenkamp replaced John Mophethe as non-executive director. 

Community development is one of the cornerstones for excellence in our firm. We believe in uplifting the community and that the youth is the key to a better future, innovation and a reignited economy.

Our firm’s focus is on the global phenomenon of youth unemployment, which has been increasing at alarming rates in South Africa. We are participants in the YES programme, which is a joint initiative with the government.

The YES programme addresses youth unemployment and upskilling the youth through job placements, which in turn leads to economic growth and prosperity.

We are very proud of the fourteen young persons from our own community currently in our service and being taught skills that will empower them to enter the job market.

The PH Group was established in 2006 and has since evolved to become the Largest Legal Network in South Africa and the only network of its kind that caters exclusively to the needs of South African law firms.

The PH Group was established in response to an identified need of small and medium-sized law firms to form part of a larger network and so gain access to shared resources, expertise and economies of scale.

To ensure member firms aspire to the Group Standards and Values, PH Attorneys undertakes a member firm certification process every two years to review the adherence of member firms to the Group Standards. The certification process follows a comprehensive evidence-based review of each member firms’ adherence to the Group Standards.

Following such review, member firms that have excelled are recognised through the Group’s New Breed Law Firm Awards that provides recognition to top-performing member firms and acknowledges their progress to becoming New Breed Law Firms™. The awards are allocated after the completion of the bi-annual certification process and allows member firms to showcase their performance to their clients and staff. Each award is valid for two years from date of award.

We are proud to announce that our firm has maintained Platinum Achiever status by once again achieving more than 90% compliance with the Group Standards in 2025. This achievement confirms that we are truly a New Breed of Law Firm™ and provides comfort to you, our client, that you are working with a leading, well-managed and compliant law firm that cares about you and your business. We have gone to great lengths to do so, and believe this Award confirms our continued commitment to you.

For more information on the PH Group and the Group Achiever Awards, please visit www.phfirms.co.za.