Michael Katz: trusted advisor who hardly sleeps

When legal stalwart Professor Michael Katz begins a sentence with the words “with respect”, those who know him understand that respect is the last thing on his mind.

“He has an expression which those who know him means the very opposite of what he’s saying,” says Miranda Feinstein, senior executive of ENSafrica. “It starts when he says, ‘with respect’. And if he thinks you are behaving like a real nincompoop, he will say, ‘with great respect!’ and everybody around knows that there is no respect intended at all.”

Feinstein was one of many South Africans who paid tribute to Katz when he received the Absa Business Icon Award at the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards last Sunday.

Katz, a highly regarded and sought-after corporate lawyer, was this year asked by the president of South Africa to be a board member of the national Solidarity Fund, set up to support the medical response, contribute to relief efforts, and mobilise the country in the fight against COVID-19.

Two years ago, he was called to work on the Nugent Commission, set up to sort out the South African Revenue Service. Katz is also the person behind reforming the country’s tax policy.

“His success doesn’t lie in any one particular case, but in that he has become the trusted advisor of business and public bodies who believe in him,” said Wim Trengove, the founding vice-chairperson of Thulamela Chambers. “He puts in a lot of attention at all hours, day and night.”

David Unterhalter, acting judge on the Supreme Court of Appeal, agreed. “It’s hard to know when precisely, if ever, Michael goes to sleep,” he said. “He’s not only a practitioner of extraordinary repute, he has also been a critical person for the purposes of reforming and developing the commercial law of this country, especially company and tax law.”

Katz has been integrally involved in Jewish community affairs in Johannesburg, offering guidance and advice to communal leaders in times of need. He has even played an integral part in the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre as board chairperson, said the centre’s founder and executive director, Tali Nates.

“He was so pivotal in everything we know about the Bill of Rights in South Africa and the way we look at human rights,” she said. “Michael always was our icon.

“As the idea of creating a Holocaust Centre in Johannesburg came about, there was no doubt that Michael was the right person,” Nates said. “His knowledge, love of books, and love of history of the Holocaust and genocide always enriches the conversation.”

Katz expressed his thanks, saying that receiving an honour from one’s own community was very meaningful.

“No one who has any achievement does it on his or her own. You need an ecosystem of supporters,” he said. “Mine includes my wife, a dedicated counsellor over 44 years of marriage. I have been truly privileged to have such a wonderful partnership.”

Katz paid tribute to his two daughters, and expressed his gratitude for the support he had received from his colleagues at ENSafrica.

He also offered some words of advice.

“The Jewish community is, unfortunately, a shrinking community, in a country that faces many challenges.

“What’s required? Unity. We need unity of the community. We have remarkable institutions in our community with dedicated officers and staff who care for the every need of the community, but they need our support.”

Communal unity is also fundamentally important to address poverty and inequality, Katz said.

“We need to support the country and the wider community in which inequality abound and where social justice is compromised,” he said. “We need to play a meaningful role, and hopefully, we can be agents of stability against a background of volatility.

“The SA Jewish Report has played a meaningful role in the era of COVID-19 in which people’s sense of well-being has been reduced. Howard Sackstein and his colleagues have spared no effort in endeavours to uplift the morale of the community when it really needed it,” Katz said.

“When one has the privilege of serving one’s people, one must grasp it with both hands.”