The founding partners
Ndileka & Sindiso
Our story.
Founder Ndileka Mthembu set up MS & Associates with a question she couldn't shake: why does world-class legal service so often feel cold, transactional, and out of reach for the people who need it most?
That question became the founding brief for the firm. Together with partner Sindiso Sibanda — who brought commercial and operational depth from outside the legal industry, and now heads the firm's Litigation Division — they set out to build the kind of practice they wished had existed when they were starting out: senior, attentive, fairly priced, and genuinely accountable.
"The law is not abstract. It is the architecture of how people live, love, build, and rest. The firm's job is to make that architecture work for the client — not the other way around."
What we believe
We believe a great matter team is small, senior, and fully briefed. We believe the client should never have to chase a phone call. We believe fees should be predictable and explained before work begins. We believe that being a proudly Black-owned, BBBEE-certified, partner-led firm in South Africa is not a marketing line — it's a perspective that informs how we listen, who we serve, and how we build.
What we don't do
We don't take every matter that comes through the door. We don't bill in opaque six-minute increments without explanation. We don't hand your file to a stranger and disappear. We don't promise outcomes we cannot deliver. We are a boutique firm by choice, because volume and care don't mix.
Where we work
Our principal office is in Bryanston, Johannesburg, with a secondary presence at New Court Chambers in Pretoria Central — placing us within walking distance of both the Pretoria High Court and the Master's Office. We are admitted in the High Court of South Africa and act in matters across Gauteng and the rest of the country through our correspondent network.
