Thyne Jacobs Inc was incorporated in June 2017 by two practitioners who had each built a practice of their own — Hunter Thyne in financial services and employee benefits, Neil Jacobs in corporate and commercial law. Warren Sundström joined as a director in September 2024, and the firm was renamed Thyne Jacobs Sundström Inc in 2025.
FOUNDING PARTNERS
HUNTER THYNE
Founding Partner
Hunter came to the founding of the firm from two decades in employee benefits and financial services law — Investec, where he headed the pension legal team, then Edward Nathan, then a founding shareholder in Hunter Employee Benefits Law, and from 2010 head of Financial Services at Hogan Lovells. He leads the firm’s financial services practice.
NEIL JACOBS
Founding Partner
Neil was admitted in November 2009 and opened his own practice two months later, which grew from medical malpractice and general litigation into a corporate and commercial practice acting for clients from small businesses to multinationals and a state-owned enterprise. He had built that into Jacobs Gonyora Inc before co-founding the firm with Hunter in 2017.
DIRECTORS AND ATTORNEYS
HUNTER THYNE
Director
Hunter has extensive expertise and experience in the employee benefits arena, specifically regarding pension funds and medical schemes. He regularly advises employers participating in pension funds or medical schemes, boards of management of pension funds or medical schemes, administrators of pension funds or medical schemes or insurers who have provided insurance cover to the boards of management or administrators.
Hunter has been involved in providing advice to various parties who have been affected by pension fund failures in South Africa and has extensive experience in forensic investigations.
As Hunter is a registered tax practitioner, he has advised numerous investment product providers on the tax consequences of investment products. Hunter has also provided advice to numerous Financial Service Providers regarding compliance with all the relevant South African legislation – these Financial Service Providers include registered long-term insurers, asset managers and other representatives.
Hunter also has extensive experience in the field of the law of trusts and has been involved in litigation where interested parties sought the removal of the appointed trustees. Hunter provides regular advice to trustees regarding their duties as trustees, the taxation of trusts and the use of trusts as an effective estate planning investment vehicle.
Hunter started his legal career in Durban where he was a candidate attorney at John Hudson and Company in 1995 and 1996. Hunter was appointed as an associate in 1997 and a partner in 1998. In 1998 Hunter relocated to Johannesburg and was employed by Investec Investment Management Services. Hunter headed up Investec Investment Management Services pension legal team. Hunter left Investec in 2001 and was appointed as an Associate at Edward Nathan. Hunter re-joined Investec Private Bank in 2003 and was tasked with assisting in defending various claims brought against Investec Employee Benefits by various pension funds. Hunter left Investec and was a founding shareholder in Hunter Employee Benefits Law – the first boutique employee benefits legal firm. In 2010 Hunter joined Hogan Lovells (previously Routledge Modise) as head of Financial Services.
- Acting as trustee of numerous pension funds.
- Advising a benefit administrator on the efficacy of its administration system, fraud mitigation and governance.
- Advising trustees of pension funds on instituting legal proceedings against administrators and their insurers.
- Defending actions and claims brought against trustees of pension funds, administrators and insurers.
- Conducting forensic investigations where investor assets have been misappropriated, and instituting legal proceedings to recover them.
- Advising long-term insurers on product development and compliance with all relevant legislation.
- Advising on the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act.
- Advising on the Financial Institutions (Protection of Funds) Act.
- Giving expert evidence in pension and matrimonial property matters, including the proceedings preceding CM v EM [2020] ZASCA 48.
- Best Lawyers in South Africa – Employee Benefits Law and Insurance Law, 2016 to 2026.
- Who’s Who Legal: Pensions and Benefits.
- BCom, LLB, LLM (Tax).
- Admitted attorney.
- Registered tax practitioner.
WARREN SUNDSTRÖM
Director
Warren advises employers on labour and employment law, and businesses on commercial and company law — the two departments he headed in practice before moving in-house. From 2022 to 2024 he was Legal Manager at a financial services provider, which gives him a client-side view of how advice has to work inside a regulated business, and he holds the FAIS RE1 qualification required of a key individual.
Warren was admitted as an attorney in 2014. He completed an Advanced Company Law certificate course through the University of the Witwatersrand in 2015 and Legal Practice Management training course in 2019. In 2021 he completed an LLM degree in Labour Law through the University of South Africa. He joined Thyne Jacobs Inc. in September 2024.
- LLB, LLM (Labour Law).
- FAIS RE1 regulatory examination
- Admitted attorney
TIA-SHAE RAMPARSAD
Attorney
NEIL JACOBS
Founding Partner
Neil provides his clients with expert services relating to aspects of Corporate, Commercial and Employment Law. From start-up requirements and processes to drafting of complex shareholders agreements and memoranda of incorporation he aims to provide a personalised and effective solution to his clients’ business requirements. Neil also offers expertise in the Employment Law arena and advises clients on the implementation and execution of all Employment related policies and procedures which also includes informal and formal dispute resolution aspects of Employment Law.
Neil was admitted as an attorney in November 2009 and started his own practice in January 2010 as a sole proprietor with an initial service offering of medical malpractice related disputes and general litigation.
Neil had a keen interest in Corporate and Commercial Law and as a result his firm naturally developed into a law firm that mainly focused on representing and advising corporate enterprises. His client base rapidly expanded from small businesses to multinationals and a state-owned enterprise in various spheres of business from aviation and insurance to pharmaceutical and more.
Due to the rapid expansion of his client base and a desire to provide a wider service offering, he partnered with Ms T Gonyora and Jacobs Gonyora Inc was established. Jacobs Gonyora Inc provided clients with services from Corporate and Commercial to Conveyancing, Notarial and Deceased Estate Administration.
Neil’s intricate involvement in the business of his corporate clients led to the establishment of a prominent Employment law department within Jacobs Gonyora Inc which also led to his involvement in employee benefit related disputes.
The evolution of Neil’s expertise in Corporate and Commercial Law led to the incorporation of Thyne Jacobs Inc in June 2017, renamed Thyne Jacobs Sundström Inc in 2025.
- Advising on and registration of legal entities, including the drafting of shareholders agreements and memoranda of incorporation.
- Drafting of various commercial agreements such as sale of share agreements, partnership agreements and joint venture agreements.
- Advising on the restructuring of a group of companies into a holding and subsidiary structure and all related legal implications.
- Advising various corporate entities on the intricacies involving employment disputes, disciplinary enquiries, arbitrations and review applications.
- Advising and assisting on drafting of employment related policies and procedures, employment agreements and all employment law related documentation.
- Chairing disciplinary enquiries, representing clients at the CCMA and private arbitrations, and launching and defending review applications.
- Advising on and defending various statements of claim launched out of the Labour Court for disputes relating to the dismissal of striking employees and unfair large-scale retrenchments.
- Launching of urgent interdicts relating to unprotected industrial action.
- Launching of an appeal against the Pension Funds Adjudicator’s ruling to hold trustees liable in their personal capacities for the costs the Fund incurred to rebuild the Fund’s data.
- The institution of legal proceedings against a Pension Fund’s insurers after they had repudiated a claim made by the Fund regarding the theft of fund assets.
- Defending and settling an action instituted by a participating employer of a Fund against the administrator and trustees for damages suffered because of a rebuild of the Fund’s data.