Staff
Kate Handley is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Biodiversity Law Centre. She holds an LLB and LLM in Environmental Law from the University of Cape Town with her research interests focusing on the policy and regulatory framework pertaining to biodiversity and protected areas. Kate is an experienced environmental attorney, having worked for more than a decade in private practice advising public and private sector clients, as well as civil society organisations, on a range of environmental and administrative law issues.
Always one to explore, in 2019, Kate embarked on the Pacific Crest Trail, hiking 2500km through the old growth forests and staggeringly beautiful mountains of California and Oregon. Passionate about the ecology of pristine habitats and the long-standing and integral coexistence of communities and wild spaces, Kate believes in the power of law to shape meaningful change. Kate’s connection with nature extends to her student days and has not only prompted a diverse career as an environmental lawyer, but also informs her vision of the Biodiversity Law Centre as an organisation which has an enduring impact on ensuring the preservation and flourishing of indigenous ecosystems.
Tabitha Paine is a Senior Attorney at the Biodiversity Law Centre, where she brings a steady commitment to public-interest and environmental law to the work of protecting and restoring Southern Africa’s ecosystems. With more than 15 years of experience in strategic litigation, legal advisory work, and policy advocacy, she contributes to the Centre’s efforts to support communities and safeguard biodiversity.
Tabitha obtained her LLB from the University of Cape Town and has dedicated her career to advancing social justice and environmental rights. She is guided by the belief that the law can help mend and strengthen the relationships that bind people to one another and to the natural world. When she’s not working, she can usually be found on a mountain trail with her loyal sidekick, Roho-Otherwise-Known-As-Steve, finding grounding, clarity, and inspiration in the wild places that motivate her work.
Kirsten Barratt joined the Centre in January 2025 is an attorney with a background in biological sciences. She holds a BSc in Marine Biology and Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, as well as an LLB and LLM in Environmental Law, from the University of Cape Town. Her professional journey was shaped by an early passion for marine conservation, sparked during her high school and university years as a volunteer on the Two Oceans’ Aquarium’s penguin team. This experience deepened her understanding of environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, ultimately inspiring her to pursue a career where law and policy can drive significant change.
Kirsten enjoys spending time outdoors – whether in the ocean or in the mountains. She is a PADI open water diver and amateur free diver, and, surprisingly for someone who grew up in Cape Town, an avid snowboarder.
Lara is a Senior Attorney at the Biodiversity Law Centre. She brings over a decade of experience at the intersection of land, biodiversity, climate, and human rights. Her career spans litigation, policy, advocacy, legal and technical advisory, and governance initiatives across Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, including roles at the Legal Resources Centre, the Centre for Environmental Rights, EarthRights International, and the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment.
Lara holds an LL.B and LL.M from the University of Cape Town and an LL.M from Columbia Law School, where she was a Human Rights Fellow. Her approach to the law is grounded in her belief in the interconnectedness of people, land, and nature, and she has dedicated her career to harnessing the law to safeguard fundamental rights and protect the ecosystems we all rely on. Lara enjoys taking in the wonder of the natural world that inspires her legal work through trail running, snorkeling, diving, and yoga.
Khanya Sidzumo is an admitted attorney who obtained her LLB and BSocSci degrees from the University of Cape Town, volunteered at several organisations focused on advising and supporting marginalised people facing evictions and unfair labour practices, worked with mining affected workers and communities at Richard Spoor Incorporated, and served as a law clerk at the Constitutional Court, before joining the Biodiversity Law Centre in January 2025.
A lifelong city dweller, Khanya attributes her environmental consciousness to her past and present clients’ persistent efforts to protect the land, air and species that sustain us all. She plans to continue contributing to these efforts at the Biodiversity Law Centre.
André joined the Biodiversity Law Centre February 2026 as an attorney in the Arid Lands programme. André has a diverse background, having started his career in nature conservation where he served a year-long conservation internship in the Karoo National Park. He went on to obtain his LLB, and following completion of his practical vocational training he was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa. His focus area included various disciplines of civil litigation. He then pursued a move out of practice working as a business sustainability consultant focusing on corporate sustainability reporting. He brings valuable experience from the conservation, litigation, and corporate perspectives blending a mixture of practical conservation experience with a sound legal and regulatory foundation.
André is currently in the process of completing his LLM in Marine and Environmental Law at UCT and enjoys ocean activities such as snorkeling and kayak fishing in his free time.