Adv
Don MahonSC
A commercial litigator who writes the law as well as argues it.
- Senior Counsel
- Johannesburg Society of Advocates
- Maisels Group of Advocates
- 50+
- Reported judgments
- 22
- Academic publications
- 30
- Junior advocates led
- 853
- Pro bono hours (2017 to 2025)
- 6
- Pupils mentored
- 5
- Bar Council terms
- High Court of South Africa, All Divisions
- Supreme Court of Appeal
- Constitutional Court of South Africa
- High Court of Botswana (ad hoc)
Introduction
Adv Don Mahon SC is a Senior Counsel practising from Maisels Chambers in Johannesburg. Conferred Silk by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2024 and serving as Chairman of the Johannesburg Society of Advocates for 2025/2026, he has practised commercial litigation and arbitration for two decades across company law, business rescue, insolvency, construction, customary and constitutional law.
He has appeared without a leader before the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Botswana Court of Appeal. He is the author of 22 published legal articles and is the founder of the Mahon Foundation, a registered Public Benefit Organisation focused on educational access.
Practice Areas
Company Law and Corporate Governance
Disputes involving directors, shareholders and the exercise of corporate power under the Companies Act 71 of 2008.
Company law constitutes approximately 30% of Mahon's practice. He advises and appears in matters involving directors' duties and liability, shareholder disputes, oppression remedies and schemes of arrangement.
Construction and Engineering Law
Disputes between contractors, employers and subcontractors across major construction and infrastructure projects.
Construction law constitutes approximately 25% of Mahon's practice. He appears in disputes involving payment certificate mechanisms, JBCC, NEC and global claims in adjudication.
Business Rescue
Advising and appearing in business-rescue proceedings under Chapter 6 of the Companies Act.
Acting for practitioners, affected persons and creditors in contested business-rescue matters.
Constitutional Law
Public-interest and constitutional litigation before the superior courts.
Appearing in constitutional challenges with significant precedential effect.
Professional Experience
Chairman, Johannesburg Society of Advocates
2024 – PresentJohannesburg Society of Advocates
Leading South Africa's largest Bar society in the promotion of an independent, transformed and capable legal profession.
As Chairman of the JSA, Mahon chairs the Bar Council and represents the JSA in its engagements with the Legal Practice Council, the judiciary and government. He has been elected to the Bar Council on five separate occasions and has served on its committees continuously since 2008.
Senior Counsel
2016 – PresentMaisels Group of Advocates
Silk practice in commercial litigation and arbitration.
A referral practice spanning listed JSE entities as well as private and family-held companies.
Representative Matters
- 01
Minister of Justice v Prince [2018] CC
Landmark unanimous Constitutional Court judgment on the constitutional right to privacy and the prohibition on private cannabis use and cultivation.
- 02
Tsambo v Sengadi [2020] SCA
Appeal concerning the requirements for a valid customary marriage.