Hazel Gumede Shelton is an attorney of the High Court of South Africa. She is the director and sole shareholder of Ashira. Hazel holds a BProc LLB from the University of the Witwatersrand and an LLM from Columbia University, USA. At Columbia, Hazel specialised in constitutional and international law, project and corporate finance and international business transactions. She qualified as an attorney at Deneys Reitz Attorneys where she obtained experience in commercial, labour and insurance litigation work. In the USA, she conducted policy work in Washington DC in relation to emerging markets and later in commercial transactions and security and trade law. Hazel has lectured in constitutional law at Wits Law School and at the Justice College of South Africa.

She also frequently represents South Africa on legally related issues in the international arena, including representation on various United Nations entities. Her national clients include the National Department of Land Affairs, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the Department of Home Affairs where she has specialised in policy and regulatory advice, as well as general constitutional advice, including Constitutional litigation work. Her provincial clients include the Gauteng Department of Transport, Roads and Works and the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment. Hazel’s provincial experience extends to general public finance and transaction advisory work, governance and procurement advice, as well as general contractual advice and drafting work. Particular recent projects include the Gautrain, the Monorail, and the Freeway Improvement Scheme.