Philo is a Director in the Commercial Practice Group of the firm and has more than 15 years of commercial and business experience. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of PH Attorneys and involved in the operation and management of the firm as well as new project developments.

Philo knew from an early age that he would follow a career in law, already taking Latin in high school - then still a requirement for law – to better equip him for his law studies. At university he excelled and achieved both his B.Iuris and LL.B degrees cum laude, standing at the top of his class in the final year of his LL.B degree. During his studies, he worked as a legal researcher and academic assistant in the Mercantile Law and Public Law departments of the University of the Free State Faculty of Law and also co-authored several articles published in contemporary legal journals.

Following his LL.B, Philo acted as the project co-ordinator for a research project on Employment Equity at the Free State Centre for Human Rights, and contributed to one of the first authoritative publications on Employment Equity in South Africa. During this period, he lectured as a junior lecturer in Public Law and was the co-ordinator and module writer for an accredited distance education programme for Paralegals initiated by the Centre for Human Rights.

He commenced his professional career as a candidate attorney at Naudes Attorneys, specialising in labour and constitutional law and providing labour and management support services to private, public and governmental institutions. Philo soon widened the scope of his specialisation by adding commercial law, public procurement and project development services to his areas of expertise.

In 2002 Philo moved to the commercial division of PH Attorneys where he has since practised. For a number of years Philo was involved as legal transaction advisor to provincial and national government departments as well as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the financing arm of the World Bank, in respect of infrastructure Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects, specialising in health infrastructure projects and being involved in establishing benchmark health sector PPPs.

Philo was also subcontracted by the European Union to provide legal and contracts advice and support to the European Union funded Community Projects Fund Support Programme of the Free State Department of Agriculture, as well as the preparation of a legal framework for the implementation of Local Economic Development Programmes in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape and the development of a contractual framework for the implementation of a Financial Innovation Fund to be administered by the Industrial Development Corporation and Khula Enterprises.

In 2006 Philo became involved in the establishment of the PH Group of Associated Law Firms, South Africa’s largest formal network of top law firms. His involvement has over time necessitated a near full time focus on the management and expansion of the PH Group, with Philo currently responsible for the development and rollout of new projects and partnerships in the group.

In 2010 Philo was appointed as a Director of PH Attorneys and has since 2011 served on the firm’s Executive Committee. Philo’s diverse range of skills and project involvement as well as a fervent commitment to standards and doing things right the first time has enabled him to contribute to the management of the firm and the PH Group.

In his spare time, and when time away from the family allows, Philo is an amateur cellist and enjoys cycling.