Karien van Schalkwyk is an admitted attorney with experience in criminal law, civil litigation and family law matters. After obtaining her LLB degree from the University of South Africa in 2005, she started her career as a State Prosecutor. Here a desire to assist victims of crime was awakened. This soon led to a passion to be the voice of the most vulnerable non-human victims, not only inside the courtroom, but also outside in the field, assisting animal welfare organisations across the Metro.

After spending some time abroad, she re-joined BDLS Attorneys in 2019, taking on general litigation matters. Karien is zealous about protecting the environment, biodiversity and animals and has been involved in several high court litigation matters to achieve this goal. Her wish is to see more progress within all government spheres, confirming the constitutional courts’ judgments, that our constitution, applies to the care and protection of animals too.