[2] Pillay became heavily involved in important political cases and effectively led the firm when Mohamed was in detention.
[2][3] In the late 1980s, Pillay's practice moved towards labour law, in which she later became an expert, acquiring an LLM in the subject from the University of Natal in 1993.
[1] She supported Judge President Chiman Patel – now ousted amid suspicions that he fell out with the KwaZulu-Natal political establishment[4] – in the racial spat over his appointment.
[2][5] In July 2015 she was interviewed and shortlisted by the Judicial Service Commission for appointment to the Constitutional Court of South Africa.
[1] She was nominated by rights groups and former Constitutional Court judge Zak Yacoob[1] and was praised by commentators.