(WJ) du Plessis is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at the North-West University, South Africa. She holds BA (International relations), LLB and LLD degrees from the University of Stellenbosch. She is an NRF Thuthuka grant-holder. She obtained her doctorate on Compensation for Expropriation under the Constitution in 2009. She is interested in property law issues, especially in the land reform context, and has published numerous articles and chapters in this area. When things get too hot in that area, she researches and publishes in community based conversation initiatives, or investigating how customary law systems and common law systems can co-exist when it comes to land and natural resources.

She has a passion for finding the human element in law, and likes to ensure that legal rules make sense in the real world. When she is not busy thinking about property law and its impact on society, she tries to apply property theories to her three offspring and their struggles over scarce resources.