Dawie is the leader of the Protea Group of Advocates. He joined the Department of Justice on
13 December 1982 as a clerk of the court.  He worked as a Prosecutor, Magistrate and State Advocate in the Department of Justice until February 1992.  He then joined the Johannesburg Society of Advocates on 1 March 1992 and practiced at the Johannesburg Bar ever since.

Dawie has been involved in many high profile cases and specialises in criminal, police delict (unlawful arrest and detention; assaults and shootings), contract, restraint of trade and medical negligence law. He has 26 reported cases in the Law Reports. He was appointed as Small Claims Court Commissioner in 2009 and acted as a Judge in the High Court, Johannesburg during the end of 2014, and again for 3 weeks during June 2016.  He also acted as arbitrator in various high profile matters.

Dawie serves on the General Council Examination Board of the Bar since 2000, first as the Assistant Examiner of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Exam paper for pupils, and as from 2007 as Chief Examiner to date.  He is involved in the management of the Protea Group of Advocates. Dawie is also admitted as an advocate in Namibia.

Dawie qualified as a mediator after successfully completing the UCT Law@Work Mediation Course and duly obtained his DISAC (the Dispute Accreditation Council of South Africa Mediators) accredited qualification in June 2021. He is also members of Mediation in Motion and the Centre for Mediation in Sport.