Creating accessible pathways for success in South Africa’s legal sector
Aspirant professionals in the legal sector require mentorship and practical experience
In addition to the country’s need for more employment opportunities for university-educated youth, the South African legal sector faces quite a specific challenge regarding the recruitment and career readiness of graduates wishing to pursue a career in law.
According to Brent Williams, CEO at leading corporate and commercial law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH), the scarcity of available positions for law graduates (whether as candidate attorneys or advocate pupils) is becoming a significant roadblock, which is having a domino effect on South African citizens’ relatively poor access to justice.
“The extraordinary number of law graduates entering the job market, amplified by the abundance of independent colleges offering SANAS (South African National Accreditation System) accredited law degrees, far surpasses available training and job opportunities in the legal services sector,” Williams says.
While law graduates generally achieve commendable grades, Williams is concerned about “the noticeable deficit in their ability to apply their academic knowledge effectively and basic legal research and writing skills. This disparity between theoretical knowledge and practical application poses a significant challenge to ensuring that ensuing generations of lawyers sustain (if not improve) our nearly two centuries old and proudly capable legal service tradition in South Africa”.
In addressing these challenges, Williams says mentorship plays a pivotal role in cultivating a roadmap for success for the country’s future lawyers. For him, pursuing a legal career involves not only technical knowledge, which is abundantly available in the lecture hall, but must include preparation to practically apply these skills to real-life situations — much as occurs with, say, the medical profession.
It is difficult to stipulate an exact checklist of skills required to be a reasonably successful lawyer, as the role itself is exceptionally varied, in practice. Most disciplines of law require a balance of constant, careful, and thorough application of a learnt set of (technical) skills, with the ability to adequately apply oneself to identify a client’s problem/service need and then set a course to deliver an appropriate solution. In addition, testing early for sufficient competency in numeracy, written, oral argument and (importantly) resilience skills would help to identify, at an early stage, those with the necessary potential to successfully secure traineeship, ultimately be placed at the end of their training and eventually succeed at making a career as a lawyer.
“Experienced lawyers act as invaluable sounding boards to candidate attorneys and junior associates; guiding and supporting the complex journey of becoming a successful legal professional, which includes technical ability, relational skills, practice management and entrepreneurial abilities,” says Williams, nearly all of which is not innate and must be learnt. “However, to bridge the proverbial gap between a law graduate and seasoned legal professional, law firms would have to provide knowledge management resources, where professionals have a principal task to maintain and improve the technical and practical skills of all future attorneys.”
Although Williams is especially aware of the socioeconomic factors impacting a plethora of students in South Africa, he notes: “Irrespective of the academic discipline (including the study of law) a student who is hungry, lacks appropriate accommodation, must travel vast distances, and cannot afford access to study materials and online resources, is at a distinct disadvantage to other students who enjoy most, if not all, of these privileges.” Bridging this resource gap remains a persistent problem for all the academies in our country.
Further to this, students who have not grown up in families with one or more professionals (let alone legal professionals) in it might not have had the (professional discipline) role modelling and guidance (active or passive) offered by having witnessed these older professionals applying their technical and practical skills, while navigating a professional career. This puts these students at a further disadvantage when positioning themselves in the legal and other professional environments.
To ensure a thriving legal sector with equitable access to learning and developmental opportunities for aspirant lawyers and, in so doing, equitable access to justice for all South Africans, Williams says it is imperative to address these challenges and empower the country’s future lawyers to cultivate technical, practical and soft skills.
“Enhancing opportunities for prospective young lawyers, providing support in terms of mentorship, and promoting a robust educational framework that fosters both theoretical and practical (clinical) skills is exactly what we need to focus on to ensure a vibrant, competent and future fit legal workforce and sector in South Africa,” he concludes.
— Brent Williams