This article contains information on how to become a lawyer in South Africa. Just like Medicine and Surgery, Law is one career most people venture into because of the prestige and power that comes with being a lawyer. A lawyer is a person who holds a license to practice law. Lawyers work in both the public and the private sector. They advocate on behalf of their clients and help them understand the law and pursue the course of action that is most helpful to their client’s position. Their help might range from giving their client advice on how the law applies to their case to formally representing their client in a courtroom. They might prepare legal documents, interview witnesses, conduct depositions, argue court motions and conduct trials, etc.
SKILLS REQUIRED FOR LAWYERS
Lawyers require a wide range of academic and interpersonal skills but there are few key skills that are crucial to a lawyers success. They include,
- Active Learning
- Active Listening
- Complex Problem Solving
- Coordination
- Critical Thinking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Monitoring
- Negotiation
- Persuasion
- Reading Comprehension
- Social Perceptiveness
- Systems Analysis
- Time Management
- Writing
- Patience
TECHNOLOGY SKILLS
Lawyers need to know how to use technology. Whether a lawyer works in the private sector, for a government agency or even as a judge, they have to work with various software systems. Most law firms use a case management system to manage files and bill clients.
LISTENING AND COMPREHENSION
Lawyers can not work effectively for their clients unless they are able to listen and comprehend what is being communicated. Cases often hinge on the details, and a lawyer must be able to pick up on those details.
WRITTEN AND VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Lawyers have to understand and analyze large amounts of information. They must read quickly and figure out what’s important to their case. Then, they need to effectively communicate this information in writing. Some legal specialities lean primarily on speaking, while other careers focus entirely on writing. However, all lawyers need to be able to read, write, and speak effectively.
LOGICAL THINKING
Lawyers need to be able to apply facts to the law. They need to use their logic skills in order to find fault in the opponent’s argument. There’s a reason that logic games make up a good portion of the Law School Admission Test. Attorneys have to be able to create logical arguments, reason and evaluate the arguments of others.
REQUIREMENTS OF BECOMING A LAWYER IN SOUTH AFRICA
The path to becoming a lawyer can be a challenging one regardless of the country and in this article, we will be looking at what it takes to become a lawyer in South Africa.
Subjects that are needed to become a lawyer in South Africa include Foundations of South African law, South African private law, constitutional law, criminal law, intellectual property, evidence and African Customary Law. Some classes are mandatory during law school and others are elective classes that you can choose depending on your interests.
However, the first thing you need to know is that in South Africa lawyers are known as Attorneys and Advocates. It takes at least seven years to become an attorney and an additional year to become an advocate. As a law student, being prepared and knowing your career path are simple steps to landing your ideal legal job. In order to become a certified legal practitioner in South Africa, the following are the processes to follow;
1. TAKE A LAW SCHOOL ADMISSION TEST (LSAT)
In order to be accepted into law school, you will be required to pass the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). This test is required for any law school that has been approved. The standardized test takes half a day to complete and assesses an individual’s verbal reasoning skills and acquired reading skills. Law schools use this information to assess their applicants.
2. ACQUIRE UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE
After successfully passing the LSAT, you will need to have a good score in the required subjects to study law, enroll and complete an LLB Law Degree. This is a four-year degree, and this is the minimum requirement. You also have the option of completing the BCom Law Degree before the LLB Law Degree but this is not compulsory. However, should you attend the BCom Law Degree, in addition, it can take up to five years.
During a Bachelor of Laws, you spend a lot of time studying Law books and criminal codes, memorizing stipulations and exceptions. Analyze cases and learn how to efficiently summarize information. Classes also focus on Legal Ethics and students learn about legal principles like the presumption of innocence, which states that a person is considered innocent unless proven guilty.
The degree must be earned at an accredited law school in South Africa but if you are a graduate with a law degree outside of South Africa, you will have to contact the NFA to verify whether your degree is equivalent to an LLB in South Africa.
The LL.B. degree is the necessary degree qualification for individuals who wish to enroll as an Advocate or an Attorney in the country.
Attorneys work in law firms, write contracts and meet with clients, while advocates are the ones that wear a robe and stand up to argue in front of a judge. The attorney is the person with whom you first make contact when you seek legal advice. That is to say that when someone has a legal problem, they approach an attorney, who is expected to have a good working knowledge of the relevant legal issue at hand. When the matter goes to court the attorney has to “brief” an advocate who, based on the information and instruction given to him by the attorney, argues the matter in court. This is the difference between an Attorney and an Advocate.
3. VACATION WORK
In your pre-final year of study or at the end of your second year of study at the university you will need to apply directly to law firms for work experience during July or December holidays. Most of the well-known law firms in South Africa offer work experience for two to three week periods.
This is basically to boost your CV and it is a great opportunity to see how law firms work on a daily basis, find out more about the area you would like to work in and to make new contacts. This is not compulsory but advisable.
4. UPDATE YOUR CV
You will need an updated CV to apply for work experience and articles. Remember your CV is essentially a marketing tool to help you get your foot in the door so you need to ‘sell’ yourself.
How do you do that? Make your CV specific and give examples.
Getting a legal job is very competitive even at this stage and you’ll be competing against other candidates with similar backgrounds. Highlight what makes you stand out. You don’t have much time to impress with your CV because most of the time, employers tend to scan rather than read them, so go straight to the point.
Avoid typos, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Get a professional to help out with your CV if you are not capable of doing that.
5. APPLY FOR ARTICLES OF CLERKSHIP
Once you have completed the recognized Law degree (LLB), you can then apply for a position under articles of clerkship. You will need to work at a law firm and serve as a candidate attorney under the guidance of a practicing attorney to become an attorney yourself. According to the Attorneys Act, a candidate attorney will successfully complete his Articles of Clerkship after a period of two years as well as attending part-time law school.
Alternatively, it can be shortened to one year if the student completes the full-time course at the School for Legal Practice for a period of approximately six months.
6. REGISTER YOUR CONTRACT
When you commence your articles it is important to register your contract with the relevant law society within 2 months of starting, otherwise, you will not be registered as a candidate attorney and your time spent working will not be recognized by the court when you apply to be admitted as an attorney. Do not rely on your principal to register your articles in time even though it is his or her duty. Phone the law society of the province you work in and find out exactly what needs to be done to register your articles.
7. PRACTICAL LEGAL TRAINING (Law school)
This is a compulsory course in practical legal training that teaches you legal skills and prepares you for your board exams. You will need to complete your PLT before you can be admitted as an attorney. Some big firms provide an “in-house” PLT course.
8. FITNESS
At this point you must prove that you are a fit and proper person to serve as an attorney. This involves showing your moral integrity and honesty in everything you do, including your work. Also, there is an interview during the application process to the Law Society by a senior member and this is when attention is placed on issues such as previous convictions.
7. ATTORNEYS ADMISSION EXAMINATION
Once you have completed at least six months of your articles of clerkship, PLT course and proven to be fit to serve as an attorney, you can then take the Attorneys Admission Examination.
This has four parts;
- Ethics
- Court procedure
- Wills and Estates
- Legal Bookkeeping.
You must pass this exam before you can legally practise law on your own.
8. BECOMING AN ADMITTED ATTORNEY
After completing your PLT and passing your board exams. You are entitled to apply to the court to get admitted as an attorney by way of application. Your law firm should take care of this whole procedure for you but it is advisable that you play an active role to ensure your principal signs your confirmatory affidavit correctly and on time.
LAW INSTITUTIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA
- Witwatersrand, Oliver Schreiner School of Law
- University of Cape Town, Wilfred & Jules Kramer Law School, established in 1859.
- University of Fort, Hare Faculty of Law
- University of the Free State Faculty of Law
- University of Johannesburg Faculty of Law
- University of KwaZulu-Natal Faculty of Law established in 2004.
- University of Limpopo Faculty of Law
- North-West University Faculty of Law Potchefstroom Campus established in 1955
- Nelson Mandela University Faculty of Law
- University of Pretoria Faculty of Law established 1908.
- Rhodes University Faculty of Law
- University of South Africa College of Law
- University of Stellenbosch Faculty of Law established in 1921.
- University of Venda Faculty of Law
- University of the Western Cape Faculty of Law & Commerce
- North-West University Faculty of Law Mafikeng Campus
- University of Zululand Faculty of Law
- IIE Varsity College School of Law 2017.
Unless you understand the career path you are not even in the race. This article is to help aspiring legal professionals with the basic steps to becoming a lawyer in South Africa in order not to make mistakes. South African law requires that a lawyer obtain a law degree, work for several years in a legal setting and pass an admissions exam. You must also be at least 21 years old and a citizen or legal resident of South Africa.
