scholarly journals Recent Developments in the Provision of Pro Bono Legal Services by Attorneys in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 128
Author(s):  
Dave Holness
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Private Practice ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Legal Services ◽  
Legal Service ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Economic Climate ◽  
The Status ◽  
Pro Bono ◽  
Recent Developments

This paper focuses on legal service delivery for the indigent by attorneys in private practice acting pro bono in civil rather than criminal matters.  In this regard there have been and continue to be considerable gaps between the proper access to civil justice imperatives of constitutional South Africa and the status quo which has existed from the advent of a democratic South Africa until the present. Law as a vehicle for necessary positive change in the daily lives of South African residents is pertinently considered within the country’s woefully unequal socio-economic climate. This paper considers the role which pro bono work by private attorneys is playing and should play in promoting a more just and equitable society through proper access to justice. It explores the current position in South Africa as well as the position in selected foreign jurisdictions regarding pro bono services by attorneys in private practice in civil matters. Part of the discussion focuses on the question of whether pro bono work should be voluntary or mandatory. The merits of introducing a pro bono obligation are critically analysed by looking at the effect on both legal practitioners as well as those receiving the pro bono services. Having defined pro bono work, the practical need for pro bono work by lawyers in private practice is highlighted due to the dearth of legal aid in civil matters for indigent South Africans. Possible constitutional imperatives for the provision of free legal services in civil matters are highlighted. An important part of the paper is a reflection on some of the pro bono work being conducted by private firms of attorneys.  The paper concludes with suggestions on means for establishing a more effective pro bono system in South Africa.

scholarly journals Improving Access to Justice through Law Graduate Post-Study Community Service in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Dave Holness
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Vocational Training ◽  
Legal Profession ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Legal Services ◽  
Legal Service ◽  
Separate Study

Access to justice for all in South Africa, as most clearly set out in sections 34 and 35 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, is necessary to realise various other fundamental rights and to improve living standards. There are insufficient free legal services available to the indigent in South Africa, especially in civil matters, thereby often making meaningful access to justice unattainable. This study considers possible approaches, challenges and opportunities for law graduate community service in South Africa (hereinafter "community service") to expand the ambit and impact of free legal services to the indigent. This would promote the constitutional imperative of access to justice, focussing on civil matters. This study concentrates on the access to justice potential of and challenges to such community service. Such challenges will be shown to include its proper utilisation and control through the adequate supervision of graduates. This paper argues that graduate community service has the capacity to promote better access to justice and hence that steps should be taken for its introduction in some form. Community service and means for law graduates to perform this as a necessary part of vocational training before entering the legal profession are provided for in section 29 of the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 (LPA). But despite parts of the Act being operative, community service is neither in operation nor do regulations yet exist for its implementation. The specific vocational training element(s) for law graduates is worthy of separate study and is not the focus of this paper. Such a separate study would include opportunity creation - such as gaining the necessary practical experience and the establishment of employment opportunities - and training challenges for graduates during community service. In the pre-LPA era it would have been necessary to focus more on whether community service for law graduates should be included in legislation or not as part of graduates' vocational training and as a key component of free legal service delivery. Some such arguments are alluded to as community service has yet to be implemented and its implementation is not a fait accompli. But because it is now included in the LPA as a legal aid service delivery possibility, this study instead focusses on the need for the effective and appropriate implementation and operation of community service to turn the requirements and encouraging promise of the LPA on community service into reality. The paper explores issues such as the necessary and appropriate supervision and placement of law graduates completing community service. The research very briefly touches on whether community service would best be compulsory for graduates as part of their vocational training or merely one possible route towards admission to the legal profession. Lessons are sought for legal community service in South Africa from existing medical post-study community service schemes as to the role which such schemes have played in expanded service provision and impediments experienced in reaching such goals. These lessons are applied to proposals for the implementation and operation of law graduate community service. This study considers how community service could and should be a key component of a multi-faceted and co-ordinated approach to expand and improve free legal services for the indigent in civil matters in South Africa with its gross inequality, unemployment and poverty. For this goal to be realised, there must be mechanisms for its effective roll-out and operation.       

Negotiating Status: Pro Bono Partners and Counsels in Large Law Firms

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Atinuke O. Adediran
Keyword(s):  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Vulnerable Populations ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
Law Firms ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Legal Services ◽  
Law Firm ◽  
The Status ◽  
Pro Bono

Law firm pro bono work provides access to justice to low-income people and other vulnerable populations. The professionals that manage pro bono programs are at the forefront of that process. The limited available research on these professionals do not often distinguish lawyers from other managers or theorize about their status vis-à-vis other law firm lawyers. Yet the status of lawyers who are also managers of pro bono programs influences both their identities and the management and provision of legal services and advocacy. Drawing on original demographic and interview data, this article shows how law firm pro bono partners and counsels navigate their ambiguous roles and negotiate their status as lawyers and managers. I find that pro bono partners and counsels navigate their ambiguous roles by striving to be perceived as “real” lawyers, reframe their roles as business generators, conform to the billing culture, and establish a common identity. They also negotiate their titles and office spaces to raise their profiles. Gender inequality influences the negotiation of office spaces and the approval of pro bono matters. These findings have implications for lawyers who manage pro bono programs and the legitimacy of pro bono work.

scholarly journals Pro Bono in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thabang Pooe ◽  
Alice Brown ◽  
Jonathan Klaaren
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Legal Profession ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Legal Services ◽  
The South ◽  
Legal Representation ◽  
Civic Duty ◽  
Pro Bono ◽  
African Context

This chapter explores issues related to the state of pro bono legal services and access to justice in South Africa. As is made clear in this book, what is referred to as “pro bono” comes from the Latin pro bono publico, meaning “for the public good.” It describes legal work undertaken by legal practitioners without remuneration or at significantly below-market rates as a public service for individuals or organizations who cannot afford to pay. In the South African context, the concept of pro bono must be understood alongside specific constitutional provisions as well as against the structure of the legal profession. In our view, increasing access to justice for the poor, marginalized, and indigent individuals and communities should be seen by members of the South African legal community as an essential component to fulfilling not only their civic duty but also their constitutional obligations. Our understanding of pro bono includes aspirations of access to justice with the legal profession playing a part in its realization. This can only be made real for all people living in South Africa if they have access to legal representation, and much of the private legal profession understands and acknowledges that it has anobligation in this regard. Pro bono practice is therefore a necessary institution for addressing access to justice. It is not, however, sufficient. Pro bono practice must be augmented by the work of paralegals and extended to the particular South African vision of community service, which itself does aspire to implement and achieve access to justice.

scholarly journals "Our roots began in (South) Africa": Modelling law clinics to maximise social justice ends

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 88
Author(s):  
Donald Nicolson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Legal Service ◽  
Legal Professionals ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
University Of Cape Town ◽  
The University

<p align="JUSTIFY">This article explores the ways in which law clinics can be organised to maximise their impact on social justice in South Africa. Such impact can be both direct in the form of the actual legal services offered to those in need or indirect in the form of encouraging law clinic students to commit to assisting those most in need of legal service after they graduate either through career choice or other forms of assistance. The article develops a decision-making matrix for clinic design around two dimensions, each with a number of variables. The first, "organizational" dimension relates to the way clinics are organised and run, and involves choices about whether: (1) clinics emphasise social justice or student learning; (2) student participation attracts academic credit or is extra-curricular; (3) participation is compulsory or optional; (4) clinics are managed and run by staff or students; and (5) there is one "omnibus" clinic structure covering all clinic activities or a "cluster" of discrete clinics conducting different activities. The second, "activities" dimensions involves choices about whether services are: (1) specialist or generalist; (2) exclusively legal or "<span lang="IT">holistic</span><span lang="EN">"; (3) provided only by students or qualified legal professionals; (4) located in community neighbourhoods or on campus; (5) provided by students working "in-house" in a university clinic or in external placements; (6) designed to benefit the wider community rather than just the individuals directly served; and (7) designed to remedy existing problems or educate the public on their legal rights and duties. </span></p><p align="JUSTIFY">While not intending to set out a blueprint for existing law clinics, the article argues that, if South African are motivated to enhance their impact on social justice and level of community engagement, they can learn much from the first law clinic to be established in South Africa, at the University of Cape Town, which was entirely student-run, optional and solely focused on ensuring access to justice rather than educating students. Drawing on his experience in adapting this model for use in Scotland, the author looks at the advantages of combining the volunteerist and student owned nature of this clinic with some formal teaching and staff involvement to maximize both the direct and indirect impact of clinics on social justice.</p>

Multinational Company Litigation

2021 ◽  
pp. 85-112
Author(s):  
Jason Brickhill ◽  
Zanele Mbuyisa
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Public Interest Litigation ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Class Actions ◽  
Current State ◽  
Recent Developments

Jason Brickhill and Zanele Mbuyisa review the current state of play in South Africa in terms of the imposition of civil liability on multinationals for human rights abuses. They outline the rules on jurisdiction over claims by foreign claimants and corporations and potential causes of action under common law, statute, and the Constitution. Specific consideration is given to the potential influence on the development of South African law of recent English law decisions on parent company liability. By reference to the goldminers’ silicosis and the Kabwe lead poisoning cases, they highlight the value to victims of the relatively recent developments of class actions in South Africa and the rules on discovery and damages. In terms of access to justice, they consider the receptiveness of the judiciary to public interest litigation and the key provisions relating to prescription and costs and funding, including by litigation funders.

The Conceptualisation of Pro Bono in Singapore

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 97-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Whalen-Bridge
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Legal Services ◽  
Legal Aid ◽  
Pro Bono ◽  
Over Time

Abstract“Pro bono” is a familiar phrase in North American jurisdictions that generally refers to a lawyer’s provision of free legal services to indigent persons. The phrase “pro bono” has also come to imply a particular approach to a lawyer’s relationship to indigent persons, one that stresses the obligatory as opposed to the charitable nature of the services provided. To what extent has this phrase, and its conceptualisation of a lawyer’s role, been used in Asian jurisdictions? This article examines how one Asian jurisdiction, Singapore, conceptualises a lawyer’s relationship to indigent persons by examining newspaper usage of phrases describing legal services for indigent persons. The article argues that changes in usage over time, from free legal services and legal aid to inclusion of pro bono, coupled with increased discussions of access to justice, represent a shift to a more obligatory concept of indigent legal services. An obligatory conceptualisation potentially exerts greater pressure on lawyers to provide indigent legal services, but can also exert pressure to revise the historical lack of broad-based government funded criminal legal aid in Singapore.

scholarly journals Community Legal Centres in the Digital Era: The Use of Digital Technologies in Queensland Community Legal Centres

2019 ◽  
pp. 64-79
Author(s):  
Stebin Sam ◽  
Ashley Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Legal Services ◽  
Legal Service ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Digital Disruption

Digital technologies are revolutionising the delivery of legal services within Australia. Challenged by innovative technologies, products and processes, the legal profession has been forced to confront their technologically disrupted future and adapt to the new technological age, as both providers and clients become progressively more reliant on increasingly sophisticated digital technology. One sector that stands to reap the benefits of digital disruption is free legal service providers, such as Community Legal Centres (CLCs), whose services benefit from the extended outreach, accessibility and efficiency that digital technologies provide. As institutions that are dedicated to ensuring that vulnerable client groups have access to justice, CLCs must be cautious not to adopt digital technologies without due thought and, consequently, potentially alienate vulnerable clients. In this new technological era, it is now more crucial than ever for CLCs to ensure that clients who may lack access to technology, are digitally illiterate, or prefer face-to-face interactions, are catered for within the CLC sector. This paper addresses the use of technology by Queensland CLCs by drawing on data collected from semi-structured, qualitative interviews with 10 employees from eight different CLCs. The article asserts that Queensland CLCs preferred to adopt digital technologies that assisted with their organisational needs over client-oriented services, attempting to strike the delicate balance between technological convenience and technological inaccessibility.

scholarly journals Pro Bono: What's in it for law students? The students' perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Paul McKeown
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Student Participation ◽  
Law School ◽  
Law Students ◽  
Influential Factor ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Legal Services ◽  
Motivating Factors ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Pro Bono

<p>In England and Wales, there is an increasing need for the provision of pro bono legal services.  Law students may be a resource that can help fill the access to justice gap, whilst at university and onwards in their future careers.  Whilst some students are intrinsically motivated towards altruistic behaviour, many are not.  This article will consider what motivates students to undertake pro bono work whilst at law school.</p><p>The article will explore the range of intrinsic and extrinsic motivating factors for student participation in pro bono programmes and consider how students can be encouraged to engage in such activities.  The article will also consider whether exposure to pro bono experience can instil a public service ethos in students.</p>In conclusion, the article will highlight experience as an influential factor in encouraging initial participation in pro bono work but also instilling a willingness to undertake pro bono work in the future.

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