Date: 17/08/2006
Source: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
Title: Mabandla: Legal Services Charter Indaba


    Opening address by Ms Brigitte Mabandla, MP, Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development at the Legal Services Charter Indaba in Sandton

Programme Director
Deputy Minister
Distinguished Members of the Judiciary
Members of the legal profession
Members of the Steering Committee
Honoured guests
Ladies and gentlemen

I would like to welcome and thank you all for having taken time out to join us here today at this important Indaba. I am very pleased that so many of you, stakeholders in the legal profession, have responded positively to our invitation to participate in the process of developing a legal services charter.

Today we seek to take forward this important process. The ideals we seek to achieve through the transformation of the legal sector are underpinned by a resilient struggle for freedom by some of South Africa’s best legal luminaries. We count on many great lawyers who sacrificed their lives and life comforts during the struggle to pave the way to a just and transformed society. These luminaries include, Nelson Mandela, O R Tambo, Sissie Gool, Shulamith Muller, Duma Nokwe, Godfrey Pitje, Dullah Omar, Ismael Mohamed, Griffiths and Victoria Mxenge. Many of us here will recall that some of these luminaries, as professionals in practice, suffered untold humiliation under the Group Areas Act and the Separate Amenities Act.

Decades of exclusion and marginalisation of black lawyers has resulted in a skewed distribution of established and profitable businesses providing legal services. The largest and most profitable firms are both white led and owned; the least successful practices are individual practices owned mostly by black South Africans. It is therefore correct to say that the inequalities in the profession are systemic. Unless there is an intervention aimed at truly increasing opportunity for all in the profession, the inequalities will be exacerbated, especially that we are in the era of globalisation.

Ladies and gentlemen

Legal services have in the last decade become globalised. It is therefore not surprising that legal services were among the issues for negotiation at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The legal profession in South Africa is beginning to experience the effects of the global competition. Is it not true that we are seeing more mergers of legal firms in South Africa and in some cases the partnerships extend to firms in other countries? We seek not to tamper with the tide of globalisation, because indeed we cannot. Our concern and responsibility as government, is to create an enabling environment for all to have equal opportunity.

While encouraging strides of appointing blacks and women have been made within the legal sector by some of the big traditionally white firms, we still remain with the challenge of creating more opportunities for those that never had such opportunities. I must say that we cannot create equal opportunity in a climate of systemic inequality unless we take special measures to bring about equity. Can we honestly say, by virtue of having a progressive constitution we have miraculously rid ourselves of systemic racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination in our society and institutions? All men and women of reason will agree that this is not the case and that we still experience residual racism and sexism.

I urge you to seriously consider the warning made by the late and former Chief Justice Ismael Mohamed when addressing a law student graduation ceremony at the University of Cape Town in 1999: “This pervasive and continuing legacy of racial inequality is potentially capable of seriously impairing the fulfilment of our vision to build a single and united South Africa which is morally just, politically stable and economically vigorous. It is a legacy which therefore needs to be addressed and reversed urgently.”

Accordingly, the Charter process should inspire us to proceed with determination towards the transformation of the legal sector for the good of all our people. The process will not only enrich the transformation process in the legal sector, but will be good for the whole country.

I am looking forward to fruitful deliberations during the course of this Indaba and am confident that your contribution will not only enrich the transformation process within the legal profession, but the entire South African society.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
17 August 2006