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Mandatory training, as stipu- lated in terms of Section 8 to Section 10 of the Judicial Matters Second Amendment Act 55 of 2003, aims to equip attorneys for the management aspect of their legal businesses and to enhance the business success and leader- ship of the legal profession, in general, and professional services to the public, says Law Society of South Africa Legal Education and Development (LEAD) director Nic Swart.

This section of the Act states that practice management training is mandatory for all attorneys who are to be issued with their first Attorneys Fidelity Fund (AFF) certificates, subsequent to August 14, 2009.

All attorneys issued with an AFF certificate for the first time after August 14, 2009, must complete a course to the satisfaction of the relevant statutory provincial law society. Registration for the course is not a prerequisite for the issuing of the AFF certifi- cate; however, successful com- pletion thereof – before December 31, of the year of issue of the first AFF certificate – is required in terms of Section 42 of the Attorneys Act 53 of 1979 to enable the relevant statutory law society to issue an attorney with future AFF certificates.

Swart explains that as of August 2009, any attorney who opens a practice or becomes a partner in a law firm, must complete practice management training. This is the result of the majority of law schools not offering courses in leadership or basic management principles. He adds that the running of an attorney’s practice requires business acumen and, in view of the competitive nature of the legal business, it was felt that attorneys’ firms would perform better with sound management systems.

“Many men and women graduates are admitted to the bar as advocates and enter the attorneys’ profession without an appropriate concept of what is required to run a business or to start a new firm and make either one professionally and financially successful,” he says.

Practice management training is available through the LEAD and will be offered as after-hours attendance or distance-based courses. The duration of the course will be six months and training will be provided for 120 hours on an after-hours basis in sessions of three hours.

The duration of the distance-based courses will be six months and will include workshops and assignments. Both forms of training will include the submission of a business plan and the completion of a final open-book problem- based test.

The management-training programme has been developed by the Law Society of South Africa to assist attorneys in managing their practices effectively, by combining legal expertise with strategic business management.

The training is practice orien- tated and focuses on management, risk, finance, systems, administration, marketing, people and strategy.

Previous management experience may be taken into account and a certificate of deemed compliance will be granted only if applicants can demon-strate that they have acquired an appropriate qualification or experience in different fields during the five years preceding the application. In such cases, the relevant committee may require an applicant to complete an assessment.

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