education

In recent reports, it has been found that the graduates that are leaving varsity to enter the legal profession, as candidate attorneys are not fully equipped with the requisite practical skills they ought to have. See links for full report http://bit.ly/1zWrQff, http://bit.ly/1AvRb5g. (Courtesy of University World News Site)

The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) reports that since 1990 thousands of law graduates have benefitted from Practical Legal Training (PLT) programmes, by which their academic training has been supplemented with practically-based training, thereby enhancing their skills preparatory to entry into the profession.

In light of the report on shortages in terms of legal practical skills we emphasise the following: we at the BLA-LEC have designed our legal education training programmes in a manner that caters to historically disadvantaged South Africans, who were deprived of the necessary resources then to further their studies. The Law degree itself in South Africa was the subject of reform in 1998. The aim of this reform was to make the degree more accessible to a larger pool of students, more specifically those from historically disadvantaged backgrounds. Yet, thus for the reform to prove fruitful, it should also be aided by the requisite resources.

What our legal education centre provides is technique that cannot be taught restrictively in a book alone, but rather it is knowledge which is applied through technique, for instance our Trial Advocacy Training (TAT), which we at the legal education centre have been conducting since 1986, Trial Advocacy Training is the art of persuasion, which allows one aided with semantic skill, to deliver sharp legal arguments.

Our legal education centre is funded by the Attorney’s Fidelity Fund which is committed to legal education. Our programmes offer a thorough list of tools required by our candidates. For instance, a 3 day basic intensive training programme which covers the aspects of a trial, inclusive of:

• Case Analysis
• Opening Statements
• Direct Examination (Examination in chief)
• Cross Examination and
• Closing Arguments

We have highly established trainers who bring their experience to the learning programme through, demonstration and valuating performances, instant feedback for our candidates. With this kind of learning one is well on their way to advancing in their legal profession, legal education training is therefore the quintessence of a great lawyer.

The belief in human potential recognizes the importance of people, people are important. For any economy to thrive, it must have a bulk of skilled and inspired people forming part of the workforce. We have crystallized our belief in human potential by way of our Community Outreach programme.

We believe in ploughing back into the community, to ensure development and to create a culture of sustainability. Under our Community Outreach banner, we host Law Clinics and we have adopted a High School and a Children’s Home.

In 2015, we hope to further our human potential agenda and create a legacy that stands the test of time. Do join us, as we lend a hand.

BLA-LEC Mandela Day, 67 Minutes

It is fundamentally important to preserve the dialogue and written work by black lawyers, and legal practitioners before the new constitutional paradigm that came about post-apartheid. This is important for two main reasons: the importance of our own stories (as black lawyers) being told by us, and the ability to check and evaluate our progress against those times, which presents us with a learning opportunity from the past.

This is why the AFRICAN LAW REVIEW is held in high regard by the BLA-LEC, rightfully so at that, as it presents itself now to us amongst other things, a resourceful tool. The Review was launched in 1987, its’ objective: to facilitate a platform for members of the legal profession to engage in robust debate, about issues affecting the profession, and to provide much needed knowledge of the law beyond the legal profession.

Essentially, the AFRICAN LAW REVIEW was a platform for black attorneys to write-up on the applicable laws at the time, new legislation, proposed bills, over and above, a platform for moot. In an honorary article dated April 2010 to the founder, the first president of the Black Lawyers Association (BLA) and the first director of the BLA-LEC, the BLA re-published a noteworthy profile article on Dr. Godfrey Mokgonyane Pitje. This article was initially published in the 1988-bumper issue of the AFRICAN LAW REVIEW, and it highlighted the number of problems encountered by black lawyers at the time: problems of recognition, ‘our own black people did not accept that African lawyers could be as good as white lawyers.’ These problems of recognition were the raison d’etre for the establishment of the AFRICAN LAW REVIEW.

Thus in honour of this great piece of history, we’ve retrieved a case note written on the subject matter of demolished houses titled: ‘The Wrangle on Demolished Homes’. The article choice was not a random one, at the heart of the many socio-economic issues facing South Africa currently, the lack of adequate housing is at the top of the list. This case note was written well over 2 decades ago, yet still relevant to the plight of South African lives today. The note touches on the demolition of peoples’ homes in 1987. Demolitions are closely linked to evictions, which are an issue that always hits South Africa hard. The current position in our law, on evictions is governed by section 26 (3) of the Constitution, read with the PIE ACT (Prevention of Illegal Eviction from, and Unlawful Occupation of, Land Act 19 of 1998). These statutory provisions aim to remedy the problems faced by many landless unlawful occupants around South Africa, who meet the requisite requirements of the Act, by preventing unlawful evictions commissioned by property owners.

The AFRICAN LAW REVIEW was last published in 1995, however its’ legacy endures and offers several talking points, and guidelines for prospective and current legal practitioners. It even goes beyond the reach of the legal profession, it is an essential part of the history of South Africa as it has documented pivotal events. The founding members of the AFRICAN LAW REVIEW founded the review on the values and objectives that the BLA-LEC operates on. It is a tool that should not be forgotten, nor left behind in history, but one that should be preserved and used to inspire both young and old.

The AFRICAN LAW REVIEW is thus a fine collective account of the rich history of the BLA, the BLA-LEC, South Africa and Africa as a whole. We fully encourage that you take time to peruse it and reflect back on the past, to set the tone forward.

The purpose of Legal Education Training is to develop and improve legal skills. Most of which are practical based, or were inaccessible to previously disadvantaged legal practitioners.

We have grouped our trainings into 3 main pillars, namely:

• Trial Advocacy Training
• Commercial Law Programme
• Continuing Legal Education.

We have been conducting the Trial Advocacy programme since 1986, you can read up on this type of training and more under our ‘Training’ tab on the site.

We put emphasis on practical legal skills, as we all know that legal practice is far different from what we find in textbooks, legal education training offers a more thorough and interactive approach.