Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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I see that the LSSA recently held a summit on the briefing patterns with regard to advocates. The complaint was that there is an unequal distribution of work, with not enough work going to black advocates and of the most outspoken people, according to the report I read in De Rebus was an attorney by the name of Batseng Rangata who said that the legal profession will not transform itself and it will need legislative intervention. She said that the problem is no matter how much black people prove themselves in the legal profession, they are perceived as incompetent, unprofessional, inefficient, ineffective and lazy.
The Deputy Minister of Justice, John Jeffrey, said that they would have to look into why certain people are getting a lot of the work. I am all for transformation, and I understand its need in a country like ours, but for me transformation starts at the very top. What are the people to think every time they see who President Jacob Zuma has selected as his advocates? Is it scandalous that big business, the Law Society or any of those who want to try and win an important battle want to use the same types of counsel that the government turns to every time they are before the Constitutional Court or President Zuma turns to every single time he has an issue?
Sometimes, as a leader, you also have to lead by example. It would be nice if, instead of criticising the legal profession and its transformation, speakers like this could prevail upon the President and his Ministers to start using black advocates in those cases and to stop turning to what they perceive, and on this lady’s version, perceive incorrectly, are the leading advocates in a country. If you don’t do that one gets a confusing message and that is that the various Ministers and the President consider certain white advocates in South Africa to be the best advocates in the country for their cases, but for the purposes of transformation, the rest of us, who obviously don’t have as important cases, should not use the same advocates that they do.
I don’t choose the advocates that our firm uses based on their sex, language, religious background or race – I choose, between the people who work in that field and who have the most experience, who I believe is best for my client’s case. That of course makes it more difficult for young people to rise, because they are lacking that experience and so they will of course have to rely on smaller cases and limited opportunities to prove themselves in time, but if I am doing a multi-million rand personal injury case for a client of ours, I cannot choose somebody, regardless of their race or sex or language, who does not have that much experience in the field. It does make it very hard to achieve more transformation, and I understand that, but the point of my blog is that it starts at the top and the government can overnight change who they are briefing and sending out a message of having great confidence in the new people they choose – but in 22 years, so far, they have not done that.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Thursday 28-Jul-16
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Comments
Zanell said:
on Tuesday 23-Aug-16 09:26 AM
I think that firms brief advocates who are experienced and advocates who they know. I think it is very difficult for advocates to find work because there are so many of them and a lot of firms always brief the same advocates because they trust them.
Nicolle said:
on Tuesday 23-Aug-16 09:19 AM
This is what I dont understand, why would you force one to work with an Advocate that you simply do not get along with? Surely, productivity, smooth proceedings and success is prudent when you put together a team of individuals who function well together, as a unit. That being said, gone are the days where it was simply acceptable to only brief and use old, white men. Transformation does start at the top BUT why wait for it to trickle down to the rest of us. Why not take a chance, brief new counsel, young brilliant women and men, who if given the opportunity might surprise us.
Sally said:
on Tuesday 23-Aug-16 08:01 AM
I believe you need to make use of someone's service that has experience in the field that you need them in. You can not employ a street sweeper as a legal secretary just because she is beautiful and you like to look at her all day long. You employ or use the services of the most experience person in his field to do the job and get the results which the client deserves.
Natasha said:
on Monday 15-Aug-16 08:13 AM
You cannot judge someone regarding their race for all you know you don't know how hard they worked to be where they are today
Alexis said:
on Monday 01-Aug-16 02:33 PM
It all has to do with who has more experience. Of course the old Advocates would be used, they have been doing what they are doing for years, they have the experience and knowledge. It will take some time for newbies to come into play. They have to prove their worth
Nicky said:
on Friday 29-Jul-16 04:54 PM
One does notice the lack of transformation at court. I agree with Jessica's comment-it will take long for transformation to take place as a result of not everybody having have had the opportunity to study in the past.
Catherine said:
on Friday 29-Jul-16 04:49 PM
Transformation needs to take place one way or another. It does not help to put it in theory and sing about it and has actually to be put into practice that is the only way it will start to happen.
Tamzyn said:
on Friday 29-Jul-16 04:16 PM
Even though it will make it difficult to enter a field, people should be chosen based on their competencies and experience (which is something that will affect all individuals who have just been admitted to the bar, regardless of race and gender)
Sarah said:
on Friday 29-Jul-16 03:41 PM
i think they should pick the corr ct person for the job not look at the age , sex, race etc. Everyone should be treated equal
Cornelie said:
on Friday 29-Jul-16 01:52 PM
In todays live one cannot choose between race, you need to get the best person for the job to be done and for the best results regardless the colour, pink green white or yellow.
Helen said:
on Friday 29-Jul-16 09:39 AM
The question is who exactly lodge the complaint to LSSA about the unequal distribution of work? Does it really matter the sex, language, religious background or race - if the right candidate has years of experience, few degrees and talent. So many questions I have to people who are truly can call themselves as a racists, so sad that they cannot even see that!!!!!
joyce said:
on Thursday 28-Jul-16 05:08 PM
I think they should not make race an issue, not to criticize and take correct decision distribute work equal.
Tamaryn said:
on Thursday 28-Jul-16 03:15 PM
I always believe in selecting the best person for the job, regardless of race, age, sex etc. All advocates have to start at the very bottom and gain the experience they need to become the best person for the job. Perhaps it is the more junior advocates that they are referring to here. Nonetheless, each paying client should always be entitled to the best representation for their case possible and not have to use, for example, someone they do not have confidence in.
Bianca said:
on Thursday 28-Jul-16 12:36 PM
For me it is about whether or not you can do the job and how efficiently you can do the job, not your race or any other factor. In terms of briefing in our industry, the client deserves a counsel that has experience in our field of law and can efficiently service the client and "fight" for the best possible settlement for the injuries that pain and suffering that they have sustained. Transformation is great and I am all for it but the counsel must be able to properly service the firm and client.
Angelique P said:
on Thursday 28-Jul-16 12:30 PM
Everybody needs a chance in life but you gotta work hard for it to earn it.
There are lots of people that works hard to be where they are now.
I believe if you have the qualifications and experience and you can do the job then there is no debate.
No matter your race, sex, language etc. etc.
Prishani said:
on Thursday 28-Jul-16 11:20 AM
I do agree that transformation starts at the top and if our government starts making decisions that set a positive example in terms of transformation it would definitely be a good start, I do however, also believe that it is a long process and that baby steps should be taken to reach the goal of transformation.
Chanika said:
on Thursday 28-Jul-16 11:16 AM
Language, sex, religious background or race doe not matter in my opinion. It all comes down to it, if you can do the job or not and whether you are the best in the field. This makes it definitely harder for ensuring transformation but one should think of growth for the coming years and the standard of work to be done.
Mathilda said:
on Thursday 28-Jul-16 11:12 AM
Everyone is equal
I think everyone should get a chance to proof themselves obviously if you have the qualifications you have to get a fair chance no matter what your race or gender
Daniella said:
on Thursday 28-Jul-16 09:56 AM
Transformation definitely starts at the top , our government should be a leading example ( Which we all know he isn't ) , change will always happen slowly no matter what , that's why it is important to get the ball rolling early enough before it becomes impossible to change
Latoya said:
on Thursday 28-Jul-16 08:57 AM
Transformation in this country is going to take a lot of time and hardwork.
Angelique Jurgens said:
on Thursday 28-Jul-16 08:50 AM
I must agree with Kaylee. There are more issues to address regarding inequality such as gender specifically woman! As well as what about coloured people then, we were also previous disadvantaged so are we included in that category? I agree wholeheartedly before they can expect legal firms to transform government needs to lead by example. If I were a client or even a director of a firm its only natural that I would want the best advocates regardless of the colour of their skin. It might take a while before this change is implemented.
Suzanne said:
on Thursday 28-Jul-16 08:45 AM
Sadly, I also agree that we have a long way to go in this country regarding transformation. It does indeed start at the very top. Work needs to be distributed and every single person should have the opportunity to build up their experience and prove themselves, that would in turn definitely bring on the necessary transformation.
Johann said:
on Thursday 28-Jul-16 08:45 AM
The RAF is really doing well in briefing previously disadvantaged individuals. It will be quite a blow to transformation if there are changes to legislation that reduces RAF litigation.
patrick said:
on Thursday 28-Jul-16 08:37 AM
i agree with you that transformation should start at the Top. it is very simple to distribute work. A typical example is Raf defendant panels Attorneys. When i used to do this work, each firm was required every year to submit stats of how many black Advocates were used and how many females were used. this ensured a fair distribution of the cake and it also allowed young and up coming to get the necessary experience.if various Departments were to embark on this course, it should work.on the flip side of the coin is what you are raising about a particular area of the law,you can not appoint a commercial Advocate to deal with Personal Injury.that will be huge injustice to client.
Jessica Apfel said:
on Thursday 28-Jul-16 08:13 AM
True transformation will only be evident in a few years to come, taking into consideration the fact that previously disadvantaged persons were only recently afforded the opportunity to attend tertiary education and some not even having this opportunity to date.
Kaylee said:
on Thursday 28-Jul-16 08:08 AM
Unfortunately as much as the Bar is heavily involved in transformation in both race and gender it does come down to the attorneys and who they decide to brief. I have heard of bigger firms brining junior counsel from previously disadvantaged backgrounds on matters to give them exposure and make something of their careers. I have said it before on this blog, that I firmly believe in gender transformation. Have you noticed how female counsel are hardly used on matters? Unfortunately, the bar still has a long way to go in terms of transformation, but they are getting there. I do think attorneys firms need to start taking the transformation route in who they brief as well. I am all for empowerment!
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
