The Law Society of South Africa’s House of Constituents at the Inaugural meeting in April.

By Nomfundo Jele

The control of the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) vests in the House of Constituents (HoC). The HoC as the governance structure, determines the policies, strategy and priorities of the LSSA in accordance with its aims and objectives as set out in its constitution.

The Inaugural Meeting of the HoC took place in Kempton Park on 25 April. At the meeting, the LSSA welcomed the composition of the HoC and noted that it consists of several young practitioners and that there was an increased presence of female members. Click here to view the full list of members of the HoC. (See also ‘Law Society elects new President and Vice-Presidents’ for more information regarding the HoC.)

At the meeting, the HoC once again aligned itself with transformation and affirmed its full support for a change in briefing patterns in the profession. It highlighted that it will be engaging with the Justice Department for more transparency on the briefing of attorneys.

The LSSA also agreed that it will work together with the Legal Practice Council (LPC) and other key stakeholders to develop a Legal Services Charter that assists in the transformation of the legal profession.

Young Lawyers Task Team established

The Young Lawyers Task Team has been established to promote young lawyers through capacity building and support. The task team will consider all issues raised by young lawyers and will table recommendations with action required, including issues and recommendations arising from the young lawyers survey conducted by the LSSA. The members of the task team are:

• Nape Masipa (Black Lawyers Association (BLA));
• Danielle du Plessis (Independents); and
• Zincedile Tiya (National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADEL)).

Conveyancing discussed

The pass rate of the conveyancing examination has long been of concern to the legal profession. Various measures have been put in place to try and assist students to better prepare for the examination, without much success. Considering this, the HoC has established a task team to holistically investigate the historically low pass rate of the conveyancing examination despite various interventions. In addition, it will consider the efficacy of past interventions and conveyancing training and the impact on transformation.  The members of the task team are:

• Mabaeng Denise Lenyai (BLA);
• Dave Bennett (Independents); and
• Zincedile Tiya (NADEL).

Nomfundo Jele, Communications Officer, Law Society of South Africa, nomfundom@lssa.org.za