B Mabandla: Legal Services Charter Indaba

17 August 2006

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