CAREER GUIDE TO THE LEGAL PROFESSION IN SOUTH AFRICA PUBLISHED BY THE LAW SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA FOR 2023

INTRODUCTION

South Africa needs committed young graduates to join the legal profession. According to the Oxford Dictionary, a profession is a paid occupation which requires a prolonged education and training. Lawyers are part of more than 1 400 professions and careers open to young graduates from universities in South Africa.

Being a professional, you will need to commit yourself to lifelong learning, with a pivotal need to read. Choosing a profession requires care, thought and planning. [1] You need to know what you want, why you want it, and how to get it. [2]

So, it is important for you to decide why you seek a career in law. To make a sensible decision, you must know something about the legal profession in South Africa and how to get there. Since 27 April 1994, when South Africa became a constitutional democracy, the scope and demand for skilled legal professionals have expanded remarkably. The advent of information technology has opened a vista for the employment of lawyers that could hardly have been predicted fifty years ago.

South Africa is also very favourably placed in the World, particularly by the slow but inexorable economic progress in Africa itself. Forecasts of economic, social and cultural growth place Africa as the fastest-growing continent during the 21^st Now is not the time to leave Africa. [3] Now is the time to become a legal professional in Africa. If you live in South Africa, this is an excellent place to start.

The legal profession has, over the years, not been able to accommodate all graduates. Over the past few years, the capacity to absorb graduates has decreased due to COVID and the economic aspects linked to the pandemic and other economic factors. Despite this, there are various other sectors where candidates can find gainful employment, as indicated in this document.

The scope of the legal profession is vast. There are four main sectors: the public sector; the private sector; the civic and nongovernmental sector, which straddles both the private and public sectors; and the courts and administration of the justice sector. Each sector requires candid, competent, committed and capable professionals. Each sector is discussed in more detail below. However, here is a sketch of the scope of each sector.

Public sector:

Chapter 9: State Institutions Supporting Constitutional Democracy. These institutions are explained below.
Any department of state or administration in the national, provincial or local sphere of government. These are the organs of state, which are also explained below.

Private sector

Companies at multinational level to sole proprietors in small firms, partnerships, close corporations and every type of company or firm in between. A remarkable feature of economic activity in any country in the world is that small enterprises are frequently more agile and sought after than larger enterprises. [4]

Civic and nongovernmental organisations

Trade unions, Human Rights and civil rights organisations, homeowners’ associations, ratepayers’ associations, sports’organisations, religious organisations, and lawyers’organisations, all are part of the NGO (nongovernment organisations) or GONGOS (government NGOs) like SALGA – the South African Local Government Organisation, and SASCOC – the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee.

Courts and the administration of justice

The Superior Courts
The Lower Courts
The Solicitor-General
The State Attorney
The National Prosecuting Authority

The extraordinary array of employment opportunities in any one of the above sectors is mesmerising. Considering the scope of opportunities for graduates from law faculties in our universities in South Africa, you will take heart and read more of this article.

OVERVIEW OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM IN SOUTH AFRICA

Constitution, 1996

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, is the supreme law of South Africa. Law or conduct inconsistent with the Constitution is invalid, and the obligations imposed by the Constitution must be fulfilled. So, where do you start?
Law students learn about the origin of our Constitution. Our Constitution is drawn from the history of South Africa in all its complexity, diversity, adversity, conflicts and compromises amongst all of our people. Our Constitution is a work in progress: it has already been amended seventeen times since 1996.
Law students learn that the Constitution also has its roots in multiple legal systems of the past and present, like:

African customary law;
Roman law;
Roman-Dutch law and the common law (from judges’ decisions and textbook authorities);
English law; and in more recent times
International law.

Law students learn that the Constitution has influences from political, social and economic events; for example, four important charters all coincidentally signed in the month of June, yet, upon closer scrutiny, a few years apart!

African Charter on Human and Peoples’Rights: 27 June 1981 (OAU in Nairobi)
Freedom Charter: 26 June 1955 (Kliptown, Johannesburg)
Charter of the United Nations: 26 June 1945 (San Francisco, USA)
Magna Carta: 15 June 1215 (Runnymede, Windsor, England)

People who earn their living by practising law are lawyers. Law students learn that the word lawyer means any person in this short but incomplete list. A lawyer can be:

A judge
A magistrate
A state law advisor
A law professor
A law lecturer
An attorney (or a solicitor in England or an attorney at law in the USA)
An advocate (or a barrister in England)
A legal practitioner (a newish name in South Africa)
A candidate legal practitioner
A candidate attorney
A pupil
A legal advisor/adviser
A legal officer
A legal representative
A legal executive
A legal administrator
An inhouse counsel (also known as a corporate counsel)
A partner in a law firm (an equity or non-equity partner)
A professional assistant in a law firm
A legal consultant
A member of the Bar (an advocate or a barrister or both)
A senior counsel (SC)(or a QC/KC in England – meaning a Queen’s or King’s Counsel)
A junior counsel
A prosecutor
A jurist

Some people confuse the word lawyer with the word attorney. But, as you can see from the list above, an attorney is one type of lawyer amongst many other types of lawyers. Indeed, a law student is also a lawyer, except not yet earning money from practising law.
Law students learn about the courts and the administration of justice. All the courts have staff to run the day to day operations. Most of the staff are not qualified lawyers. The staff who are not lawyers comprise, inter alia workers who clean the courts, guard the courts, and administrative officials working at the courts. Lawyers also love Latin phrases. Inter alia means, among other things. Prima facie (at first sight), you already knew that.
The lawyers who work, or who are employed, at the courts include:

Judicial officers – like judges or magistrates
Registrars or Clerks of Court
Masters of a High Court
Maintenance officers
Family Advocates
Prosecutors

OVERVIEW OF THE REQUIREMENTS TO ENTER THE LEGAL PROFESSION

Nowadays, law students need a Batchelor of Laws (LLB – Legum Baccalaureus in Latin) to enter the legal profession. Some universities offer an LLB as an undergraduate degree over four years, and others as a postgraduate degree over three years. A number of universities offer students the choice between an undergraduate or postgraduate LLB.
A postgraduate LLB is preferred if one has the means, bursary, or scholarship. It makes you more marketable in the future and more able to cope with an LLB at university. [5]
After graduation with an LLB, the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 requires aspirant attorneys and advocates to enter into a practical vocational training (“PVT”) contract with an attorney or advocate in practice. (Being in practice is explained later). The requirement is analogous to the internship of graduates in the medical profession.
At the moment, the PVT requirement is causing a bottleneck in entering the profession. There are too few attorneys and advocates in practice able to enter into PVT contracts with new graduates. Parliament is aware of the bottleneck and is considering practical ways to address the problem. The imperative for Parliament to address the problem comes from the preamble to the Legal Practice Act (“LPA”). The preamble commits South Africa to transform the legal profession to be more broadly representative of the demographics of our country.
It is important to point out to all young people considering a profession in law that transformation of the legal profession does not require the exclusion of any graduates on the basis of their origin, ethnicity or language. One of the most important features of a sound democratic society is its commitment to diversity. [6] Remember the history of our Coat of Arms adopted on 27 April 2000. The motto means “diverse people unite”.[7]
Young people, your parents or guardians, reading this Career Guide to the Legal Profession, please take heed of the previous paragraph. Our country needs all of you who are interested in law. We need you as much as our country needs doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, accountants, architects, artists, and professionals of every description who strive for a better future for South Africa. No one is excluded: all are welcome.

DETAILS OF THE WORK AVAILABLE TO LAW GRADUATES

When you start your studies at university, it is important to know what employment you can get at the end of your degree. Let us consider the following list of employment opportunities for law graduates. We begin with the public sector.

Public sector

Chapter 9 Institutions

In the Constitution of 1996, seven state institutions are designed to support constitutional democracy listed in Chapter 9. [8] Each institution has employees. Many of those employees are law graduates. The seven institutions are:

The Public Protector
The South African Human Rights Commission
The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission)
The Commission for Gender Equality
The Auditor-General
The Electoral Commission
An Independent Authority to Regulate Broadcasting (ICASA has this role at present)

Each Chapter 9 institution has a website worth visiting. [9] Each Chapter 9 institution also has constitutionally guaranteed independence. No person or organ of state may interfere with the functioning of these institutions. (See section 181 of the Constitution.)

Organs of state

Any department of state or administration in the national, provincial or local sphere of government is an organ of state. (See section 239 of the Constitution.)
As you can imagine, there are many departments in each sphere of government. After President Ramaphosa reconfigured the national departments in March 2019, there are 41 departments, one of which is the Office of the Chief Justice. [10] There are 103 provincial departments spread amongst the nine provinces. [11] Municipalities are mentioned later.
There are posts for law graduates in almost every department. Vacancies in government departments are advertised in print media and on the government jobs website, which is likewise worth a visit. [12]

Section 195 of the Constitution: honesty is the lawyer’s lodestar

The posts in government departments are very important. Section 195 of the Constitution sets out the basic values and principles governing our public administration. Sadly, you are aware that our public administration needs to live up to the ideal of public service to our people as well as it could and should have. This is especially true in the municipal sphere, also known as local government.
That is why your participation, as a young graduate, is required. The basic values and principles we need in all three spheres of our public administration are:

A high standard of professional ethics
Efficient, economic and effective use of our resources
A public administration that is development-oriented
The delivery of services in an impartial, fair, and equitable manner without bias
Where our people’s needs are respected and responded to, and where the public is enabled and encouraged to participate in policy-making
Where the public administration is genuinely accountable, and lip service to accountability is not permitted
Where transparency is fostered by providing the public with timely, accessible and accurate information
Where good human resource management and career-development practices are designed to maximise human potential and
The public administration is broadly representative of all the South African people, with employment and personnel management practices based on ability, objectivity, fairness, and the need to redress past imbalances to achieve broad representation.

Remember, the last bullet point on redressing the imbalances of the past was addressed above concerning the motto on South Africa’s Coat of Arms: ‘diverse people unite’. Our country needs all of you who are interested in law. To reiterate, we need you as much as our country needs doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, accountants, architects, artists, and professionals of every description who strive for a better future for South Africa. No one is excluded: all are welcome.
And for law graduates, the first bullet point above emphasises an essential universal value and principle. Lawyers must be honest. Honesty is not just a good policy but a way of life. It is the value that stops corruption from taking seed. In the legal profession, honesty is your lodestar. [13]

Municipalities need good lawyers

There are 257 municipalities in South Africa, comprising 8 metropolitan, 44 districts and 205 local municipalities. [14] Most municipalities employ a lawyer. In some municipalities, there are many lawyers. Several websites advertise municipal posts for lawyers, even province by province. Consider, for example, these websites. [15]
Remember that section 195 – concerning the basic values and principles – applies to the administration in every sphere of government. So, of course, it applies to municipalities. Section 195 also applies to all public enterprises.

Public enterprises

The Schedules to the Public Finance Management Act 1 of 1999 set out the lists of public enterprises. Schedule 1 of Constitutional Institutions lists the Chapter 9 institutions mentioned above, the Financial and Fiscal Commission and the Municipal Demarcation Board. Schedule 2 sets out the major public entities, often referred to as State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). Schedule 3 sets out the other public entities in national and provincial government.
In his weekly newsletter on 14 February 2022, President Ramaphosa stated that “the private sector employs some three quarters of South Africa’s workers and accounts for over two-thirds of investment and research and development expenditure.” [16] That means that the other sectors taken together, the public sector, the civic and nongovernmental organisations, and the courts and administration of justice account for 25% of the employed workforce.
Although out of date, the best estimate for the employed workforce in the public sector is 17,5% in 2014. [17] Assuming this figure has grown to 20% by 2022, the significance for law graduates of the estimated figure is the following.
Consider the extraordinary array of employment opportunities in the public sector and then multiply by four, even five, for the private sector. There are jobs for all law graduates. Before we turn to the private sector, let us consider opportunities in public entities.

Public entities need good lawyers.

Apart from the Chapter 9 Institutions, there are the major public entities. Schedule 2 of the Public Finance Management Act (“PFMA”) lists 21 major public entities. Admittedly, some of these SOEs are in trouble, as you know, and might not want your services yet. Nonetheless, the names of these significant public entities are in the table below.

Extract from Schedule 2 of the PFMA

Airports Company

Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company

Alexkor Limited

Armaments Corporation of South Africa

Broadband Infraco Limited

CEF (Pty) Ltd

DENEL

Development Bank of Southern Africa

ESKOM

Independent Development Trust

Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Limited

Land and Agricultural Bank of South Africa

SA Broadcasting Corporation Limited

SA Forestry Company Limited

SA Nuclear Energy Corporation

SA Post Office Limited

South African Airways Limited

South African Express (Proprietary) Limited

Telkom SA Limited

Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority

Transnet Limited

Note well: The Schedules to the PFMA get amended often. Please consult law librarians for the latest text.

The easiest way to get information about public entities is from government websites. Some of the websites are out of date. Obviously, government requires competent young lawyers like you, who understand good governance principles and will galvanise government departments to improve their websites, services, and much more. [18]
The following two tables are drawn from Schedule 3 of the PFMA. They concern other public entities and business enterprises at National and Provincial government. Most entities use lawyers’ services, either in-house or by instruction to firms of attorneys or legal consultants.

Inhouse counsel

The Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 (“LPA”) requires legal practitioners to register with the Legal Practice Council in their respective Provinces. The Council enrols those practitioners on a Roll of Legal Practitioners. Practitioners have a choice of three forms of legal practice: attorneys, advocates and advocates with Fidelity Fund certificates.
The Legal Practice Council must also record in the Roll whether you are on the practising or non-practising Roll. The non-practising Roll is essential. It lists all the lawyers who are inhouse or corporate counsel. Where in the public sector does one find inhouse counsel? Consider the following tables.

Extract from Schedule 3 of the PFMA

Part A

National Public Entities

Accounting Standards Board

African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund

Afrikaanse Taalmuseum, Paarl

Agrément South Africa

AGRISETA

Artscape

Banking Sector Education and Training Authority

Boxing South Africa

Brand SA

Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency

Castle Control Board

Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority

Commission for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration

Community Schemes Ombud Service

Companies and Intellectual Property Commission

Companies Tribunal

Compensation Fund, including Reserve Fund

Competition Commission

Construction Education and Training Authority

Construction Industry Development Board

Council for Geoscience

Council for Medical Schemes

Council for the Built Environment (CBE)

Council on Higher Education

Cross-Border Road Transport Agency

Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sports Education and Training Authority (CATHSSETA)

Ditsong: Museums of South Africa

Education, Training and Development Practices SETA (ETDP)

Electricity Distribution Industry Holdings (Pty) Ltd

Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA)

Estate Agency Affairs Board

Fibre Processing Manufacturing Sector Education and Training Authority (FPMSETA)

Film and Publication Board

Financial and Accounting Services SETA (FASSET)

Financial Intelligence Centre

Financial Sector Conduct Authority

Food and Beverages Manufacturing Industry (FOODBEV)

Freedom Park Trust

Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority

Housing Development Agency

Human Sciences Research Council

Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors

Information Systems, Electronics and Telecommunications Technologies Training Authority

Ingonyama Trust Board

Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency

Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority

International Trade Administration Commission

iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Iziko Museums of South Africa

KwaZulu-Natal Museum

Legal Aid South Africa

Local Government Education and Training Authority (LGSETA)

Luthuli Museum

Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Education and Training Authority

Marine Living Resources Fund

Market Theatre Foundation

Media Development and Diversity Agency

Media, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority (MICTS)

Mine Health and Safety Council

Mining Qualifications Authority

National Agricultural Marketing Council

National Arts Council

National Consumer Commission

National Consumer Tribunal

National Credit Regulator

National Development Agency

National Economic, Development and Labour Council

National Electronic Media Institute of SA

National Empowerment Fund

National Energy Regulator of South Africa

National English Literary Museum, Grahamstown

National Film and Video Foundation

National Gambling Board of SA

National Health Laboratory Service

National Heritage Council (NHC)

National Home Builders Registration Council-NHBRC

National Housing Finance Corporation

National Library, Pretoria/Cape Town

National Lotteries Commission

National Metrology Institute of South Africa

National Museum, Bloemfontein

National Nuclear Regulator

National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications

National Research Foundation

National Student Financial Aid Scheme

National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency-NURCHA

National Youth Development Agency

Nelson Mandela Museum, Umtata

Part A

National Public Entities (continued)

Office of Health Standards Compliance

Office of the Ombudsman for Financial Services Providers

Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator

Office of the Valuer-General

Performing Arts Council of the Free State

Perishable Products Export Control Board

Playhouse Company, Durban

Ports Regulator of South Africa

Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority

Productivity SA

Public Service Sector Education and Training Authority (PSETA)

Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO)

Railway Safety Regulator

Road Accident Fund

Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA)

Road Traffic Management Corporation

Robben Island Museum, Cape Town

Rural Housing Loan Fund

SA Council for Educators

SA Heritage Resources Agency

SA Library for the Blind, Grahamstown

SA Local Government Association

SA Maritime Safety Authority

SA Medical Research Council

SA National Accreditation System

SA National Roads Agency

SA Revenue Service

SA Tourism Board

Safety and Security Education and Training Authority (SASSETA)

Services Sector Education and Training Authority

Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA)

South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator

South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA)

South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI)

South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI)

South African National Parks

South African National Space Agency

South African Social Security Agency

South African Weather Service

Special Investigation Unit

State Information Technology Agency

State Theatre, Pretoria

Technology Innovation Agency

The Co-Operative Banks Development Agency

The National Radioactive Waste Disposal Institute (NRWDI)

The National Skills Fund (NSF)

The Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA)

Thubelisha Homes

Transport Education and Training Authority

Umalusi Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training 50

uMsunduzi Museum

Unemployment Insurance Fund

Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa

Universal Service and Access Fund

Urban Transport Fund

Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site

War Museum of the Boer Republics, Bloemfontein

Water Research Commission

Wholesale and Retail Sector Education and Training Authority

William Humphreys Art Gallery

Part B

National Government Business Enterprises

Amatola Water Board

Aventura

Bloem Water

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa Limited

Lepelle Northern Water

Magalies Water

Mhlathuze Water

Mintek

Onderstepoort Biological Products

Overberg Water

Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa

Public Investment Corporation Limited

Rand Water

SA Bureau of Standards (SABS)

Sasria Limited

Sedibeng Water

State Diamond Trader

Umgeni Water

Note well: The Schedules to the PFMA get amended often. Please consult law librarians for the latest text.

The employment opportunities in the above entities are mesmerising. Many of those entities have legal departments and company secretaries. The South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) is one of the most prodigious employers. SARS often employs law graduates with tax law qualifications, training and specialisation.
Most public entities have websites. Have a look at the entities which attract your interest. Then perform the same exercise on the next table. It is straightforward: if you seek, you will find.

Extract from Schedule 3 of the PFMA

Part C

Provincial Public Entities

Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape Development Corporation’ deleted and re-inserted

Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board

Eastern Cape Liquor Board

Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA)

Eastern Cape Provincial Arts and Culture Council

Eastern Cape Provincial Arts and Culture Council previously Eastern Cape Arts Council

Eastern Cape Provincially Aided Libraries

Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency

Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council

East London Industrial Development Zone Corporation

Free State:

Free State Gambling, Liquor and Tourism Authority

Gauteng:

Gauteng Enterprise Propeller

Gauteng Gambling Board

Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA)

Gauteng Partnership Fund (GPF)

Gauteng Tourism Authority

Gautrain Management Agency

XHASA ATC Agency

KwaZulu–Natal:

Agri-Business Development Agency

Amafa Akwazulu Natali

Dube TradePort Corporation (DTPC)

Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife

KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission

KwaZulu-Natal Gaming and Betting Board

KwaZulu-Natal House of Traditional Leaders

KwaZulu-Natal Liquor Authority

KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Planning and Development Commission

KwaZulu-Natal Tourism Authority

Natal Sharks Board

Royal Household Trust

Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal

Limpopo:

Limpopo Gambling Board

Limpopo Roads Agency

Limpopo Tourism and Parks Board

Note well: The Schedules to the PFMA get amended often. Please consult law librarians for the latest text.

Part C

Provincial Public Entities (continued)

Mpumalanga:

Mpumalanga Economic Empowerment Corporation

Mpumalanga Economic Regulator

Mpumalanga Gambling Board

Mpumalanga Regional Training Trust

Northern Cape:

Kalahari Kid Corporation (KKC)

McGregor Museum (Kimberley)

Northern Cape Gambling Board

Northern Cape Liquor Board

North West:

Mmabana Arts, Culture and Sport Foundation

North West Parks Board

North West Tourism Board

NW Gambling Board

NW Housing Corporation

Provincial Arts and Culture Council

Western Cape:

Commissioner for the Environment

WC Gambling and Racing Board

Western Cape Cultural Commission

Western Cape Language Committee

Western Cape Liquor Authority

Western Cape Nature Conservation Board

Western Cape Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency

Part D

Provincial Government Business Enterprises

Atlantis Special Economic Zone Company SOC Ltd

Casidra (Pty) Ltd

Cowslip Investment (Pty) Ltd

Eastern Cape Development Corporation

East London Industrial Development Zone

Free State Development Corporation

Gateway Airport Authority Limited

Ithala Development Finance Corporation

KwaZulu-Natal Mjindi Farming (Pty) Ltd

Limpopo Economic Development Agency

Mayibuye Transport Corporation

Mjindi Farming (Pty) Ltd

Mpendle-Ntambanana Agricultural Company (Pty) Ltd

Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency

Northwest Transport Investments (Pty) Ltd

NW Development Corporation

Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone Company

Saldanha Bay IDZ Licencing Company SOC Ltd

This Career Guide is not exhaustive. [19] Even so, at times, there are changes to our law to create new organs of state that spawn new job opportunities. Think about the Regulators of various sectors in the Table of national public entities.
Regulators are independent bodies created by Parliament to assist with regulating an industry. Often people think of a Regulator as the person who chairs the regulatory body. This is a mistake. Regulators are a group of people designated with the task of regulation. Regulators frequently employ law graduates.
The Information Regulator, established in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, is an example of a recently created regulatory body. So too is the Legal Practice Council (“LPC”) established in terms of the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014, which regulates the legal profession. Likewise, the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority established in terms of the Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019.

Recapitulation of other regulatory bodies

Before we deal with trade unions and associations in the civic and NGO sector, here is a brief recapitulation of some of the regulatory bodies in the public sector that you may have missed.

Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors
South African Council for the Architectural Profession
South African Council for the Landscape Architectural Profession
Engineering Council of South Africa
South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions
South African Council for the Quantity Surveying Profession
South African Council for the Property Valuers Profession
South African Council for the Project and Construction Management Professions
Health Professions Council of South Africa
South African Nursing Council
South African Dental Technicians Council
South African Pharmacy Council
Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa
South African Veterinary Council

The next part of this Guide deals with the private sector.

Private sector

The private sector is at least four times, perhaps five times, bigger than the public sector. The purpose of the private sector is for businesses to generate profits. So, the private sector is very fussy about the employment of staff: the more staff – the lower the profit margin. This approach affects the employment of law graduates too.
Small firms and companies mostly rely on the attorneys’ profession when they need legal advice. It is rare to employ inhouse counsel. Medium and large businesses also often rely on the attorneys’ profession. However, some businesses employ inhouse counsel, especially companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (“JSE”).
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of companies listed on the JSE had dwindled from approximately 601 in 2001 to 344 in February 2020. By late November 2022 there were 333 companies listed on the JSE. [20] Be that as it may, the JSE website is your starting point.
Consider large businesses by industry. This Career Guide will concentrate only on a few. Banks need, inter alia, good accountants and good lawyers. Banks often employ law graduates as inhouse counsel. Law graduates may be employed as legal advisors, company secretaries or compliance officers. The scope of work within the banks is vast. The websites of the banks are entertaining and worth trawling. Banks follow similar methods to employ professionals as does the State: print media and online advertisements. [21]
Mining companies employ law graduates as legal advisors, company secretaries, compliance officers and labour law specialists. A comprehensive list of mines appears on the website of African Mining IQ (“AMIQ”). [22] While the mining industry focuses on the engineering profession, there are also positions for law graduates. AMIQ often lists career opportunities on its website.
The insurance industry (for life and non-life products) employs many law graduates as inhouse counsel, company secretaries and compliance officers. A comprehensive list of nigh 150 insurance companies appears on the website of the Prudential Authority of the South African Reserve Bank. [23] Each insurance company has a website. The South African Insurance Association is dealt with under the NGO sector.
The auditing profession also employs many law graduates. The positions available in the auditing profession are similar to the SARS employment opportunities. Pardon the pun: the work is taxing, exacting, exhilarating and rewarding. There are auditing and accounting associations mentioned later in this Career Guide.
The retail sector in South Africa comprises, inter alia, food and beverages, textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods, household furniture, appliances and equipment, hardware, paint and glass, pharmaceuticals, medical goods, cosmetics and toiletries, liquor, cigarettes and general dealers. While the retail sector tends to look for legal advice from attorneys’firms, there are companies that employ law graduates as company secretaries, compliance officers and, albeit rarely, inhouse counsel. [24]
Since the private sector knows no bounds, keep an eye out for South African startup companies. The media to consider are LinkedIn, Facebook (under its new name – Meta), Twitter (now owned by Elon Musk), YouTube, WhatsApp (Meta again), Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, Indeed Job Search, Glassdoor Job Search, Career Jet, Career Junction and Reddit. Remember: if you seek, you will find.
Next, we consider civic and nongovernmental organisations and then trade unions.

Civil society: civic and nongovernmental organisations and trade unions

Civil society is the bedrock of democratic societies because civil society is a counterbalance to the power of the State and, most importantly, to the private sector as well, like trade unions. Civil society includes a host of trade unions, civic and nongovernmental organisations, and even GONGOS. GONGOS are government NGOs or legislatively required professional associations.
Civil society also intersects with the media at times and in parts. The intersection of civil society and the media is a hotly contested discipline at educational institutions, especially since the advent of social media. The contestation relates to content and control. Private sector companies want their media to promote their world view. Independent media seeks objectivity in an era where cynicism decries objectivity in favour of unbridled subjectivity.
What do those two complex paragraphs above mean? Simply that civil society also needs good lawyers. Consider a brief Lazy Susan approach in a smorgasbord style of the civic, NGO and trade union sectors. The job opportunities in this sector are delectable. The pay scales are not as high as the public and private sectors. However, the learning and fulfilment aspects of the civic, NGO and trade union sectors are without equal.
We will start with professional associations first. There are many professional and industry associations. Each has a website that you must visit at least once in your lifetime! But what is an association?

What is an association?

A critical legal requirement to form an association is that a minimum of three people [25] is required to form an association. Two people acting alone do not constitute an association. The best that two people alone can do is to enter into a contract. This essential legal point is very important.
An excellent website concerning associations is https://southafricalists.com/associations-in-south-africa/. The author, however, makes an unintended mistake. Contracts are for two or more persons, and associations are for three or more persons. Be that as it may, the website is worth a visit to see a list of important associations in South Africa.
Once you grasp that an association can only be formed and then exist between three or more people, we can consider professional associations of various types. Professional associations often employ law graduates.

Professional associations

Begin with the Banking Association of South Africa BASA”). It used to be the Banking Council. Their website[26] explains the purpose of BASA, its work and mission. The publications part of the website is a Masters and Doctoral students’ delight. BASA often employs law graduates.
Next, survey the South African Insurance Association (“SAIA”). SAIA [27] represents the non-life insurers. Non-life means insurance of almost everything except life insurance, sometimes referred to as assurance. SAIA employs law graduates.
The Life Offices’ Association (“LOA”) represents long-term life insurance companies. The website for LOA [28] is a challenge to a novice reader. Here the word challenge has the meaning of being demanding and difficult (Oxford Dictionary). The word challenge is not used as the clichéd euphemism for problems. Test this Guide: trawl the LOA website and see for yourself. The LOA employs law graduates too.
In the accounting and auditing professions, there are several associations of importance, two of which are members of the International Federation of Accountants. They are the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (“SAICA”) [29] and the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (“SAIPA”).[30] The University of South Africa (UNISA) website records a splendid list of related associations. [31]
Accountants and auditors organisations often employ law graduates. Frankly, the legal and accounting professions are symbiotic worldwide. [32]

Professional associations of legal practitioners – LPC practising Roll

The Law Society of South Africa (“LSSA”) represents attorneys. Attorneys in practice outnumber advocates by almost ten to one. The LSSA headquarters are in Pretoria. This Career Guide is published under the auspices of the LSSA. The LSSA is a voluntary association under the common law. Accordingly, it is a juristic person known as an universitas personarum. Remember, prima facie, lawyers love Latin.

LSSA membership comprises the following constituents for the transformation of the legal profession. They are the Black Lawyers Association (“BLA”), the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (“Nadel”) and independent attorneys. [33]

BLA and Nadel have their origins in the struggle against apartheid. Their adherents are dedicated to the rule of law, constitutional jurisprudence and are open for membership to attorneys’ and advocates’professions and other lawyers.

The advocates’ profession has many associations. Most of the advocates in practice, and duly registered as such are on the LPC Roll of legal practitioners referred to earlier, are represented by affiliates of the General Council of the Bar (“GCB”). The GCB affiliates are the Constituent Members of the GCB. There are fourteen constituent members.

The GCB website is well worth a visit. [34] . Not to overburden this Career Guide, here are some of their most frequently visited websites. [35]
There are also other Bar associations. Each has a compelling website worth a visit as well. In alphabetical order, they are:

Gauteng Society of Advocates (Pretoria) [36]
Independent Association of Advocates (Durban) [37]
National Council of the Bar (Durban) [38]
Pan African Bar Association of South Africa (PABASA) (Johannesburg) [39]
South African Bar Association (Illovo, Johannesburg) [40]

Advocates also have an organisation, apart from the BLA and Nadel, that is dedicated to transformation in the profession. It is Advocates for Transformation (AFT). Membership is open to all advocates in all Bars in South Africa.

Professional associations of legal practitioners – LPC non-practising Roll

The Corporate Counsel Association of South Africa (“CCASA”) represents legal practitioners on the non-practising Roll. CCASA has many corporate members. The corporate members are the companies that employ corporate counsel (inhouse counsel). Their website you must visit. It is replete with information. [41]

Associations required or promoted by legislation

Parliament, through our statutory law (Acts of Parliament), often requires or promotes the establishment of professional associations in civil society as protectors of the interests of a particular profession. Establishing such associations is to assist with the core rule of law principle of good governance. A useful advertisement concerning professional bodies appears at https://iccssa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Approved-Professional-Bodies-Advertorial.pdf. Consider the UNISA website again. [42]
Some professional bodies are referred to as associations, others institutes. Those referred to as councils are usually regulatory bodies. Regulatory bodies do not represent a profession. Regulatory bodies regulate a profession.
Associations and institutes assist their members in the interface between the regulatory and representative bodies. This often happens when complaints are lodged against a member of a particular profession. The regulatory body oversees the disciplinary proceedings; the representative body assists its members.
As you can imagine, all regulatory and representative bodies repeatedly employ law graduates.

Human Rights and civil rights organisations

Many Human Rights and civil rights organisations in South Africa rely on university law graduates and law students. As an exercise for your own personal, civic instruction, think about the origins, success and effectiveness of the following South African organisations.

Black Sash [43]
Centre for Human Rights [44]
Dullah Omar Institute for Constitutional Law, Governance and Human Rights [45]
Foundation for Human Rights [46]
Freedom under Law [47]
Helen Suzman Foundation [48]
Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies [49]
Judges Matter [50]
Lawyers for Human Rights [51]
People Against Suffering Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP) [52]
Socio-Economic Rights Institute for South Africa [53]

Trade unions

Trade unions are the bedrock of workers’ organisations in South Africa. Trade unions are complex organisations to understand and, in light of the ideologies underpinning some trade unions, often even more difficult to comprehend. Trade unions frequently employ lawyers. For example, the current President of South Africa, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, was a lawyer who entered trade unions as an adviser to the Council of Unions of South Africa (CUSA) in 1982.
Many trade unions are organised into federations. Some federations comprise specific sectors, while others are general federations. Listing the extraordinary array of unions in this Career Guide is not practical. There are 222 registered trade unions in South Africa. See the websites of the unions listed in this Department of Labour publication. [54] Nota bene: NB: (remember lawyers love Latin) trade unions repeatedly employ law graduates.
The main trade union federations are listed here. [55] Trade union federations also employ law graduates. The work for law graduates is mainly in labour law, contract law, pensions and provident funds law, workmen’s compensation, health and safety law, arbitration, mediation and conciliation law.
However, each trade union looks after its members and their families. So a law graduate employed in a trade union needs to be au fait with all aspects of the law. The expression au fait is not Latin. It is French. You will need to look it up in a good dictionary. While looking in your dictionary, try two other French phrases lawyers love to use in criminal law in South Africa. They are autrefois acquit and autrefois convict.
If you think that only Latin, French, Dutch and English are ingrained in our law, then you are simply wrong. Three intrinsically important concepts in our law derived from Africa set South African law apart from law imported from abroad. Law graduates learn these concepts at university.
First, our law accords African customary law important recognition in our Constitution. Second, our law has infused into our common law the concept of ubuntu. Third, our language in South Africa is to adopt African language concepts into the lexicon of English globally. A convenient example is the South African expression of an expert – a fundi. The word derives from the Nguni languages of Southern Africa. Law students in all South African universities learn in detail the intricate overlap and mix of African law concepts with imported common law concepts and how all our laws must conform to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
South African law keeps the best of all law systems. However, as good as our laws are in South Africa, you know that it is frequently in the application of our law that officials in the administration at the national and provincial and especially local government municipal level fail to deliver the work assigned to them in their employment contracts. It does not help South Africa to outsource the work officials in government should perform themselves. Then the taxpayer has to pay two people for the same job.
That is another reason why young law graduates like you are needed in our administration, where you do the work without referring the work to consultants. Before we move to the last part of this Career Guide, ponder these opinions and form your own ideas. [56]
The last sector to consider is: Courts and the administration of justice.

Courts and the administration of justice

Our judicial system is set out in section 166 of the Constitution. Starting with the apex court, the courts are:

the Constitutional Court in Braamfontein, Johannesburg;
the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein, Free State;
the High Court of South Africa in every province; [57]
the courts of a status similar to the High Court of South Africa; they are
- the Electoral Court in Bloemfontein
- the Labour Court in Braamfontein
- the Land Claims Court in Randburg
- the Tax Court in Pretoria

the high courts of appeal were established by Acts of Parliament to hear appeals from any court of a status similar to the High Court of South Africa; they are
- the Labour Appeal Court in Braamfontein
- the Competition Appeal Court in Cape Town, which hears appeals and reviews from the Competition Tribunal

the Magistrates’Courts;
any other court established or recognised in terms of an Act of Parliament,
- including any court of a status similar to either the High Court of South Africa
- or the Magistrates’ Courts.

The South African Judiciary has a dedicated website. It is a must for law students and law graduates to visit. [58] Another website for your attention is Judges Matter. [59]
Judges have secretaries. Some websites refer to the judge’s secretary under the historical name of a judge’s clerk. The position of a judge’s secretary is highly sought after. There are three websites recommended for law students interested in the work of judges’secretaries. [60]
As a point of entry into the legal profession, the job of a judge’s secretary is immensely rewarding. The experience one obtains is priceless. Law graduates with LLBs can apply for these posts without first having been admitted as attorneys or advocates.
In the Constitutional Court, the position is referred to as a law clerk. [61] The law clerk’s roles, duties and responsibilities are set out on the ConCourt’s website. Note the shorthand way the legal profession refers to the Constitutional Court. The SCA is the shorthand way to refer to the Supreme Court of Appeal. [62]
The ConCourt, SCA and the High Courts are the Superior Courts referred to in the Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013. At the High Courts, there are many other positions for law graduates. The National Prosecuting Authority employs the prosecutors. [63] The Department of Justice employs Family Advocates. [64] Legal Aid South Africa employs lawyers. [65]
The most important Lower Courts are the Magistrates’ Courts. There are Regional Magistrates’’Courts and District Magistrates’’Courts. Regional Magistrates’Courts have a higher jurisdiction than the District Courts. All 382 Magistrates’ Courts are designated as Equality Courts. All Magistrates’Courts are subject to the decisions of the Superior Courts.
In summary, the hierarchy of court decisions is the following.

The ConCourt sets precedent for all courts in South Africa.
- Precedent is the duty of lower courts to abide by the judgments of higher courts.
The SCA sets precedent for all High Courts and all Lower Courts.
High Courts sitting with three (or two) judges set precedent for all courts in their division.
High Courts sitting with one judge set precedents for the Magistrates’Courts.
Among single-judge decisions in the same division, judgments are persuasive.
Among three-judge decisions of other divisions, judgments are highly persuasive.

Some law clerks and judges’ secretaries assist with researching the law for their judges. That task makes the position of a law clerk or judge’s secretary remarkably rewarding.
The Department of Justice hosts an important website for job opportunities. A visit to the website is recommended. [66] The mantra you need to repeat as a law graduate is: seek, and you will find. This mantra is the theme of this Career Guide. Now we turn to some bonus career opportunities.

Bonus career opportunities: International organisations in South Africa

Our government hosts a spectacularly intriguing contact directory. [67] It lists 27 international organisations that work in South Africa. Each of these organisations employs law graduates. The government website has links to the home pages of each organisation. If international matters appeal to you, the directory is a must.

Bonus career opportunities: Universities in South Africa and abroad

Law graduates come mainly from our universities in South Africa. During your studies at university, there are opportunities for you as tutors and part-time law librarians. The pay is like pocket money. But many a successful lawyer walked that route while at university.
Of course, if you excel at university as a top student, your universities may request you to remain as part of their academic staff.

Who wants to be a lawyer?

The best questions are left for last. What are the attributes of a lawyer, and do you want to be a lawyer? Much ink is spilt on the attributes required to be a lawyer. [68] Trimmed to their essence, lawyers rely on a combination of the twelve attributes in the points below for their success. Keep in mind that we are using the word lawyer broadly, as described earlier.

Being honest and having good judgment
Being punctual, prepared and persevering
Being respectful of others and being oneself
Being able to reason, research and write well
Having good communication and analytical skills
Being able to argue without being argumentative
Being able to disagree without being disagreeable
Being responsible, responding to telephone calls and emails
Being aware of a lawyer’s ethical duties to the court and clients
Being discrete and refraining from insulting anyone gratuitously
Keeping promises and delivering work and services on time
Keeping up to date with current affairs and cultivating a habit of reading

Do you want to be a lawyer?
The answer to this question is personal to the reader of this Career Guide. Indeed, often the answer dawns on a law graduate only after graduation. Since there are many types of lawyer, one characteristic that serves all lawyers well is having a sound sense of business.
If you are going to earn your living from the law, a good start is to attend the practice management training conducted by the Law Society of South Africa. [69]

Employment in the legal profession

After you graduate from university with an LLB, you can choose a legal career as an attorney, advocate, or advocate with a Fidelity Fund Trust certificate. You will need to enter into a practical vocational training (PVT) contract either with an attorney or advocate in practice and comply with the requirements in the Legal Practice Act, its rules, regulations and the code of conduct.
You will become a candidate legal practitioner either as an attorney or a pupil. To be a candidate attorney, consult the websites of attorneys’ firms. [70] To become an advocate, consult the websites of the associations and societies of advocates referred to above in this Career Guide.

Conclusion

The future is superb for law graduates in South Africa. The Law Society of South Africa will gladly assist you in your endeavours to enter the legal profession. The LSSA is perhaps the first website you should visit once you have read this Career Guide. It should certainly not be the last website you visit. Here it is. [71]

Law Society of South Africa

4 January 2023

Footnotes:

[1] Roy, Partha Online Submission, Tathapi (UGC Care Journal) v19 n39 p22-31 Jun 2020

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED613308

[2] Stacey Abrams

https://www.ted.com/talks/stacey_abrams_3_questions_to_ask_yourself_about_everything_you_do?language=en

[3] Forbes : https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissarowley/2021/02/17/why-now-is-the-ideal-time-to-invest-in-africa-the-fastest-growing-continent-in-the-world/?sh=65dca6a12477

Le Groupe de la Banque africaine de développement

https://www.afdb.org/fr/news-and-events/africa-is-now-the-fastest-growing-continent-in-the-world-12107

The World Bank : https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/video/2019/09/17/why-invest-in-african-women-and-girls

[4] https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/reasons-why-you-would-love-working-small-business

https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/what-should-i-do-with-my-life

https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Apply-for-admission/Undergraduate-qualifications/Career-counselling/Linking-your-interests-to-Unisa-qualifications/Law-interest-fields

[5] https://www.derebus.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/CHE_LLB-National-Report_2018.pdf at pg 50 of the report.

https://witsvuvuzela.com/2021/09/15/llb-graduates-have-mountain-to-climb-to-qualify-as-lawyers/

[6] https://www.ted.com/talks/elif_shafak_the_revolutionary_power_of_diverse_thought

[7] https://www.gov.za/about-sa/national-coat-arms and https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/national-coat-arms

[8] For the full text of the Constitution, 1996 in any of the eleven official languages, see the website of the Constitutional Court: https://www.concourt.org.za/index.php/constitution/the-text

[9] http://www.publicprotector.org/

https://www.sahrc.org.za/

https://crlcommission.org.za/

https://cge.org.za/

https://www.agsa.co.za/

https://www.elections.org.za/pw/

https://www.icasa.org.za/pages/about-us-1

[10] https://www.gov.za/about-government/government-system/national-departments

[11] https://provincialgovernment.co.za/units/type/1/departments

[12] https://www.gov.za/about-government/government-jobs

[13] https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndjlepp/vol20/iss1/8/

https://www.mondaq.com/southafrica/management/940846/integrity-as-a-life-long-commitment-in-the-legal-profession

Ex Parte Mdyogolo 2019 (4) SA 561 (ECG) especially at paras [11] and [12].

[14] https://www.cogta.gov.za/index.php/2022/08/01/municipalities-in-south-africa/

[15] https://www.pnet.co.za/jobs/municipal-law

https://municipalities.co.za/vacancies/index/3/gauteng

https://www.pnet.co.za/jobs/municipal-law/in-goodwood_cape-town

[16] https://www.thepresidency.gov.za/from-the-desk-of-the-president/desk-president%2C-14-february-2022

[17] https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/113488/everything-you-need-to-know-about-sas-government-workers/ read with https://theconversation.com/south-africas-civil-servants-are-the-countrys-new-labour-elite-54269

[18] https://www.gov.za/about-government/contact-directory/state-owned-enterprises-and-other-public-institutions/pdf

https://www.cogta.gov.za/cgta_2016/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/IUDF-STATE-OWNED-ENTEPRISES.pdf

https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202210/dpe-ar2022-d13a.pdf

[19] The word exhaustive means fully comprehensive. So, if the Career Guide is not exhaustive that means there are greater opportunities for young law graduates, even if reading the whole of this Guide is exhausting! The Guide has more characters than Twitter permits!

[20] https://www.businessinsider.co.za/companies-listed-on-the-jse-2020-2

https://www.jse.co.za/

[21] https://www.pnet.co.za/jobs/legal

https://za.linkedin.com/jobs/legal-jobs?position=1&pageNum=0

[22] https://projectsiq.co.za/list-of-south-african-mines.htm

[23] https://www.resbank.co.za/en/home/what-we-do/Prudentialregulation/insurers-list

[24] https://www.pnet.co.za/jobs/legal-advisor

[25] Nelson Mandela MM v Greyvenouw CC 2004 (2) SA 81 (SE) ([2003] ZAECHC 5) at para [58].

See also LAWSA Vol 2 Associations at 154 Characteristics of an universitas, especially footnote 1.

[26] https://www.banking.org.za/

[27] https://www.saia.co.za/

[28] http://www.loa.co.za/

[29] https://www.ifac.org/about-ifac/membership/members/south-african-institute-chartered-accountants

[30] https://www.ifac.org/about-ifac/membership/members/south-african-institute-professional-accountants

[31] https://www.unisa.ac.za/static/corporate_web/Content/About/Service%20departments/DCCD/Documents/career_professionalbodies_unisa.pdf

[32] Purely for people with a sense of humour: it can be said by lawyers and accountants that bankers are the barnacles to our professions. However, the riposte from bankers is that lawyers and accountants are the pilot fish to the sharks of capitalist enterprise. Of course, the independent observer is an octopus. Consider the epic Oscar-winning movie from September 2020: My Octopus Teacher. The LSSA sincerely hopes readers enjoy this well-intended sporting humour.

[33] https://www.lssa.org.za/about-us/lssa-constitution/

[34] https://gcbsa.co.za/

[35]https://capebar.co.za/

https://www.ecbar.co.za/

https://www.fsbar.co.za/

https://www.johannesburgbar.co.za/

https://www.kznbar.co.za/

https://limpopobar.co.za/

https://mpbar.co.za/

https://www.pretoriabar.co.za/

[36] https://www.gautengadvocates.co.za/

[37] https://pmg.org.za/files/docs/130219iaasa.doc