Conveyancing Mentorship Programme 2022
Aim of the programme
Good conveyancers are meticulous in their work and take great care in the preparation of their documents. Any mistake that may lead to a transaction being delayed in the Deed’s Office could cause serious financial consequences for the parties to the transaction. The aim of the Mentorship Programme is to assist aspirant conveyancers to attain the levels required to be knowledgeable, competent and diligent legal professionals and meet the required standards to succeed in the assessment examinations.
Background
In March 2019, the Law Society of South Africa’s (LSSA) House of Constituents established a Task Team to review the concerns on the poor pass rate for the conveyancing admission examinations. After analysis and evaluation, the Task Team made certain recommendations that included a structured mentorship programme between candidates and attorneys at different law firms. In 2019, the LSSA launched a pilot mentorship programme in Polokwane and Mthatha. It is this programme, with certain amendments, that has been implemented nationwide to prospective mentees and mentors.
Task Team members
Mabaeng Lenyai
Sinawo Makangela
Dave Bennett
Lizette Burger (LSSA)
Assisted by Ros Elphick (consultant)
Mentees
Who can apply?
The programme is open to practising attorneys only. There is no closing date for applications and mentees and mentors may apply throughout the year.
What is the selection process?
Many candidates who attempt to write the conveyancing examination often fail as they underestimate the difficulty of the subject matter and have limited practical experience. Therefore, each mentee is carefully selected to participate in the programme. The selection criteria includes the mentee’s previous conveyancing experience, how far he/she is with the study material, and his/her demonstrated commitment to passing the exam.
Mentees must be willing and have the time to put in at least 10 hours of study per week from the start of the mentorship until the admission examination. If a mentee is no longer able to put in the necessary work to pass the exam, another mentee will be allocated to his/her mentor. This is necessary as we have many great candidates on a waiting list who are eager to work with a mentor. In fact we generally have four times as many mentees as mentors.
Intensive self-study
For the examination, it is imperative that mentees are able to answer all questions in respect of the law, practice and procedure of conveyancing. Consequently, mentees must commit to a programme of intensive self-study and proactively contact their mentors for the practical implementation of the study material. The most important aspect of preparing for the examination is drafting.
Study material
Mentees can select their own study material. For those without study material, they may purchase the guide used for the LEAD Conveyancing Course at a reduced price.
Mentors
Format of the mentorship
As each mentee is in a different stage of preparing for his/her exams, the format of the mentorship is left broadly up to the mentor. Although, due to Covid19, we envisage that some of the mentorship will be done online.
The role of the mentor is to put the theory into practice and can include inter alia:
- Assisting the mentee to apply the legislation as it relates to Property Law to the preparation of deeds and documents.
- Providing the mentee with examples of important concepts, deeds and documents.
- Assisting the mentee to work through the exam questions and memorandums.
- If possible, arrange that the mentee visit the Deeds Office to better understand the functions of the Office as well as its practice and procedures.
Study material
If required, mentors can be provided with a copy of the LEAD Course material at no cost (pdf format).
General
Costs associated with the Programme
There are no LSSA costs associated with the programme other than the cost of purchasing the study material (mentees).
Previous examination papers and answer memorandums
The LSSA has made available previous conveyancing examination question papers along with the answer memorandums on the LEAD website.
• Click here for the question papers
• Click here for the answer memorandums.
Recognition
Mentees and Mentors will receive recognition by the LSSA via its various communication and publications.
Contact
For any questions on the Programme, please contact Ros Elphick on email: ros@LSSA.org.za or on Cell/WhatsApp her at: 083 655 7163.
