Law Society of South Africa deplores the recent furore around the comments of Judge Mandlenkosi Motha

The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) deplores the recent furore around the comments of Judge Mandlenkosi Motha.

The President of the LSSA, Eunice Masipa, noted:

The wilful and mischievous misinterpretation of the honourable Judge’s comments and attacks on his integrity has no place in our country. Judge Motha correctly and pointedly asked the legal team in a black economic empowerment matter why there was no black lawyer in the legal team. This is different than reporting why was the legal team all white. The Judiacry has a responsibility to encourage and support that the briefing patterns must strive to reflect the demographics of the country. The LSSA has always viewed the transformation of our profession and laws as driven by the benefits to our society, and therefore we have cautioned against the use of transactional lawyers who do not see value and benefits of transformation but merely the fee. This attitude goes against the ethos of our transformation. The rule of law in all its facets is what directs the LSSA and white lawyers are an integral part of the profession and part of the transformational journey of all lawyers. The Legal Sector Code is the guiding blueprint for the transformation of the legal profession, which we encourage all legal practitioners to support in this journey.

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ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA, 

Ms Eunice Masipa