South Africa is moving towards a comprehensive reform of the legal sector to enhance the empowerment of Black lawyers.

Written by: Ayman Ragab

More than three decades after the establishment of democracy, South Africa’s legal sector remains one of the least transformed, with data from the Legal Practice Council (LPC) indicating that 72% of partners or directors in the country’s six largest law firms are still white, compared to only 25% black.

The figures reveal a significant gap, with Black-owned companies having no more than 18 partners or managers, compared to 396 in white-owned companies.

Challenges facing Black legal practitioners

During a media briefing held on Tuesday to discuss the implications of legal sector laws, the chair of the Legal Sector Charter Council (LSCC), Christine Conta, reviewed the most prominent challenges facing Black legal practitioners, foremost among them discriminatory procurement practices by the private sector.

Konta explained that limited access to a sustained flow of quality legal cases, along with poor access to senior management positions in multiracial law firms, are among the most significant obstacles to the development of Black lawyers.

She added that state agencies and white-dominated law firms rely on inadequate and irregular referral patterns, depriving Black legal practitioners of lucrative and complex legal employment opportunities.

She also pointed to other challenges, including a lack of practical training opportunities for law school graduates, poor absorption of junior lawyers after their admission, systemic obstacles facing Black female lawyers, high dropout rates, as well as limited training in specialized legal fields.

Limited access to specialized legal fields

She stressed that the skills gap resulting from limited access to specialized legal fields represents an additional challenge to achieving the required transformation.

Konta stressed that the Legal Sector Charter Council is tasked with ensuring that all legal professionals have a fair chance to succeed, asserting that “transforming the legal sector is an economic necessity.”.

She added that the goal of the legal sector codes is not limited to measuring compliance with assessment standards, but extends to building a comprehensive and sustainable legal sector that motivates all stakeholders to contribute to making a real difference.

South Africa applies sectoral laws across various economic activities, and their success is measured by the extent to which they achieve broad-based Black economic empowerment (BEE). In the legal sector, the rules focus on promoting Black ownership, skills development, training in legal disciplines, and expanding opportunities for Black lawyers and advocates to be assigned cases, among other indicators included in the scorecard.

For her part, Dr. Susan Mangoli, Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Competition, said that the equality clause in the constitution has been put into practice through the broad economic empowerment law for Black people in all sectors.

Promoting the economic empowerment of Black people

She added that the government aims, through this transformation, to enhance the economic empowerment of Black people and provide fair opportunities for historically marginalized groups, noting that the authorities are currently working to provide the necessary resources to ensure real change, which is embodied in the Transformation Fund launched by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

For his part, the CEO of the National Empowerment Fund, Mzebopanto Dayemani, explained that the partnership between the Legal Sector Charter Council and the Fund aims to mobilize the support of various stakeholders in the legal sector.

He noted that the goal is to encourage the public and private sectors, state-owned entities, and professional bodies to commit to the National Funding Fund's pledges by allocating their own resources to expand the Fund's scope and support the transformation process in the legal sector.

Daimani added that the proposed solutions should address the actual challenges faced by legal professionals, expressing his hope to see more Black graduates become specialist lawyers, thereby promoting diversity within legal teams and eliminating the assumption that skills are not available in Black-owned firms.

For her part, Charity Nzoza, CEO of the Bar Association of Canada, confirmed that the council has intensified its consultations with various stakeholders to raise awareness within the legal profession and among members of the community.

She added that these consultations will continue as part of the Legal Services Board's efforts to accelerate the implementation of the rules and ensure compliance with them.

It is worth noting that the Legal Sector Standards Council was established in 2025 with the aim of ensuring compliance with legal sector rules, driving transformation and promoting accountability within the legal profession in South Africa.