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22
February 2010 : For immediate release
Law
Society Welcomes Review of LLB Degree to Ensure Better
Legal Servies to the Public
The
Law Society of South Africa
(LSSA) welcomes the investigation into the effectiveness
of the South African LLB degree, announced by the Council
on Higher Education (CHE) last month.
'The
LSSA's discussions with government and with the university
law deans for the past four years regarding a review of
the LLB degree have been premised on concerns about the
declining quality of law graduates entering the attorneys'
profession', say LSSA Co-Chairpersons
Thoba Poyo-Dlwati
and Henri van Rooyen. They add : 'We owe it to the public
to ensure that they receive the best professional advice
and efficient and professional service from adequately
trained and well-equipped legal practitioners'.
For
a number of years, the LSSA, with the assistance of the
Attorneys Fidelity Fund, has invested significant funds
in remedial numeracy, literacy and other training, in an
attempt to address some of the inadequacies which it
perceived among law graduates. 'We have determined what
the minimum requirements should be for a law graduate to
make a successful and professional attorney, and our view
is that the LLB degree should satisfy these minimum
requirements. We will support the CHE with its
investigation and comment on the findings and
recommendations to ensure the best possible outcome for
the public', say Ms Poyo-Dlwati and Mr Van Rooyen.
The
LSSA's Director of Legal Education and Development, Nic
Swart, indicates that the four-year LLB which was
introduced in 1998, does not necessarily always
sufficiently prepare law graduates for practice as
attorneys. In addition, Mr Swart says there are large
disparities between university law faculties, with one law
faculty offering 90 courses and another only 24. 'The LSSA
is of the view that the number of subjects is for
universities to consider. However, the LSSA would like to
see a special recognition of the profession's needs. This
does not always happen', says Mr Swart. As regards the
necessity also to review the numeracy and literacy skills
of graduates, Mr Swart points out that many students
graduating with law degrees are unable to do simple legal
research and are not able to draw up basic legal
documents.
Issued
on behalf of the co-Chairpersons of the Law Society of
South Africa, Thoba Poyo-Dlawti and Henri
van Rooyen
Barbara Whittle
Communication Manager, Law Society of South Africa
Telephone : 012-366 8800 or 083-380 1307
E-mail : barbara@lssa.org.za
Website: www.lssa.org.za |