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MEET OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM

EASTERN CAPE:

Joanne Anthony Gooden & alternate

FREESTATE:

Martus De Wet & alternate Este van der Merwe

GAUTENG:

Tiaan Joubert & alternate Marianne Pretorius

KWAZULU-NATAL:

Umesh Jivan & alternate

LIMPOPO:

Elviera le Roux & alternate

MPUMALANGA:

Dave Bennet & alternate

NORTHERN CAPE:

Peter Horn & alternate

NORTH WEST:

Albert Jacobs & alternate Hajira Kara

WESTERN CAPE:

Ettienne Barnard & alternate Frankl Weber

The LSSA Constitution

Why does the Independent Constituent of the LSSA Exist?

See the content set out above and the LSSA constitution as well as the discussion on this App home page.

Important functions of the Independent Constituent of the LSSA includes for example

-representing on Independent HoC or

-representing on EXCO , Discussion,

-Decision Making

-representing on Professional Affairs Committees

-Representing on Task Teams

-Representing the LSSA on other external bodies for example in

*The Judicial Services Commission

*International Engagement

*And many more

The current provincial leaders who serve on the LSSA House of Constituents are, in provincial alphabetical order:

Eastern Cape: Joanne Anthony Gooden & alternate | Freestate: Martus De Wet & alternate Este van der Merwe | Gauteng: Tiaan Joubert & alternate Marianne Pretorius | KwaZulu-Natal: Umesh Jivan & alternate | Limpopo: Elviera le Roux & alternate | Mpumalanga: Dave Bennet & alternate | Northern Cape: Peter Horn & alternate | North West: Albert Jacobs & alternate Hajira Kara | Western Cape: Ettienne Barnard & alternate Frankl Weber

GRASS ROUTES

Independent Constituent involvement on grass roots level and how it works in SA

Post Legal Practice Act, local attorneys over South Africa have organized themselves in associations or more informal groupings.

The results is a somewhat complex matrix of associations or affiliations which might be confusing to new entrants. The purpose of this article is to unpack this to some extent.

In certain instances, older associations have continued and /or rebranded themselves whereas in other instances new associations were formed.

The purpose of such groupings is usually to belong to organisations that represent them as attorneys. As opposed to the Legal Practice Council and Provincial Councils which serve mainly a regulatory function.

The lawyer representative groupings are in some instances driven by the different types of services that member lawyers are involved in.

In other instances the groupings deal more with what type of legal practitioner is involved, for example Advocates or Attorneys

In yet other instances the associations are more politically driven. So for example, these lawyers have been divided into, branded and/or organized themselves into Black Lawyers Association, National Democratic Lawyers Association and the Independant Association of Legal Practitioners (the three constituent members of the LSSA)

In other instances, the groupings have been geographical. So for example in the various provinces one would find different local, regional or provincial organisations.

The very nature of the post Legal Practice Act environment is that there are in many instances overlaps in these groupings.

So for example one might be a member of the BLA (political) practicing mainly in the sphere of personal injury claims and hence a member of (SAPIL) or (PIPLA). If such a legal practitioner is an attorney practices in Bellville in the Western Cape, they might also be actively participating in the Tygerberg Attorneys Association (TAA). So to summarise, the professional life of such an attorney would be impacted by or they could be actively participating at the same time in any one or more of the

BLA (or NADEL or IALPSA)

TAA (or PAA or JAA or NFA)

WCALP (or GAA or FAA)

SAPIL (or PIPLA) and

LSSA (or GCB or other National lawyer or association coordinating body)

So who makes up the Independents or Independent Comstituent of the LSSA or the organized firm thereof, known as IALPSA? This would at the moment be all attorneys (or if they join, all advocates) from the various regions of South Africa who are not members of the BLA or NADEL.

The net effect of this is that the Independent Constituent or IALPSA is not made up of local or provincial associations in their totality. It is rather made up of the Independent lawyers of those associations.

It is important to recognize this because to do otherwise would be to detract from the unifying factors of the local associations. That is that they consist of members that make up all three constituents of the LSSA.

That is why, when IALPSA calls for input from members, it involves only the independent (in other words non-BLA and non-NADEL members) of the local, regional national associations or affiliations.

So an organisations like the TAA or GAA or NFA would typically have attorneys from all the constituents of the LSSA within its ranks. When calling for input from these organisations, the Independents association would call on the Independents within the local bodies to provide input. This then empowers and assists the Independents to participate and provide input to the LSSA.

The BLA and NADEL would provide input from the BLA and NADEL members respectively. This then empowers LSSA would receive input from its three founding constituent members, the BLA, NADEL and Independents or IALPSA.

Why is there a need for the Independent voice currently?

Most attorneys in South Africa are by definition independent (i.e. non-BLA and non-NADEL) and it is important for the LSSA to speak on behalf of all attorneys. Further, the constitution of the LSSA explicitly strives for a post constituent composition where each legal practitioner will have one vote and it will not be constituency based. Until we reach that stage, the LSSA constitution provides for a one third, one third, one third no dominance vote. In other words decisions are reached on the basis of consensus. When the LSSA migrates to a one practitioner one vote system, the need for constituent based representation on the LSSA management will probably fall away. But we are not there yet.

Having explained the organisations thus far, it is important to repeat that the constituency model is transitional but functional for where we find ourselves.

To conclude then, IALPSA and this APP currently serves to coordinate the voice of the Independent Constituent of the Law Society of South Africa by providing a platform which enhances the communication between the Independent Legal Practitioners and their leaders on the LSSA. It is an important voice in this part of the transitional phase in which the South African Legal Profession finds itself.

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Senior Attorney and Senior Counsel Honours

LPC Notice to LPs

08 July 2025

Notice to Legal Practitioners

Update on the Process for conferment of Senior Attorney and Senior Counsel Honours

On 13 March 2024, the erstwhile Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development published the Uniform Guidelines for the

conferral of Senior Attorney and Senior Counsel honours on eligible legal practitioners.

The Uniform Guidelines make provision for the LPC National Council to appoint a committee to consider and process

nominations of candidates to be conferred senior honours. The preamble to the Uniform Guidelines sets out the purpose of

the Guidelines which the committee is expected to achieve in accordance with the prescribed procedure.

The Committee is to be constituted by seven (7) members, tasked with the function to consider and process nominations of

candidates for the conferral of Senior Attorney and Senior Counsel honours. In their current form, the Guidelines require the

Committee to be comprised of “two practising attorneys, Senior Attorneys, who are not members of the Council, designated

by the Council after consulting the attorneys' profession”, two practising advocates, who are Senior Counsel and who are not

members of the Council, designated by the Council following consultation with the advocates' profession, and two fit and proper

persons, who are not legal practitioners, also designated by the Council after consultation with community-based organisations

or non-governmental organisations on community legal affairs.

As there are currently no attorneys with the designation “senior attorney”, the Uniform Guidelines are being amended to

address this issue. The Council has engaged the current Minister, and she is attending to the matter. Upon the necessary

amendment being published, and after consultation with the legal profession, the Council will constitute the Committee.

The Council is aware of delays already occasioned by this process, and we endeavour to keep legal practitioners abreast of

all developments by issuing notices as and when it is necessary.

Legal practitioners are reminded that whilst every interested person, save for an organ of state or government entity, is entitled

to nominate a candidate for senior honours, it is only the committee that may make a recommendation for the conferral of such

honours.

All relevant information for the submission of nominations will be communicated to legal practitioners in due course.

Kind Regards

PULE SELEKA SC

Chairperson: Legal Practice Council