Post by cjm on Nov 14, 2013 7:11:37 GMT
www.iol.co.za/news/anc-sells-lawyers-down-the-river-1.1606750#.UoRydN9b37o
A wave of regulatory reform of the legal professions has been washing over the common law countries. Always, the reasons are the same: affordability and access, choice, competition and consumer protection, especially against ineffective professional disciplinary mechanisms. Another feature of reform is a departure from rigid practice models and the creation of new business structures.
These are the same problems we in South Africa should be addressing. The new regulators created elsewhere to address them are typically small bodies composed of lay persons with relevant expertise, a few advocates and attorneys, and sometimes government representatives. Form follows function.
Instead, what is South Africa doing? The Legal Practice Bill forces advocates and attorneys into one governing body, the Legal Practice Council, and puts the attorneys in charge.
Why has this happened? Because the ANC, to borrow the title of Professor Sampie Terreblanche’s latest book, is Lost in Transformation.
These are the same problems we in South Africa should be addressing. The new regulators created elsewhere to address them are typically small bodies composed of lay persons with relevant expertise, a few advocates and attorneys, and sometimes government representatives. Form follows function.
Instead, what is South Africa doing? The Legal Practice Bill forces advocates and attorneys into one governing body, the Legal Practice Council, and puts the attorneys in charge.
Why has this happened? Because the ANC, to borrow the title of Professor Sampie Terreblanche’s latest book, is Lost in Transformation.