Today's Labour News

BL Premium reports that the SA unit of Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF), a heavyweight in the legal world, has launched a lawsuit against the government, seeking to overturn a newly implemented policy aimed at the transformation of the legal sector.

The legal action, initiated last month against trade, industry & competition minister Parks Tau, will prove to be a test for the government’s determination to push through transformation in the sector via the broad-based BEE (BBBEE) legal sector code, which was introduced last year. The battle comes amid long-standing complaints by black lawyers about the slow pace of transformation in the sector that is dominated by the big five law firms: Bowmans, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, ENSafrica, Webber Wentzel and Werksmans. Brent Botha, a director at NRF, argues that the new policy imposes unrealistic targets on law firms. “It changes the manner in which ownership, management control, enterprise development and skills development are measured. It imposes targets that are unreasonable, impractical and unrealistic, given the nature of large law firms,” Botha claims. Under the new policy, which replaced the generic BEE code policy, large firms have been handed ambitious targets to jack up black ownership, management control and procurement. For instance, they must achieve 30%-50% voting rights for black practitioners, the same range for executive management roles and source 40%-60% of legal services from black advocates. NRF has split its plea into two parts. First, it is urgently seeking an interim order to suspend the legal sector code’s operation. Secondly, it wants the high court to declare the legal sector code unlawful and unconstitutional.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sinesipho Schrieber at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
• Read too, Legal challenge against legal sector BEE code, at Moneyweb

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