The legal profession after ten years of democracy

The fruits of ten years of democracy have brought widespread benefits to the traditionally established legal profession in South Africa. The liberation of South Africa, the lifting of sanctions, the opening of world markets and an open free-market economy have placed the country firmly in the global market place. Financial benefits have, as a result, flowed into the established corporate sectors of the economy. The legal profession - particularly the large, old, established, traditionally white law firms - has enjoyed these fruits of globalisation. The expanded clientele, including those who broke the sanctions and those who supported them, have turned almost exclusively to the established large white law firms for their legal work. Some slightly smaller firms have also marketed themselves astutely and cornered some of the nationally and internationally based corporate legal work.