SA’s young lawyers want African action
SA’s young legal elite are joining firms that allow them to work on large projects in other African countries as they look to enhance their profiles and gain work experience.
Many of the largest law practices in the country say they have to offer secondment programmes and African opportunities to get the best law students to choose them.
“Young lawyers believe Africa is where big corporate law firms can grow over the long term. They recognise that Africa gives them serious experience. You often hear them in recruitment interviews say they want to do challenging legal work in parts of Africa,” says Lebitso Mokgatle, HR executive at ENS Africa.
“If you don’t offer opportunities on the continent and the support they need, you may lose strong candidates to other firms,” she says.
DLA Piper, relatively new to SA’s legal market, having opened its first office in Sandton in June 2016, says it spent more than a decade building relationships with African law firms because it knows legal talent is hungry for African work. It says having established relationships with African firms could give it an edge when competing for top graduates.
The firm now has full representation in 19 countries across Africa. ENS, in comparison, has representation in six African countries other than SA. “The fact that DLA Piper has the largest African network compared with major law firms in SA was a strong draw for me. It also had a reputation for investing in youth, which was attractive as I was keen to grow with a firm early on in my career,” says Amy Eliason, an associate at the firm.
Eliason joined DLA Piper in September 2016, despite having just started a career at Webber Wentzel. She completed her articles at Webber Wentzel in 2014 and became an associate there in 2015.
She says while many boutique law firms have sprung up in SA over the past few years and more may do so, given improved confidence in the economy, getting a job at large, established law firms in SA is still highly competitive.
Peter Bradshaw, a director at DLA Piper, says while academic performance is key when selecting staff, the firm spends significant resources to upskill young lawyers so the product they deliver does not compromise standards. This is especially true when they work on matters for South African businesses in other countries.
Mokgatle says young attorneys used to have only “about five large commercial law firms to choose from”, but now there are many options. Students typically considered the likes of Norton Rose Fulbright, ENS Africa, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, Webber Wentzel and Bowmans, but in the past few years, numerous small specialised firms have entered the country, meaning more firms have to offer better incentives to compete for talent.
This is while more people complete specialist law degrees. Universities say cyber, environmental and science law are growing in popularity as they deal with legal issues around personal data and environmental management. These legal services are also needed across Africa.
While the opportunity to work on African matters and be seconded to other countries on the continent is attractive, young lawyers need support in the form of skilled partners and up-to-date resources.
Greg Nott, who heads Norton Rose Fulbright’s Africa practice, says support structures for newly qualified and admitted attorneys cannot be overrated.
“Africa is enormous and countries often operate with very different legal frameworks. The kind of work we do on the continent often includes large infrastructure and mining projects. Some young associates who may not have as many responsibilities as older attorneys could be more keen to do extensive work in Africa and stay in countries there for sustained periods. They then need access to colleagues back in SA, to legal databases and to technology,” he says.
THAT DLA PIPER HAS THE LARGEST AFRICAN NETWORK COMPARED WITH MAJOR FIRMS IN SA WAS A STRONG DRAW