1.1 It’s the inequalities experienced by African professionals in the legal fraternity that result in noticeable differences (in respect to opportunities and finances) between African professionals and those of other races despite having exactly the same or similar academic qualifications.
2.1 First we need to identify what are the common biases that are faced by African, one of which is the assumption of incompetence. The experience of most Africans (generally and even in the legal industry) is that there is the unspoken expectation for Africans to first prove themselves to be competent before they can be entrusted with any task/work whereas their counter parts are already assumed to be competent until they are proved incompetent.
2.2 The lack of experience on its own becomes a barrier and the briefing patterns are a foundational issue, also lack of exposure. This creates an uneven playing field between African professionals and those of other races and by virtue thereof, and this results in the uneven distribution of work, squid briefing patterns and different treatment being received by African professions in the different work spaces and even within the courts for those who are practitioners.
As ALPA we understand that there is no way to capacitate a person unless there is exposure. We want to assist our members to develop their knowledge and skills through different programmes. We also intend to investigate and intervene on behalf of our members, the causes of the uneven distribution of work, particularly from government entities who are meant to ensure equality. We further intend to create relations with other entities (private and public bodies) to ensure that our members interests are articulated and advanced and to ensure that our members are not unjustly excluded from opportunities that are available for their counterparts. Ultimately we seek to engage in open discussions with all sectors (government and private) for the benefit of our members so that we can effectively change the status quo that is predominantly detrimental to African legal professionals.
3.1 They must have a passion for justice not money;
3.2 They must have a yearning for reading and just learning in general;
3.3 They must get involved in impact litigation;
3.4 They must understand that justice is about improving and making a positive impact in peoples lives;
3.5 They must ensure that they conduct themselves with integrity and act ethically because ethics are a fundamental requirement in the profession.
4.1 The legal profession cannot support legal professionals on its own, we need solid networking skills and programmes to help us to infiltrate the big corporate;
4.2 The legal profession needs to set up advice desks to help and educate communities in impoverished areas;
As ALPA we believe that mentorship is one of the pinnacles that underpin skills transfer.
5.1 We therefore intend to absorb Candidate Attorneys that are established and encourage our members to take Junior Attorneys into their respective practices or under their wing to guide them in their career projection.
5.2 We also intend to go into higher education institutions and voluntary vac work to help the upcoming members of the profession to better understand the profession beforehand and better prepare themselves so that they can avoid some of the mistakes that some of the legal professionals sometimes make when they enter the profession without knowledge of what is expected of them and help them make better choices sooner.
6.1 By further capacitating ourselves through skills development and training, as well as encouraging and even supporting our members the best way that we can, to further our studies because we understand that the law is evolving so we cannot stagnate, we need to engage in continuous professional development.
6.2 By taking proactive steps to ensure that the challenges known to us are addressed and those involved in any unjust treatment of our members are called to account.
6.3 By fostering relations between ourselves and the different industry role players who are willing to partner with us in bringing the transformation we wish to see in the industry.
By bringing about transformation that is progressive for the benefit of the African legal professional.