- Familiarity between lawyers and magistrates can quietly erode the professional distance that courts require, creating a comfort zone that risks lowering the standard of legal practice and courtroom discipline.
- Lawyers who repeatedly appear in the same court may begin relying on relationships instead of legal skill, which can leave them unprepared when they appear before unfamiliar presiding officers.
- The integrity of legal practice depends on lawyers relying on the law itself rather than personal associations, court favours, or informal influence within particular courts.
I appeared before an old colleague working as a magistrate. The funniest part is that we were great friends together with Advocate Trevor Motsisi.
The Honourable Magistrate is still as humble as I know him. He was surprised to see me, but due to the nature of the matter, we had to keep things professional.
A most important aspect dawned on me as I saw him in the magistrate’s stand. The level of respect cannot be compromised by our previous relations.
There should be an extra-judicial premise that comes to the fore in court. We nicknamed him “Mfana Mlungu”, meaning white boy. But he is not that now; he is Your Worship.
When familiarity begins to weaken legal practice
A most serious disadvantage that many legal practitioners suffer is their familiarity with the presiding officers. Especially at magistrates’ courts, many legal practitioners are so familiar with the proceedings to an extent that their familiarity has bred mediocrity.
There is a massive disadvantage to being a farmer lawyer, which is a lawyer who only frequents one court to such an extent that your relationship with the presiding officer has created a comfort zone.
The familiarity has bred mediocrity. The moment you step into a new court before a new presiding officer, you must pull up your socks.
The danger of relying on relationships instead of the law
The most dangerous place and space for any legal practitioner is to depend on any assorted association, name-dropping, and court favours. It is better to lose a matter than to win through solicited efforts towards certain individuals. Some lawyers are crippled because they cannot function in different courts.
As the saying goes, “A good lawyer knows the law, but a great judge.” It is better to be just a good lawyer who depends on the law than crippling your intellectual capacity and qualification status by being reliant on extracurricular activities to succeed.
It is a reason some lawyers own courts like a pair of shoes or underwear. They have their own courts, their territory, and turf.
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