- Candidate attorneys benefit from real court exposure and hands-on legal work.
- Practical experience under pressure builds confidence and professional growth.
- Law firms are urged to assign meaningful responsibilities to candidate attorneys.
I was at Polokwane High Court. I was representing the respondents. In an urgent court, it is a little bit easier when you are the respondent than the applicant.
In all the years, I think I have won only two or three urgencies on points in limine stage. Reasoning urgency is as difficult as proposing to a girl from a rich family.
I must admit that the brief was concluded in the early hours of Wednesday. I resolved to go to Polokwane at 1am, as the matter was on an extremely urgent basis. I was handed the brief by Morero Attorneys in Polokwane. After agreeing, they said I must liaise with one colleague, very young and new in the profession.
The colleague in the photo is Thato van Rensburg. He is a candidate attorney who was assigned to work with me on the brief. It meant that from those early hours I had to start preparing my heads of argument. I had to wake the colleague up to assist with a few court papers to prepare for court within a few hours. The assistance I received was excellent and magnificent.
Pressure and performance
After very long and hard work from the early hours, the heads of argument were concluded in the early hours of the morning. I sent them to Thato, and he ensured that they were filed. I then drove to Polokwane High Court. I arrived 30 minutes late. I was not driving the white horse; I left it in Bloemfontein the other day as I suffered fatigue.
I found that my colleague, who is a candidate attorney, had assisted by arranging with Advocate Mathabathe SC, no doubt about his seniority in the profession, who was representing the opposing side we faced in court.
Upon arrival, I found Thato with a well-organised file, properly divided and well structured, in a hard black cover. I went to him and greeted him, as I was greeting all practitioners in court. He said, “I know you, Adv Moafrika Wa Maila. I am here to assist you.”
Learning in real time
After we dealt with the matter and finally got favourable results on our side, note, we did not win, the court is not a soccer pitch, there is no scoreboard, he was very happy. He said, “I was scared when I was told that I would be working with Adv Moafrika Wa Maila. I asked my principal if he was referring to the actual Adv Moafrika Wa Maila, and he said yes. I saw you as someone tough, very strict, someone who plays by his rules.”
I laughed at him and asked that we take a photo. He said, “I learnt a lot today. I was shocked that in such a short period of time you were able to draft, drive, and deliver results in court.” I explained to him that our profession, especially being an Advocate, is a demanding state and status. Very rarely will you have an opportunity to get cases that create comfort of time and space.
I realised that the outcome meant a lot to him. He kept asking me what Scale B costs mean. If the matter had been struck off, what does it mean? I really liked the passion he expressed. I saw him taking notes as the court was in session. In any event, there were only two matters.
A call to law firms
In short, law firms must do as Morero Attorneys in Polokwane did. Expose your candidate attorneys to real legal work. Assign them challenging tasks and subject them to pressure to see if they survive and learn.
I wish all candidate attorneys the best in their endeavours to achieve admission.
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