Firstly, you need to attain a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree which takes four to five years. Alternatively you can study a BCom or BA which takes
three years and then another two years to complete your LLB.

Secondly, you need to complete your articles of clerkship at a law firm as a “candidate attorney” which lasts between one or two years
depending on whether or not you attend full time Practical Legal Training (PLT). You need to register your contract with the Legal Practice Council
within two months of starting your articles.

Thirdly, you have to attend a compulsory course (PLT) which aims to teach you practical legal skills and prepare you for the board exams.

There are two options available for this course:

1) the full time course which is either during the day or at night or,

2) the part-time course which is two evenings per week or one full day per week.

Fourthly, you are required to complete four Attorneys Admissions Examinations.

Lastly, once you have completed all the above steps you are entitled to apply to the High Court to be admitted as an attorney. You will require a
Notice of Motion, a founding and confirmatory affidavit, and the relevant annexures.

First year:

• Criminal law
• Family law
• Introduction to legal studies
• Legal history
• Legal practice
• Law of persons
• Roman law

Second year:

• Labour law
• Law of succession
• Legal interpretation
• Legal practice
• Criminal procedure
• Law of contract
• Law of evidence

Third year:

• Law of business enterprise
• Law of delict
• Legal pluralism
• Legal practice
• Commercial law
• Public law
• Property law
• Tax law

Fourth year:

• Capita selecta private law
• Capita selecta mercantile law
• Civil procedure
• Jurisprudence
• Legal practice
• International law
• Law of insolvency
• Third party compensation law

Studying towards becoming an attorney can be an exciting and rewarding career. Students are told that once they obtain their law degrees that a bright and successful future lies ahead of them. What no one tells them before they register for a degree in law is the substantial amount of hard work, perseverance and dedication at university that is required right from the very beginning, just to secure articles of clerkship.

1. LLB Degree:

Baccalaureus Legum: The LLB degree allows students to get an insightful understanding of the law, allowing them to apply it proficiently when serving communities and members of the public. (Successful completion of LLB allows for further studies in LLM)

Requirements to become study an LLB.

Academic Requirements

This degree requires you to write AQL NBT (acceptable quality level National Benchmark Test).

In highschool, you are required to have the following academic results: o English or Afrikaans Home Language 60%;
o English orAfrikaans First Additional Language 70%

Universities that offer an LLB degree:

Wits/UJ/Rhodes/UP/UCT/UKZN/UL/ Fort Hare.

Number of Years & Career Opportunities for Graduates

(Undergraduate 4 years and Postgraduate 3 years).

Once you graduate you can pursue the following main fields in law:

Attorney, legal advisor, lawyer, judge, magistrate.

The Baccalaureus Artium: This degree is an opportunity for students to acquire knowledge in the South African legal system as well as other law sectors such as constitutional law, private law, and customary law. Through this degree, students are able to take other subjects from other faculties such as Art and Social Sciences. (Modules credits count towards an LLB).

Academic Requirements

This degree also requires you to write AQL NBT.
o English Home language or 1st Add Lang: 60-69%;
o Mathematics: 50-59% or Mathematical Literacy: 50-59%.

Universities that offer a BA LLB degree:

Wits/UJ/Rhodes/UP/UL

Number of Years & Career Opportunities for Graduates

This is a 3 year course and you may apply for 2 years LLB after successful completion of the degree.

The career opportunities above apply to this degree as well. A few other options to take note of are: Paralegal, Legal Assistant, Legal Secretary, Labour consultant,

The Baccalaureus Commercii: Like BA Law, this degree also provides students with sufficient knowledge on the South African law system but extends onto further learning on business enterprise law, private law, labour law and customary law too.

The student will also be able to take subjects from other faculties, specifically Economics and Management Sciences. (Modules credits count towards an LLB).

This is a 3 year degree and thus reduces LLB Postgrad to 2 years.

Academic Requirements

This degree requires you to write AQL and MAT NBT’s.

o English Home Language or 1st Add Language: 60-69%;
o Mathematics: 60-69%.
Universities that offer this Degree:

Wits/UJ/Rhodes/UP

Number of Years & Career Opportunities for Graduates

This is a 3 year degree and a student may apply for LLB after successful completion.

A few careers you can pursue here: Professional counselling, Negotiation and conflict resolution, Legal officer, Legal, Risk and Compliance consultant, Compliance officer, Legal advisor.

This degree is a combination of two degrees, BAcc and LLB and provides students with knowledge on Law sciences as well as the required qualifications to work as a chartered accountant. Some subjects include Administrative law, private law and international law.

Requirements

o This degree requires you to write AQL and MAT NBT’s;
o Mathematics 70% or Mathematics 60% and Accounting 70%;
o English or Afrikaans Home Language 60%, alternatively,
Afrikaans or English First Additional Language 70%

Universities that offer this degree:

Stellenbosch

Number of Years & Career Opportunities for Graduates

This is a 5 year degree.

A career that you can pursue with this degree: chartered accountants, legal practitioners, with further career training.

UNISA

For matric students who do not meet the requirements of the above universities, may explore UNISA as another option as their requirements are not based on different merits. After a successful first year, you could transfer your points to another university and continue your degree there, if necessary.

Many people who are considering a career in law need to be aware of how overpopulated this field has become. This has resulted in securing articles in South Africa to be absolute nightmare, and is regarded as one of the most challenging objectives that graduates are faced with today.

Unless a student has had the opportunity of attending the many vacation programmes on offer from the ‘big five’ from an early stage in their academic career, their chances of securing articles of clerkship with the ‘big five’ are somewhat diminished.

Once a candidate attorney (CA) has secured his or her articles of clerkship, the opportunity to learn and experience one of SA’s most sought-after professions begins. Candidate attorneys either undergo a two-year contract of articles or one-year of articles (after successfully having completed the full time programme at the School for Legal Practice).

For those students who are still completing their LLB studies, they either enter into the five-year contract of articles or three year contract of articles (if you have obtained a three-year undergraduate degree).

Experiences during articles range from satisfactory to unsatisfactory depending on the size, environment and exposure a CA is given at a law firm. Many of the prominent law firms allow their CAs to gather a vast range of experiences within different departments by way of a rotation process.

At smaller firms, this is not the case. In many cases, a CA would either be employed at a general legal practice or a conveyancing legal practice. In a general legal practice, on any given day, a CA simply has to deal with whatever work is thrown his or her way. In this way, the CA is given the opportunity to understand what it entails to run a legal practice from the very first point.

The last thing a CA wants is to be stuck in the same department for his or her entire period of articles. This is why it is important to ensure that CAs encourage their principal to expose them to other facets of the law if and when he or she feels the CA is competent to do so. Remember, it is important to know that the CA is a clerk who knows the bare-minimum of what practice entails, it is best that the CA is prepared for what is to come and able to learn very quickly.

If the CA has managed to see through their period of articles, passed their admissions exams, received their certificate of proficiency they are now able to apply for admission as an attorney.

The biggest fear for a CA is when he or she has completed his or her period of articles and is not afforded the opportunity to be taken on as an attorney at the end of his or her term. Many CAs have different motives for wanting to undergo articles and to become an admitted attorney, but, has it ever occurred to those who want to practise law that there are no guarantees once you have successfully qualified as an admitted attorney?

In most instances, juniors are given a month to find alternative placement. This does not always work out as planned. Their options may be very limited as the legal field is inundated with newly admitted attorneys vying for any career opportunities that may become available. It is a daunting reality, which many CAs are faced with every year and leads to many despondent young professionals who end up working in alternate professions and at the very worst, unemployed. For CAs out there who have secured their articles of clerkship, there are some helpful tips to assist you in securing your shot at landing a job as a Professional Assistant at your respective firms.

o If you are in it for the money, stop right there and forget about that aspect, especially if you are not employed at a big law firm. It is all about building a career and being exposed to the law at this very fundamental stage of your career.
o Be prepared to sacrifice your personal time for the sake of your growth within the legal fraternity. Spending late nights back at the office is a given and in some instances gives you the best space to work in. It is a test of character and a chance to learn as much as possible.
o Be innovative and make suggestions as to what you think is lacking and what could benefit the firm (typically in a small law firm environment). Remember, your principal appreciates your insight and compassion towards your future and his or her business. Be adaptable to changing circumstances.
o Time management cannot be over-emphasised. Often CAs are stuck trying to obtain missing court files and pleading with administrative staff. Not all work is billable, which results in a longer working day.
Effective time management is one of the most crucial skills to have and will benefit you as you continue to pursue your legal career. Your clients are important to you and billable hours do matter, but avoid burning yourself out. A balanced lifestyle is important.
o Try not to show any form of negativity because it feeds on you and eventually those around you. A positive attitude and having effective solutions at your disposal will take you a long way. Self- doubt is a dangerous thing.
o The work load can be excessive, but be open to wanting to do more for your principal. This may influence his or her long-term plan for you at the firm as he or she would be given an idea of how and where you could fit in the firm at post-admission.

Big/Medium and Small Law Firms

An aspect that impacts a work environment, is the size of the firm. Candidate attorneys (CAs) may think that articles are scarce and they will be happy to find a job at any size firm, but they should be aware of the different traits of law firms, depending on their size. The reason for this is that a job relationship is usually intended to be a long-term decision.

There is not clear cut salary value but multiple ratios explained below to provide you with a clear indication.

Big Law Firms
Salary expectation (between R25K – 30K)
Large law firms are generally associated with higher salaries. However, in return for a higher salary, management will expect higher targets to be made.

Large law firms usually also have existing clients and large volumes of work, which result in writing higher fees. Marketing in a large law firm is often done by a practice manager (or marketing manager) and attorneys only get to do what they are hired for, namely, to serve clients and write fees for professional services.

If you perform in a large law firm, you are likely to enjoy a good salary and secure employment. However, moving up the corporate ladder in a large law firm can be challenging, due to a great deal of competition. It is generally only when you start moving up in a large law firm, that attorneys are expected to start participating in management activities and getting involved in training junior staff and secretaries.

Small Law Firms
Salary expectation (between R3.5K – 8K)
An aspect that often attracts candidates to smaller law firms is that in a small law firm, a CA or junior attorney is more likely to get exposure to different types of matters and clients. In this regard, on a personal level, attorneys often build better confidence in a small law firm and have greater moral support at the office. This generally makes small law firms cozy work environments.

In a small law firm, management is generally more accessible and decisions can be made and executed faster.

It is also important to note that in a small law firm, if you work hard and perform well, there may also be opportunities to be promoted faster.

It is not accurate to state that all small law firms pay low salaries, as some small law firms pay competitive or even higher salaries than some larger law firms in order to retain talent and value their attorneys.

Middle-Sized Law Firms
Salary expectation (between R5K – 15K)
A middle-sized law firm is likely to have most of the positives and negatives raised above, but likely less extremely. Middle-sized law firms, which lean more towards the culture and values of small law firms, can be a very supportive work environment.

Generally, the salary that a CA can expect in a medium sized firm is anywhere between the salary that a big law firm and a small law firm offers.