Litigation Skills for South African Lawyers

The first edition of this book was a rather surprising success, so much so that the National Bar Examination Board
banned it from its Legal Writing examination on the ground that it “made the examination too easy”. Then the
Librarian of the Law Society’s library in Durban told me that all three copies she had of the book were quickly stolen
from the library. I cannot determine which is the greater compliment; that the book was banned, or that it was
stolen.
South Africa is an ordered society based on the constitutional guarantee of equality, fairness and justice. An
effective litigation process is one of the cornerstones of such a society. It is therefore essential that in order for the
aims of the Constitution to be achieved there should be an effective litigation process, which in turn demands that
the lawyers appearing before the courts should be competent and ethical.
The aim of this book is to help newly qualified lawyers to reach the levels of competency and professionalism
required by the Constitution, the courts and the public.
We know, after many investigations, seminars and debates, that university training is insufficient to provide our
young lawyers with the skills they need to engage in practice in the courts. Justice Johann Kriegler’s kind foreword
and my own experience in the Potgietersrus (now Mokopane) Magistrates’ Court and other courts confirm that this
lack of practical skills is not a new phenomenon, and that it is not limited to those students who arrive at the Bar or
in an attorney’s firm from a background of poor schooling and indifferent universities.
My experience elsewhere led me to the same conclusion. The problem appears to be universal. The solution is
obvious greater
emphasis on practical training.