Unisa online - Unisa Law Clinic provides articles of clerkship to candidates

Mr Hadley Saayman, Head of Unisa Law Clinic and Mr Thamsanqa Calvin Nongogo, a recent Admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa

Recently admitted as an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa after serving his articles of clerkship at the Unisa Law Clinic, Mr Thamsanqa Calvin Nongogo expressed his appreciation to the Clinic for the opportunity to serve his articles there. Nongogo’s principal and supervisor, Mr Hadley Saayman, the Head of Unisa Law Clinic said he used his best efforts to teach and instruct the candidate attorney, and to provide him with the opportunity to gain reasonable experience.

“This is indeed another highlight of the Clinic, since it focuses on the delivery of legal aid to needy people in a caring, responsive and professional manner,” Saayman explained.

Mr Saayman said candidate attorneys who serve articles at the Unisa Law Clinic, at the end of articles, will have mastered the following basic skills:

• handling of facts and the ability to apply legal principles to factual situations;
• researching of legal problems and the proper utilisation of the sources of the law;
• advocacy (the arguing of elementary cases before the courts and tribunals and the effective presentation of written legal arguments);
• office procedure and routine (including the keeping of the attorney’s books and the preparation and rendering of bills of costs);
  the drafting of documents (straightforward contracts, wills, pleadings, opinions etc);
• communication (interviewing of clients to take instructions and to give advice, the interviewing of witnesses, letter writing etc);
• negotiation (with a view to settling the terms of an agreement, out of court settlements etc).

“Provided that the candidate attorney has served his period of articles/community service properly and it is in his principal’s opinion a fit and proper person, he used his best efforts to procure the admission of the candidate attorney as attorney,” Saayman added.