It is time to dismantle the entry barriers to the legal profession and level the playing field for aspirant legal practitioners in South Africa (SA). The journey towards becoming a legal practitioner is a long and winding one, from studying through tertiary institutions, to securing practical vocational training (PVT), and passing competency-based examinations. This article will focus primarily on PVT and will elaborate whether there is a need for the Legal Practice Council (the LPC) to recognise in-house legal experience (corporate legal experience) and accredit more institutions to provide PVT to prospective candidate legal practitioners and address the impasse that many legal graduates find themselves in after completing their legal studies. As a point of departure, before discussing the topic at hand, it is important to first set out the requirements for admission into the profession.
https://www.derebus.org.za/time-to-dismantle-the-entry-barriers-to-the-legal-profession/