2024 Johannesburg Pro Bono Awards

Acknowledging the volunteer work of the legal profession

On 20 February the Joburg office of ProBono.Org celebrated its annual Pro Bono Awards. The ceremony was held to acknowledge the outstanding pro bono contributions of the legal profession in 2024.

The awards were hosted by Norton Rose Fulbright SA Inc. and we are extremely grateful for their generous support for this important event in our calendar.

The legal profession and honoured guests turned out in their numbers to celebrate the efforts of those who serve the poor and vulnerable through our various legal clinics and help desks, and also take on cases, conduct workshops and generally show their commitment to realising the value of helping others.

We were honoured to have Jason Brickhill deliver a profound keynote address where he mapped out the access to justice ecosystem and stressed the importance of the South African Constitution in ensuring that our people are given an opportunity to live in dignity through having access to justice.

Along with criminal law, he noted the need for civil law to be recognised as an essential human right through adequate state funding.

Access to justice serves as a vital bridge between the promises of the Constitution and people’s everyday lives. The work that you all do, and that we celebrate tonight, is nothing short of life-sustaining for our constitutional democracy. It connects people to the Constitution, and turns paper promises into real-world rights.

Pro bono services are so vital…they are the lifeblood of constitutional democracy. It is the quiet, unglorious task of providing legal assistance to an individual who could not otherwise afford it that creates the possibility for the Constitution to be made real in that one person’s life.

It means the difference between an experience of the law that respects a person’s dignity and agency, even if they do not succeed in court, and an experience that instrumentalises, brutalises and sometimes criminalises people.

The winners in the various categories of law atProBono.Org were as follows:

Child Law – Keneth Mabale of Malatji, Nduma & Mojapelo Inc. Theresa, Luyt and Karen Malan of Alternative Conflict Resolution (ACR)

Labour Law – Maponya Attorneys

Family Law – Madiba & Co. Attorneys

Wills – Susan Harris

Domestic Violence – Dobsonville Human Rights Advice Office

Community Advice Office – Messina Legal Advice Office

Community Impact/ Empowerment  – Norton Rose Fulbright SA Inc.

Housing – Themba Khumalo, Eversheds Sutherland

Deceased Estates / Mastes – Amina Yuda, Norton Rose Fulbright SA Inc.

Deeds & Conveyancing – Norton Rose Fulbright SA Inc.

Refugees – Virginia Sekgothe Attorneys

Small Firm – Nthabiseng Maleka Attorneys

Medium Firm – HBG Schindlers

Large Firm – Bowmans

Best All Rounder – Fasken

Varsity College Student (Individual) – Rumaana Marks

Varsity College Group – MSA Group 15

Student at a Univesity LawClinic – Brandon Taylor, Stellenbosch University Law Clinic

Advocate – Adv. Khayalethu Madlwabinga

Special Mentions

Busisiwe Mahlangu, Adv. Ntombifuthi Mpofu, Neumenn van Rooyen Attorneys and Puleng Tladi, Matthew Ilsley (Webber Wentzel), Elgene Roos & Jacquie Cassette of Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, Lesley Morphet of Fasken, Adv. Birgit Brammer, Maponya Attorneys and MVC Incorporated.

Congratulations to all the worthy nominees and winners.

We also extend special thanks to Norton Rose Fulbright for hosting a memorable event, and to our sponsors Spier and AJS.