The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has this week released the draft Legal Services Charter to address the racial, gender cultural inequalities which persist in the legal sector. The charter proposes radical targets for black economic empowerment, exceeding the Department of Trade and Industry generic balanced scorecard in various instances whilst also clarifying many of the legal professions' concerns as to the requirements for black economic empowerment in the legal sector. The charter has been called a 'transformation measure' to address BEE in the legal sector and increase also the access to law for the poor. What is now required, is for the legal profession to engage with the draft and provide their inputs to better align the draft with the needs and realities of the sector.

Download a copy of the Legal Services Charter here.