Page 10 - Transformation Report.indd

2. The firm must be an Empowering Supplier as defined under the Amended
BEE Codes, which includes requiring a firm to submit its Employment
Equity Report and Workplace Skills Plan.
3. Each firm must have a current Employment Equity Plan in place which
is monitored by its board and which identifies the strategies the firm will
use to transform its organisational environment and sets clear targets for
the advancement of previously disadvantaged individuals within the firm
across all organisational levels.
4. To enlarge the pool of black candidate attorneys from which professional
appointments can be made within the Group and at each firm, firms
must strive to achieve the following targets in respect of black candidate
attorney appointments at the firm as a percentage of overall appointments
made by the firm:

Member firms Urban Firms Regional Firms

must meet the 2015 25% of Candidate Attorney 2015 25% of Candidate Attorney
Appointments
Appointments
2016 32% of Candidate Attorney 2017 32% of Candidate Attorney
minimum Group Appointments Appointments
2017 40% of Candidate Attorney 2019 40% of Candidate Attorney
BEE Standards to Appointments Appointments
5. In order to increase the number of black professionals in the Group and
demonstrate their at each firm and so increase the number of black director appointments
at firms, firms must strive to achieve the following targets in respect of
BEE compliance black professional appointments at the firm as a percentage of overall
professional appointments made by the firm:

Urban Firms Regional Firms
2017 25% of Professional Appointments 2017 25% of Professional Appointments
2018 32% of Professional Appointments 2019 32% of Professional Appointments
2019 40% of Professional Appointments 2021 40% of Professional Appointments

6. 20% of all legal services outsourced by a firm to legal services providers
must be outsourced to black law firms (at least 25% black owned) and/
or black advocates or other legal service providers that are at least 25%
black owned.
7. A firm must have a functioning pro bono programme that at a minimum
meets the requirements of the relevant Law Society requirements for pro
bono work.
These Group BEE Standards represent the minimum required commitment of
firms to ensure that they proactively engage and plan to meet BEE requirements
and put sustainable structures in place to achieve compliance. The initial
focus on junior and professional appointments will mature in time to include
an additional standard focusing on black director appointments at firms as a
consequence of an increasing pool of black professionals appointed within
the Group as an outflow of these Group BEE Standards.

8 setting the standard