Paper Delivered By Adv Isiah Mureriwa LLB (UP-SA) LLM (UP-SA) at the Graduation Celebration For His Daughter, DELILAH YEVAI MURERIWA, Cert In Law (Cum Laude), LLB (Cum Laude)

Law firm life can be tough, especially for the black girl child in this country, 

Here are some basic tips on how to master it,

It’s a tough world for today’s junior lawyers — with the rise of technology, globalisation and increased competition, tomorrow’s legal landscape will look very different to the legal landscape today and today’s landscape has evolved a lot from the landscape when you started your degree. Things have changed and going forward, things will change.

You need to avoid being left behind. It is not sufficient for you to catch up. You must be ahead. 

Here are some basic essential skills to cultivate during your time as a junior lawyer — master these and you’ll be ready to meet the future when it comes (rapidly) at you.

1. BE TEACHABLE.

We’ve all been there: fresh out of university with a degree in your hand and feeling like you could do anything. You know the law, you’ve worked hard, and here you are — ready to take on the world. Right?

Well, sure — but your journey of education has actually just begun. Remaining teachable will be one of your greatest qualities in the world of work.

This skill is a mix of humility, curiosity and intellectual ability. It’s about being open to not knowing everything, and being willing to go the extra mile to figure it out.

It’s about not being the person who thinks they’re always right — or the person who thinks they’re always wrong.

You want to be open-minded, but with a firm belief that you’re headed in the direction of growth. You want to be teachable.

1. STAY INTERESTED.

Remember your first day of law school? New pencil case, new folders, brand new academic year — right? Maybe you even felt a similar way as you entered the workplace.

The trouble is, the working world can quickly become difficult, fast-paced and tiring (and unlike university, there’s no month-long Christmas holiday to catch up on your Netflix).

It’s hard to stay passionate when you’re sleep-deprived and stressed. But staying interested will make all the difference.

Knowing exactly why you want to do the work (and be honest with yourself on this one), and what it is you’re interested in (practice area, subject specialism, nature of the work…) will give you the fuel you need to get you through those challenging periods in the job.

1. ALERT, AWAKE AND AWARE

This one is all about perspective: staying in touch with what’s happening on a broader global level.

The legal world (as with many of the professions) is undergoing significant changes — both at an individual firm level, and at a higher systemic level.

Think for a second about the impact of technology — chances are, your supervisor didn’t even have a Blackberry (heard of those?).

Things are moving onwards at a rapid pace, and the question will not only be whether you can keep up, but whether you can stay one step ahead.

HOW DO YOU KEEP AWAKE & AWARE? : Here are a few tips to help you develop your agility:-

• Read articles.
• Write articles, if you have something to say. Stay checked into the things that are happening in the space around you.
• Develop ‘areas of interest’. Yes, it’s annoying but true — you can’t do everything. As a junior lawyer, demands on your time will be coming at you from all directions.
• Develop a general sense of understanding (see bullet points above), and then delve deeper in certain areas of interest. NB.You don’t have to stick with these areas for life, but choose a couple of things that sound interesting, and commit some time to learning about them. If your interest persists, capitalise on it —
• offer to host training for your office, or write a blog for the firm website, or give your team a briefing. You’ll be surprised at how much your effort will pay off: it might take a bit of initial groundwork from your end, but the outcome will be worth it.

Well Done Daughter, The Sky Is Not Your Limit, Go Beyond.

Dad Loves You

By DAD.
(Derived from Elois Skinner, Associate, Clearly Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Inc)
PRETORIA
10 APRIL 2021.