A research report submitted to the Faculty of Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management / In order to provide an effective legal service, all attorney must, inter alia, be an effective manager and service provider. Competencies are characteristics that are causally related to effective performance. The study investigated the managerial and service competencies which attorneys require to perform effectively. In addition, the perceived training needs of attorneys in the identified competencies were investigated. The competencies were initially identified by means of a literature review and interviews with senior members of the legal profession. The thirty-one competencies so identified formed the basis for a questionnaire which was administered to practising attorneys. The 85 respondents rated the importance of the competencies and determined the need for training in these competencies. The survey revealed that twenty-nine competencies were considered important for effective management and service provision. The competencies were ranked in order of importance. / AC 2018

M.Tech. Business Administration. Business School. / Involvement in the attorney's profession makes it clear that the training of attorneys does not make sufficient provision in the fields of management and accounting. This led to the research of a business plan model, and the question was raised whether it is possible to develop a standard business plan. As it appears that there is a gap in the syllabus of the training of attorneys, it is recommended that a thorough analysis of the training of attorneys be done. An empirical task analysis of the running of a practice will be the scientific way to determine which skills an attorney needs. A follow-up study should be done with a control group over an extended period. The once-off use of the business plan is not sufficient and should be adjusted and changed when necessary on a continuous basis.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Information Studies)) --University of Limpopo, 2009 / This research report serves as an empirical investigation into the utilization of information technology to support information and knowledge management in law firms, as well as an attempt to design an information and knowledge management model for law firms. Members of the legal profession attached to law firms in the Polokwane City were investigated to find out how optimally they utilize information and communication technologies to support information and knowledge management in their daily operations. The research indicated that there are several ways in which information technology could be used to support the creation, organization, and transfer of information and knowledge in law firms, for the benefit of both lawyers and their clients . In order to provide for an empirical basis for this research, a survey research method, through the use of the questionnaires and interviews, was conducted, followed by a detailed content analysis of law firm websites. An in-depth literature review on the utilization of information technology to support information and knowledge management in law firms was also carried out to determine the findings of other studies that have been conducted elsewhere on the current topic. The results of this research showed that lawyers attached to law firms in the city of Polokwane appear to be non-users of information technology in as far as information and knowledge management is concerned. Most of the members of the law firms in the city seem to be utilizing information technology for basic purposes such as word processing, legal research, client billing, and communication through the e-mail. Other information and knowledge management tools, such as intranets, extranets and web portals, appear not to be utilized by most of the law firms in the city. Based on the findings of this research project, an information and knowledge network model, in a form of Wireless Local Area Network for the law firms in the Polokwane City, is proposed. This network could be utilized by law firms operating in the city to deposit, organize, retrieve, and share information and knowledge collaboratively through the use of information technology. Factors that should be taken into consideration in attempting to implement the proposed model are also discussed. At the end of the research report, some recommendations on encouraging lawyers to utilize information technology optimally are provided, together with recommendations for future research.

The purpose of the research was to investigate the knowledge-sharing practices of legal professionals at the Gauteng Justice Centres of the Legal Aid Board (LAB). The rationale for the study was based on the premise that since the LAB is a knowledge-intensive organization, it is well suited to the implementation of knowledge management. Any successful knowledge management implementation plan, is founded upon the knowledge-sharing culture of the organization, hence the motivation for the research. Self-administered questionnaires were used to survey the views of the legal professionals regarding their knowledge-sharing practices. Three hundred and twenty-five (325) questionnaires were distributed, of which 143 were returned. The data received was presented in the form of tables and figures. Percentages and content analysis was used to analyze the data collected. The findings from the survey revealed that while knowledge-sharing and knowledge management took place at the LAB, it was not guided by a strategy of the organization. The findings also revealed that the knowledge-sharing and knowledge management which did take place did so on an ad hoc basis and was woven into the daily activities of the respondents. The researcher drew conclusions based on the analysis of the data and in the context of related literature and proposed a way forward for the implementation of knowledge management and knowledge-sharing practices at the LAB. The researcher recommended that the LAB employ a knowledge officer, who should be responsible for driving the knowledge management process. Furthermore, the researcher recommended that knowledge sharing should be compulsory and be rewarded. / Thesis (M.I.S.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

This study demonstrates the negative effect of stereotypes in the progression of women in the legal profession in South Africa and the laws, policies and measures that reinforce gender and sex stereotypes are discriminatory on the basis of gender and sex. This notwithstanding, it considers whether gender equality can be achieved where the measures adopted for gender transformation are premised on gender or sex stereotypes. The study analyses the Cape Bar Maternity Policy in concluding that this approach is justifiable and necessary to achieve substantive gender equality. In addition, this study provides recommendations for the legal profession to achieve substantive gender equality that include: special measures to ensure that the working environment is cognisant of the lived realities of women; requiring practitioners to confront their individual bias by holding them accountable for habits and attitudes that maintain gender inequality; and linking the career advancement of legal professionals to a demonstrable commitment to gender transformation. / Jurisprudence / LL. M. (Human Rights Law)

Knowledge-sharing practices are all the actions aimed at improving the internal flow and use of knowledge within a virtual team. The collective knowledge of team members only becomes powerful if it is shared among those who possess common goals. The main purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge-sharing practices of Hogan Lovells’ virtual team of legal information professionals and establish how these practices could be enhanced in order to provide a superior information service to the firm’s lawyers. Hogan Lovells is a multinational law firm with offices in South Africa and England, and its virtual team of legal information professionals were experiencing challenges in sharing knowledge. The study adopted a qualitative methodology and a case-study research design. Interview guides were used to collect qualitative data from study Participants. Out of the 23 potential interviewees from the London and Johannesburg team who were purposively selected as the target population for the study, the researcher interviewed 14 on reaching the point of saturation. The Participants interviewed were in possession of suitable information related to the objectives of the study. Qualitative data collected were analysed using content analysis; findings were then made from the completed analysis. From the findings, it emerged that there were several gaps in the knowledge-sharing practices. Several enablers to the knowledge-sharing practices by legal information professionals were identified. The study recommended several ways by which the knowledge-sharing practices at Hogan Lovells’ virtual team of legal information professionals may be enhanced, amongst which are: formalising team meetings as a virtual community of practice, stimulating informal peer mentoring, valuing storytelling and regularly conducting After-Action Reviews. In addition to this, the virtual team should use other knowledge-sharing practices, such as brainstorming, subject-matter experts, and face-to-face virtual meetings. The study suggested that additional studies, particularly surveys and quantitative studies, be conducted on other virtual teams of legal information professionals in South Africa in order to explore their knowledge-sharing practices. / Information Science / M. A. (Information Science)