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Heritage Day: Reflections from a New Breed law firm

On 24 September, we pause to take time off to commemorate Heritage Day, a day enshrined in both our public calendar and the Constitution. A constitutional affirmation of who we are, where we come from, and where we are headed as a nation. As a new breed law firm, we reflect on how the practice of law is intertwined with the heritage of the very people it serves.

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa stands as a living testament of the diversity of our heritage. Section 31 explicitly recognises cultural, religious, and linguistic communities. The Preamble further reminds us of the imperative to heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice, and fundamental human rights. This underscores the importance of law firms carrying the social responsibility not only to provide legal services, but to also safeguard and promote the dignity of cultural diversity.  

A law firm is not simply a place for drafting contracts and exchanging pleadings, it is a space where multiple heritages meet. From a Sesotho speaking client to the Afrikaans trained conveyancer, and your English drafting counsel. Heritage Day allows legal professionals to see beyond the letters on legislations and to appreciate the traditions of the people who look to law for justice.

It is worth noting that disputes and negotiations often arise in contexts deeply rooted in heritage. New breed law firms are thus increasingly required to interpret the law in accordance with their clients’ lived experiences. For example, legal frameworks now extend protection to amongst others, customary succession, intellectual property and traditional knowledge. Heritage Day thus reminds legal practitioners that every brief carried is not only a legal issue, but it is also a human story shaped by culture.

Commemorating Heritage Day in our own law practices is indicative that diversity is not merely tolerated, it is promoted and cherished. Cultural practices embody ubuntu, and as a new breed law firm we should not only value intelligence and efficiency but also empathy. After all, law is a human profession supported by people who bring their cultural legacy to every court appearance, consultation, and to every piece drafted.

Heritage Day is therefore more than just a public holiday. It is an opportunity for the legal profession to reaffirm its role in building our nation, by respecting, protecting, and cherishing the heritage of all South Africans. 

Whilst strongly united in our diversity, we celebrate what makes us different and unique because that is where our strength lies.
Let us celebrate this day with our colourful and richly diverse cultures. “! KE E: /XARRA //KE” (DIVERSE PEOPLE UNITE | DIVERSE MENSE VERENIG)

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