Law Professions Day Links Students to Future Careers

Held over two days on the Howard College and Pietermaritzburg campuses, the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN) Law Professions Day introduced hundreds of students to a range of organisations that offered guidance on future employment opportunities, internships, graduate and bursary programmes, recruitment processes, careers in the financial sector and civil society, and job-search skills.

The Dean of the School of Law was represented by Ms Salina Govindsamy, Director of External Liaison for the School. Govindsamy welcomed each stakeholder and reiterated the College of Law and Management Studies’ commitment to meaningful engagement between students and corporate stakeholders to create career advancement opportunities.

Companies and organisations in attendance included the Golden Key International Honour Society, Webber Wentzel Attorneys, ProBono.Org, the KZN Legal Practice Council, AT Mpungose and Dlamini Attorneys, Pinsent Masons, ENS, Bowmans, LexisNexis, Cox Yeats, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, PPS Insurance, the Legal Resources Centre, Garlicke & Bousfield Inc., Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, MacRobert Attorneys, the National Prosecuting Authority, and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners South Africa (ACFESA).

Representatives from these organisations engaged with students through one-on-one conversations and presentations, and provided handout materials to guide their career decisions and highlight available opportunities, including careers in legal research, publishing, access-to-justice work and financial services.

Mr Raj Dhanlall from ACFESA, an alumnus of UKZN, said the event was invaluable because graduates often enter the world of work without fully understanding professional life and the opportunities available to them. He said organisations had a responsibility to expose students to the range of professional options open to them.

Words: Christine Cuénod

Photographs: Christine Cuénod and Sethu Dlamini