BEE Accredition

Joubert Galpin Searle was awarded a level 1 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BEE) accreditation standard by accreditation agency BEE Ratings Solutions in July 2007. BEE Rating Solutions is an associate member of the Association of B–BEE Verification Agencies (ABVA).

It’s taken our law firm many years of on-going effort to achieve this level of employment equity. Often it has felt like our efforts are futile and this makes it exceptionally rewarding that our sincerity and efforts with regards to BEE have been recognized.

We achieved maximum scores for skills development, enterprise development; and socio-economic development; and scored an inspiring 26.98 out of a total of 28 for ownership. Our total score was 101.98, which puts us at level 1, with a procurement recognition level of 135%. We feel this is a great achievement for our PE-based firm.

Joubert Galpin Searle is dedicated to the process of transformation in our country and has actively promoted an equity programme within the company since 1990. In pursuing our equity programme, we only appoint candidates who are suitably qualified and display the requisite degree of potential. Approximately one third of our staff comes from a historically disadvantaged background.

Our current demographic make-up is as follows:

We are committed to assisting our historically disadvantaged staff and professionals to grow and advance in the industry, by providing ongoing training aimed at ensuring that they are fully acquainted with the latest developments and technological advances in their fields of expertise.

Our involvement:

• We employed Mr Sunil Ranchod during 1990 as a professional assistant. Mr Ranchod subsequently obtained his MBA and is now employed as a legal advisor by a national insurance company.
• We appointed Mr Sivu Ntlabezo as a candidate attorney during 1994 and sponsored him through Law School. He also completed his articles with us and qualified as an attorney in conveyancing. He has since been elected to commence practising for his own account.
• We assisted in qualifying the first two Black conveyancers in the Eastern Cape.
• MC Botha was chairman of Lawyers for Human Rights (Eastern Cape) for a period of two years and assisted extensively in investigations of political killings and detentions, and in various human rights programmes.
• Miss Liezl Skleton joined our Commercial Division during 1996 where she received extensive training in company law, formation and registration of legal entities, estate planning and administration and company secretarial practise. Ms Skelton subsequently elected to further her career in academics and went on to work for Volkswagen SA.
• Mr Thando Ndlebe joined Joubert Galpin Searle during 1999 and we sponsored him through Law School. Mr Ndlebe was part of a joint equity program between Joubert Galpin Searle and a large multi national concern to train Black commercial lawyers. He received training in liquor law, company law and general commercial transactions. Mr Ndlebe is currently furthering his career in banking in Gauteng.
• We are constantly and actively involved in both equity and community programmes for the disadvantaged.
• We are actively assisting in the establishment of SMMEs for the disadvantaged community.
• In conjunction with a local manufacturing concern, we have spearheaded equity outsourcing by industrial concerns to the disadvantaged communities on a structured basis. This project was one of the first projects in the country to receive the approval and support of Cosatu.
• Zoleka Mcetywa served her two-year articles of clerkship with Joubert Galpin Searle and was appointed as a Professional Assistant Attorney in 2005. She recently relocated to Cape Town with the business transfer of her husband.
• We are actively involved in Conveyancing training for the Law Society, where we have achieved substantial success in qualifying black conveyancers. 2005 saw two historically disadvantaged staff members of our firm, Sonja Tifloen and Zoleka Mcetywa, qualify as conveyancers.
• In 2006, a further black attorney, Natascha America, was admitted as a Notary.
• Sonja Tifloen moved from our Litigation Division to our Property Division and with effect 1 March 2007 was promoted to Equity Director - the first historically disadvantaged attorney to be appointed as a full director in Joubert Galpin Searle’s history.
• Salma Munshi completed her training at JGS under the mentorship of Michael Searle, who was senior partner at the time. She left after eight years with the firm, to broaden her horizons in both the legal- and corporate environment. Salma is now an Equity Director of JGS, practicing in the Litigation Division, where her special field is insurance law.
• We currently employ five historically disadvantaged attorneys and are also training two more candidates from the historically disadvantaged group.

In pursuing our equity programme we employ the following initiatives within the organization:

1. A meaningful Employment Equity Plan which is formally conducted on a bi-annual basis. We are currently in the process of formalizing our new Employment Equity Plan and have attached our previous plan for reference.
2. Preferential recruitment of Historically Disadvantaged Candidate Attorneys in order to meet the following targets:
   25% - Whites
   75% - Black
3. Appointment of Directors focused on meeting the ownership targets.
4. Preferential employment of black support staff in administrative support functions.
5. A formalized Skills Development Plan detailing substantial annual increases in the amount spent on training historically disadvantaged individuals in particular, and all staff in general.
6. Use of small/medium enterprises specifically from previously disadvantaged groups wherever possible.