From Pampierstand to Johannesburg Gauteng High Court

Advocate Didintle Bojosi is a 35-year-old woman who hails from Rustenburg, where she was raised by her grandmother and later her mother. After completing her matric, Bojosi pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Geography aiming to become an urban planner. It was during her tenure in the insurance industry, where she was tasked with contract responsibilities, that she discovered her passion for law. She enrolled a four year LLB and she had a stint of advocacy at Thuli Madonsela Foundation that further ignited her passion into the legal field, ultimately leading her to undertake a pupillage in pursuit of becoming an Advocate of the High Court.

What advice would you give to other individuals from similar backgrounds who aspire to pursue a career in law?

I would advise that they work hard to first obtain their LLB qualification and have a general passion for it. To be consistent as work in the legal field requires a lot of hard work. To be social and open to learning and dealing with personalities. Law is business, and business comes from networking. To cultivate independence and a non-sheep mentality. To be disciplined and display integrity

What are the requirements needed to become an Advocate of the High Court?

One needs to have obtained an LLB degree from a recognised University. Thereafter, one has to undergo pupillage training for 12 months at a recognised BAR and pass the prescribed exams. If you obtained your LLB Qualification after 2018, then you also need to write an LPC-prescribed exam and pass it. The last step is obtaining admission from a High Court to become an advocate

What challenges did you face in pursuing a career in law?

The first difficulty that I faced was based on the timing of obtaining my LLB degree. I took the degree as a second degree. That was around the same time that my younger brother left for higher education. This meant that my family could not assist me and had to direct all resources to him because I already had a degree. So, I survived on frugal living, minimal savings, assistance from family, and assistance from Fee Nix, which paid for the bulk of my University Fees. What I can say is that I could not perform optimally at university because I had a lot of financial challenges. When it came to pupillage (training to become an advocate) the general challenge came from the fact that it was a year-long program where participants were unpaid. This means that you have to live off your savings for the entire period. There is financial assistance, both from the Bar and the LPC, however, the financial sacrifice was immense for me, and I am still recovering from that period to date

Could you discuss some of the challenges you’ve encountered in your role as a young advocate within your practice?

The main challenge that I have faced is a financial one. After admission, an advocate must take chambers (offices) from whichever Bar they choose to go to settle at.  Such chambers require a monthly rental and to be set up as an office (furniture). There are many options that one may choose from, however, the bottom line remains that the chamber is an additional expense on top of other life expenses. This generally means that you need enough financial resources, which is a challenge. So everything can become overwhelming. The other challenge is getting briefs (work); it can be challenging to get briefs from attorneys

What support systems or resources do you believe would be helpful for young advocates facing similar challenges?

The main support that you need at the beginning is financial support. If you have financial resources, then you can get a chamber. You automatically become part of a group and if you are fortunate, you could get briefs (work) from some of the senior members in the group, additionally, be roped into work by counsels who need juniors on their briefs. Additionally, I think that junior briefs could help young/junior advocates settle well into the profession because then they get the opportunity to work and get exposure to the many areas of law, as well as charge from them

• Adv Bojosi is currently an Advocate of brief and operating a general practice
• Email : didintlebojosi88@gmail.com
• Cell : +27 791296606