Our Transformation Policy

As a truly South African law firm, we have faced the challenge of transformation and empowerment head on.

Our Transformation Policy

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr acknowledges that South Africa's apartheid and gender discrimination legacy has adversely impacted on the legal profession and has inhibited -

• the access of black people to the firm and the legal profession;

• the access of women to the firm and the legal profession;

• the access of indigent people and community based organisations and groups established for their benefit to legal services which are appropriate and, of an acceptably high standard;

• the access of black people and women to work and client opportunities that enhance their professional legal expertise and experience and to a working environment that is sensitive to their particular needs and circumstances created by the isolation, exclusionary and discriminatory practices of the past; and

• the development of an inclusive culture and climate in law firms generally, including Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.

Our Transformation Aspirations

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr aspires to be a firm -

• whose partners and professional and support employees are representative of the racial, gender, cultural and religious diversity of the people of South Africa;

• where men and women at all levels within the firm enjoy equal opportunities and treatment in relation to access to work, recruitment, promotion and remuneration;

• that creates a working environment that is sensitive to the particular challenges faced by previously marginalised groups such as women and black people;

• that actively encourages and values its diversity to the advantage of the firm, its clients and the broader community in which we practice and lives by the principles of equity, non-discrimination and inclusivity;

• that plays an active role in making the legal profession more accessible to South Africans who historically have had limited access to or opportunities within the legal profession;

• that is sensitive to the broader socio-economic and environmental context within which the firm does business and which strives to make a positive contribution to South Africa's developmental challenges.

Transformation is about process and shared responsibility

At Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr we believe that to achieve our aspirations our transformation initiatives must be -

• the shared responsibility of our entire firm; and

• part of the management and life of our firm and our interaction with clients and the broader South African community.

Our transformation initiatives include -

• a recruitment policy that ensures that we hire the best professional and support employees who are representative of the racial, gender, cultural and religious diversity of the people of South Africa;

• a candidate attorney recruitment process that is inclusive of all universities in South Africa;

• the provision of bursaries to deserving students with particular emphasis on black students from disadvantaged communities or who come from indigent environments the creation of an inclusive and enabling corporate and social culture through -

  (i)	ongoing climate and diversity interventions that focus on encouraging non-discriminatory behaviour and celebrating diversity as shared firm values, and
  (ii)	measures ensuring the effective integration of marginalised groups into all aspects of the firm's working environment;

• a policy to ensure that our briefing patterns of advocates and correspondent attorneys are consistent with our transformation policy;

• measures aimed at identifying and ensuring the elimination of barriers to entry or assimilation into the firm, and inclusion in the firm's corporate and social culture, as well as enabling measures to encourage the spreading of client briefs so as to ensure that all practitioners within the firm and in particular, that marginalised groups are given fair and equal access to work and clients;

• a diverse EXCO which enhances the firm's operational and strategic management through the sheer variety of professional skills, experience, gender, racial and cultural backgrounds;

• the engagement in a range of pro bono and corporate social investment initiatives through which we contribute to the broader communities in which we practice;

• the evaluation of our progress on an ongoing basis, both internally and through independent external assessment and intervention.

At Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, transformation is about living our values and principles.