Our Transformation Policy
Cliffe Dekker 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, and
- the development of an inclusive culture and climate in law firms
generally, including Cliffe Dekker
Our transformation aspirations
Cliffe Dekker 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 African
- 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 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 we believe that to achieve our aspirations our
transformation initiatives must be -
- the shared responsibility of our entire firm, and
- mainstreamed throughout the internal functionalities, 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 African
- a candidate attorney recruitment process that is inclusive of
universities attended by historically disadvantaged South Africans and
appointments from such universities
- the provision of bursaries to deserving students
- the creation of an inclusive corporate and social culture, through
ongoing climate and diversity interventions that focus on addressing
non-discriminatory behaviour and celebrating diversity as shared
firm-values
- a policy to ensure that our briefing patterns of advocates and
correspondent attorneys are consistent with our transformation policy;
- 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 which speak to our awareness of and our need to 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, transformation is about living our values and
principles
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