Advocate fails to prove racism in maritime law

This came after the tribunal last week dismissed Simba Chitando's complaints of racism and anti-competitive practices in the field of shipping law. The tribunal found Chitando had failed to prove that there was a 'long-standing understanding' between three white lawyers to exclude him from getting briefs. Chitando, a Zimbabwean, was trying to prove that the lawyers had abused their dominant position in the maritime law industry and that they were racist and xenophobic. The tribunal said he would stand a better chance of winning his case in the Equality Court and that this matter could not be remedied through the Competition Act. Full report on the IoL site

The tribunal nevertheless said an unhealthy situation had developed in the sector. According to a Sake24 report, it said maritime law was regarded as a specialist field with only a handful of practitioners and an obvious absence of black lawyers - advocates in particular. This was an unhealthy situation requiring affirmative action, the tribunal held. But it could not find that any of the lawyers - Cape Town advocates Michael Fitzgerald, Russel MacWilliam and Michael Wragge, together with law firms Shepstone and Wylie, Bowman Gilfillan and Norton Rose - had transgressed the Act. Chitando reportedly said he was disappointed with the ruling. He will study it and decide on his next step. Full Sake24 report

The decision was a 'missed opportunity' to correct historical imbalances, Chitando is quoted as saying in a Business Day report. Such imbalances exclude black people from practising law without prejudice, he said.But, notes the report, the judgment brought a triumph of sorts to the junior advocate as the tribunal noted in its ruling that the 'skewed' briefing patterns 'require remedial action'. The case was the latest concerning an apparent lack of transformation in the legal field. In July, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng called for instructions and brief allocations to be seriously considered with regard to race and gender. Mogoeng bemoaned the lack of debate concerning 'conservative apartheid-style instruction-giving and briefing patterns' and warned against the protection of white male privilege at the expense of transformation. Chitando reportedly told the newspaper he was concerned with the ruling as the relief he sought would have a harmless effect on the profession. 'I applied for an order that created a pro-competitive environment for all lawyers with shipping skills, irrespective of their race and or nationality. Nobody believes that these firms do not make agreements between them on who is getting shipping briefs,' he is quoted as saying. Full Business Day report (subscription needed)