01 Aug 2022

It is not be fair to expect excellence from a young legal practitioner without contributing meaningfully to their development, says Motheo Lawyers Mentorship Trust board chairperson,  Ms Shathani Somolekae

She was speaking at the  launch of Motheo Lawyers Mentorship Trust in Gaborone on Saturday. The trust  is aimed at guiding upcoming legal practitioners. 

 “We must do our best to mentor and usher young practitioners into the real world of practice. The university curriculum does not engage you on the actual challenges of practicing and sustaining yourself as a lawyer.

“It does not provide you with the manuscript of succeeding, the strength to face the wrath of judges and other lawyers in the court room and the diverse customers base, some of which are hard to please,” said Ms Somolekae.

She said there was more to be done than what the learning institution offered in order to prepare upcoming legal practitioners for the unforgiving and uncompromising environment.

The trust, Ms Somolekae said, was established to close that gap. “Motheo upholds the Setswana adage of, Letlhaku le lesha le agelwa mo go le legologolo.”

She said Motheo would offer, the young legal practitioners a platform to be mentored by established lawyers in the practice.

It takes a village to nurture and grow a responsible individual, she said, adding that Motheo would act as a village that would guide the upcoming lawyers to cope with the challenges of actual practice.

Ms Somolekae said Motheo was seeking partnerships and collaboration with various parties with interest in growing the legal fraternity.

Motheo’s motto: It takes a village, was to recognise and bear testimony that one could not achieve what they wanted in isolation, she said.

The mentorship trust, she explained was meant to stimulate and inspire upcoming lawyers. “One must not traverse the journey alone. We must add value to what we know by sharing experiences. We want to create a new culture in line with our cultural values by leaving no one behind. A culture of excellence,” said Ms Somolekae.

Sharing his experience in the legal fraternity, one of the panelists, Judge Isaac Lesetedi of the Court of Appeal said he graduated and joined the legal practice at a time when the cadre was at its infantry stage where one would find it difficult to get a mentor.

Though, in the mist of well-established lawyers, whom he was looking up to, Judge Lesetedi said it remained a challenge as he could not get an opportunity to understand or get his hands on the recipe that mentored them into reputable legal practitioners. Judge Lesetedi said integrity was paramount for one to grow and command respect. 

“There is no substitute for hard work. Prepare thoroughly and understand your case for everyone to understand what you are communicating. I emulated some of the successful lawyers. I was inspired and impressed by their conduct but never got a chance to understand how they made it. Therefore mentorship is important in growing young legal practitioners,” said Judge Lesetedi.

Through mentorship, he said one would learn how to maintain quality service as they grew in practice. He said a person being mentored must understand what they wanted to achieve and who to engage as a mentor in order to follow their desired path.

“It is your journey. Understand who to go to in order to achieve what you want to be. Pursue excellence,” said Judge Lesetedi.

Some legal practitioners only managed to get the respect that they deserve after many years of practice as they never got an opportunity to be guided accordingly, he said.

However, Judge Lesetedi said upcoming lawyers who were likely to struggle to get mentorship must be inspired by the Setswana adage, ‘Se are go tlogelwa tsatsing se ikise meriting,’ and therefore work hard in order to achieve excellence.

Meanwhile, the founder of Motheo Lawyers Mentorship Trust, Ms Kelly Kewagamang said the platform was rooted in gratitude and volunteerism for the sake of developing the legal profession.

Founded on November 08, 2021, Ms Kewagamang said Motheo’s mission was to mentor young lawyers and law students in key areas of training and professional development, leadership development, ethics and corporate social responsibility.

She said the platform aimed to produce well rounded contemporary lawyers who would not only excel in the discharge of their duties, positively shaping the legal landscape but equally contribute immensely to the growth and development of the nation across various sectors.

Ms Kewagamang applauded Stanbic Accelerate for sponsoring the launch of Motheo Lawyers Mentorship Trust. 

“We appeal to the corporate world and individuals to inspire our effort and assist in our journey,” she said. Ends