Welcome to The Legal Edge, brought to you by Winston Miller Attorneys, a Johannesburg, South Africa firm of attorneys with long-established roots in the South African legal industry.
We have long believed, that while South Africa has a strong and and unique legal system, with a rich history of talented lawyers who have proved themselves among the world’s finest, it often lags behind the major legal centers in accepting change and adopting innovative ways of perceiving and practicing the law.
Perched at the tip of Africa, there seems to be only a modest attempt among South African lawyers, courts and institutions to keep up with, or remain informed about developments taking place in in foreign legal systems, whether these relate to changes in the way that we see the traditional law firm, the relationship between lawyer and client, the way that lawyers practice law and charge for their services ,or the way that litigation is conducted or processed through the courts.
The mission of The Legal Edge is to bridge that divide in a way that is useful, informative and (hopefully!) entertaining for both lawyer and client alike. Here you will find articles and posts, tweets and all things interesting about the practice of law, the institutions and people, the colo[u]rful, or not so colo[u]rful, who make up the the different and diverse tapestry of legal systems around the world. Our purpose is to show you that, even though foreign systems have their differences (and the differences may seem daunting), there is, most often, a common thread which links lawyers, clients and the practice of law around the Globe which reflects common concerns and challenges. Comparing the way in which these are dealt with can give us much insight.
Of course, being a South African firm and this being a South African blog, our focus is on South Africa, but our contributors hail from around the World, from the West Coast of the USA, to England, to the Middle East and other major (or not so major!) centers of law. Our posts will vary on topics as diverse as relating to cutting edge developments in the South African law of trusts, to how and when US courts award attorney’s costs in litigation, to the more cynical side of law in the case of Steve, the first year law student, in A Law School Carol, and to the cutting edge of technology and useful gadgets and gizmos which lawyers or clients are using to manage their lives.
Our contributors are not all lawyers, some are technology experts and computer wizards who will help us lesser technical people deal with the niceties of technological development, to business contributors and clients talking about their experiences with the law and the people who practise it.
We hope you enjoy your time with us and we hope that you use the opportunity to ask questions, post comments, rate articles and generally contribute to what we hope will be an inspiring and enjoyable experience with The Legal Edge!!
