Legal trends require practitioners to keep up with the law
- By Deborah Minors
Continual developments in law demand that legal practitioners keep abreast of trends. Today's lawyers need to specialise in order to service clients in an increasingly complex business and regulatory environment. The Wits School of Law has introduced specialised postgraduate diplomas to complement the existing Master of Laws (LLM) degree.
The diplomas reflect the content and level of the LLM by Coursework and Research Report but exclude the research component.
Law alumni can register for a postgraduate diploma in law in one of six fields of specialisation, including corporate law; communications law; environmental law; labour law; pension funds law; and tax law. Students must complete four courses in their field of specialisation to earn the diploma.
Applicants must have obtained an average of at least 65% in their LLB degree to gain admission to the diploma programme. However, the Mandela Institute in the Wits Law School offers short postgraduate certificate courses that are accessible to all law alumni. The certificate courses run over one semester and keep law professionals updated on legal developments.
The Mandela Institute’s certificate courses include competition law, intellectual property law, banking and financial markets law, advanced company law, energy law, advanced international trade and international environmental law, amongst others. Law alumni can register for a certificate course at
In addition to the postgraduate certificate courses, the Mandela Institute conducts research, develops policy, and organises workshops, seminars, public lectures and conferences in different areas of international economic law. These connect South Africa and the emerging world to the global political economy.