These two distinct options have been put forward by other authors. See, for example, Brickhill 2005 SAJHR 315. 2 McQuoid-Mason 1999 Windsor YB Access Just 2. 3 Van As cites various statistics which show that the significant majority of legal aid cases in South Africa are of the criminal variety in Van As 2005 J Afr L 54. D HOLNESS PER / PELJ 2013(16)4 329 / 487 particular focus will be directed on the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), the only university offering law studies in greater Durban. As to pro bono work by students during their LLB, consideration will be given to making clinical legal education a compulsory part of such a student's curriculum. 2 Introductory matters The South African Constitution provides a right of access to courts, 4 but the value of this right has to be questioned when it comes to the very limited access to free legal services in civil matters for the indigent. McQuoid-Mason pertinently asks "What state and non-governmental mechanisms are available to implement these rights? " 5 This paper will consider how university law clinics can make pro bono legal assistance to its clients by senior students (through clinical legal education) a compulsory component of each LLB student's curriculum and thereby aid improved access to civil justice. 6 The paper will cite a foreign example (in America) of CLE incorporating community service being used to successfully meet the objective of access to justice.

This paper focuses on legal service delivery for the indigent by attorneys in private practice acting pro bono in civil rather than criminal matters.  In this regard there have been and continue to be considerable gaps between the proper access to civil justice imperatives of constitutional South Africa and the status quo which has existed from the advent of a democratic South Africa until the present. Law as a vehicle for necessary positive change in the daily lives of South African residents is pertinently considered within the country’s woefully unequal socio-economic climate. This paper considers the role which pro bono work by private attorneys is playing and should play in promoting a more just and equitable society through proper access to justice. It explores the current position in South Africa as well as the position in selected foreign jurisdictions regarding pro bono services by attorneys in private practice in civil matters. Part of the discussion focuses on the question of whether pro bono work should be voluntary or mandatory. The merits of introducing a pro bono obligation are critically analysed by looking at the effect on both legal practitioners as well as those receiving the pro bono services. Having defined pro bono work, the practical need for pro bono work by lawyers in private practice is highlighted due to the dearth of legal aid in civil matters for indigent South Africans. Possible constitutional imperatives for the provision of free legal services in civil matters are highlighted. An important part of the paper is a reflection on some of the pro bono work being conducted by private firms of attorneys.  The paper concludes with suggestions on means for establishing a more effective pro bono system in South Africa.

Legal aid is needed in South Africa as one mechanism for poor South Africans to realise their legal rights and to use the law as a vehicle for positive social change in a grossly unequal society in which deep poverty is rife. However, simply having a legal aid service provider is insufficient if the quality of such services is not satisfactory. But how can high quality legal services be ensured? This paper considers how different forms of legal aid service provision can be effectively monitored and assessed to ensure that satisfactory standards of legal aid work are delivered. Categories of "legal aid" (broadly construed) which are considered are legal NGOs, including university law clinics, the state's Legal Aid South Africa telephonic advice, and pro bono work by private lawyers. Separate research has focussed on the need for much improved coordination between legal service providers to promote co-operation among legal aid services. The next step is to ensure that such coordination leads to quality services and promoting quality control mechanisms which are appropriate and which can be considered best practice. This paper analyses and discusses this next step. If legal aid is not of an adequate standard or quality assurance is not in place, the legal aid is not serving a positive function. The paper considers viable means for vetting the quality of these free legal services in a South African context, including telephonic legal advice in the Covid era. It suggests mechanisms to promote high-level free legal service provision by assessing the quality of such services. Legal aid quality control methods abroad were analysed to serve as an indicator of the options used in this regard in those jurisdictions. The question to be answered is what quality control measures are most apposite in the South African legal aid arena.

These transformational imperatives are espoused in a number of parts of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (hereinafter "the Constitution"). For example: the Preamble; s 2 thereof headed "Supremacy of the Constitution"; and s 7 thereof headed "Rights". 2 Benson "Justice for All" The Weekend Post (7 January 1995) 8. D HOLNESS 2013(16)1 PER /PELJ 130 / 536 is allowed in terms of the tariff. 3 According to Jaichand, 4 one of the single greatest problems facing South Africa's legal system today is the fact that indigent persons cannot afford the prohibitive costs of legal services. This effectively constitutes a barrier to access to justice. In the light of the relatively wide net of available legal aid in criminal matters provided by Legal Aid South Africa, 5 it is submitted that Jaichand's sentiment has greatest application to access to justice in civil cases. The indigent, like other members of society, have serious legal concerns and problems that need addressing. The legal community needs to commit itself to making sure that the most marginalised, vulnerable and indigent members of our society will have some redress through representation within the justice system. Law as a vehicle for necessary positive change in the daily lives of South African residents is pertinently considered within the country's woefully unequal socioeconomic climate, a situation appositely described by the Constitutional Court: We live in a society in which there are great disparities in wealth. Millions of people are living in deplorable conditions and in great poverty. There is a high level of unemployment, inadequate social security, and many do not have access to clean water or adequate health services. 6 This paper considers the role which pro bono work by private attorneys is playing and should play in promoting a more just and equitable society through making proper access to justice available. It will explore the current position in South Africa as well as the position in selected foreign jurisdictions regarding the offering of pro bono services by attorneys in private practice in civil matters. Part of the discussion will focus on the question of whether pro bono work should be voluntary or mandatory. The paper critically analyses the merits of introducing a pro bono obligation by looking at the effect both on legal practitioners as well as on those receiving the pro bono services. Having defined pro bono work, the practical need for pro bono work by lawyers in private practice will be highlighted due to the dearth of legal aid in civil matters for indigent South Africans. It will then point out possible 3

In this paper an analysis is offered of compulsory so-called "live client" clinical legal education as part of the LLB as a means of improving access to justice for the indigent. This study first explores the factors which motivate which the establishment of a year’s compulsory community service during the LLB studies, and making clinical legal education compulsory. The motivation includes inducing law students and graduates to aid in the achievement of access to justice. The research then focuses on what the value of community service is in higher education generally. In the South African civil justice system many ordinary people cannot afford to use the courts because of the expense involved, or because they are ignorant of their rights.  This is particularly the case in civil as opposed to criminal matters, as legal aid is more frequently focused on criminal than on civil matters in this country. This paper will consider the role which senior law students may play in rendering pro bono work as part of clinical legal education in their LLB studies. In this regard particular focus will be made on the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), the only university offering law studies in greater Durban. As for pro bono work by students during their LLB, consideration could be given to making clinical legal education a compulsory part of such students' curricula. Possible compulsory community service for law graduates (ie post-LLB) as envisaged in the proposed Legal Practice Bill falls beyond the ambit of this paper.