Our mission is to provide effective advocacy with the highest level of care and professionalism to those who entrust us with their matters. Our goal is to develop and transform the legal system in South Africa through continuous training exemplary advocacy and the pursuit of justice. We are committed to upholding the values of the Constitution and to provide access to justice.
Our History
Thulamela Chambers was established in Johannesburg in 2013 with 57 members and has grown to over 90 advocates. Our objective was to be a values-led, demographically transformed and egalitarian group of advocates, as well as a centre of legal excellence.
We were inspired to bring together a group that is representative of the society in which we live and practice. Our founding members saw a need within the South African legal community for a group that is demonstrably pro-development, pro-transformation, and committed to meaningful change at the Johannesburg Bar.
Our Values
Our group serves the community within the spirit of the South African Constitution. We are unequivocal in our commitment to the principles of non-discriminatory access to justice and professionalism, and an ethos of caring. We have attracted some of the top junior and senior counsel in the country and continue to grow, representing a diverse pool of talent and expertise.
We have developed several programmes and initiatives to support our people in line with our values. These include in-house training lectures on a variety of topics, a well-developed Junior Development Fund, a comprehensive Maternity / Paternity policy, a one-month visiting professional programme to Arnold & Porter, New York sponsored by Thulamela Chambers and Arnold & Porter, and a Practice Management Course for our first years.
Our Name
‘Thulamela’ is the name of an Iron Age African city, located in what is modern-day Limpopo. The archaeological record shows that Thulamela was a flourishing civilisation some 800 years ago, featuring sophisticated technologies and a nuanced society.
The Thulamela site is a monument to African culture.
Drawing from these symbols, and as one of the relatively newer groups of advocates at the Johannesburg Bar, Thulamela Chambers inhabits the intersection between fresh and forward-thinking, and decades of proven litigation experience.
Like the baobab in our logo, we are proudly African, deeply rooted in culture, and bearing rich fruit in the present
