” For a number of years, there has been widespread concern about the standard of law students’ writing skills. The Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria is in a better position than most law faculties in this regard, but we still wish to take active steps to improve our students’ writing skills in the next couple of years and this step by the Law Society strengthens our hand”, Heyns said.

Heyns explained that the Faculty of Law is looking for experts who will be able to help out on a temporary basis by going through assignments and giving feedback to law students on their use of language.

The typical profile of experts who in his opinion would be able to make a contribution includes:

• Judges, presently on the bench or in retirement.
• Advocates, attorneys and others presently in practice or in retirement.
• Other experts who have worked with language in their professions, for example, teachers.

“We trust that participants in this project will experience the satisfaction of making a contribution to the future of our administration of justice within a well-organised structure,” Heyns said.