Feature: Law

Holding on to the outrage

Next year, the Wits Law Clinic celebrates its 50th anniversary. In the absence of an adequate state legal aid system, the clinic started as a small advice office, set up by Felicia, Lady Kentridge (LLB 1953) in 1973. This was the first project of its kind in the country, with student volunteers providing free legal services to those most in need. The clinic bridged the gap between the academic and practical worlds of law and revolutionised the training of legal practitioners. In 1979, Lady Kentridge also co-founded the Legal Resources Centre – the country’s first public interest law firm, which won precedent-setting cases that advanced human rights.

Today it continues to challenge structures that aggravate inequality gaps. In a 2006 interview with the LRC Oral History Project, she recalled being told: “You must never lose your outrage.” It is advice she held onto throughout her life and used as a “motivating force” against injustice. The clinic has grown substantially over the years and now comprises six units: Family, Gender and Child Unit; General Unit; Labour Unit; Property Unit; Criminal Law and Delict Unit; and Refugee Unit. In 2020, a plaque was unveiled for the naming of the annexe which houses the clinic, in Lady Kentridge’s honour.