This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
The Lawyer as Rule-of-Law Activist: Activating the Next Generation
Celebrating 20 Years of the Vance Center and the African Legal Fellows Program
We invite you to join us in Johannesburg in October to celebrate the Vance Center’s 20th anniversary and 20 years of our flagship African Legal Fellows Program, along with leading legal practitioners from across the African continent, the United States, and beyond.
This three-day event will recognize more than two decades of success among the Vance Center’s legal networks, beginning in South Africa and expanding far beyond, to support pro bono practice and a more diverse, inclusive legal profession in sub-Saharan Africa. The event will include distinguished keynote speakers from the South African and international legal fields, in-depth panel discussions on key issues for African legal practitioners, in-person visits to law firms and legal institutions, networking, and much more.
The South Africa celebration caps a yearlong series of anniversary events, beginning in New York City in October 2022, followed by a conference in Bogotá, Colombia, in March 2023.
Find details about the event, including the program, below. For more information about travel, accommodations, transportation, and other logistics, check out our FAQ.
Join us to look back at the accomplishments of the last two decades and add your voice to the discussion of where the next 20 years will take us.
Sponsors
________________________
________________________
October 11
9:00 am – 4:00 pm | Group Visits and Law Firm Meetings
Meetings with partners at law firms and other legal institutions in Johannesburg.
6:00 – 9:00 pm | Opening Reception
Webber Wentzel | 90 Rivonia Rd, Sandhurst, Sandton, 2196
Registration
Welcome Remarks: Hon. George Daniels, senior Federal Judge, United States District Court, Southern District of New York.
History of the African Legal Fellows Program: Judge Taswell Papier, Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa and former Law Society president.
Keynote Conversation: Judge President Dunstan Mlambo, Judge President of the Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa, in conversation with former United States Attorney General Hon. Loretta E. Lynch.
Moderators:
- Inosi Nyatta, Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell; Vance Center Africa sub-committee Chair
- Tholinhlanhla Gcabashe, Partner, Bowmans; African Legal Fellows Alumni
Networking & Cocktail Reception
October 12: All-Day Event
Webber Wentzel | 90 Rivonia Rd, Sandhurst, Sandton, 2196
8:00 – 9:00 am | Registration and Breakfast
9:00 – 9:20 am | Welcome Remarks
9:20 – 9:50 am | Keynote Address
Justice Bernard Makgabo Ngoepe – Former Judge President of the Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa and Tax Ombudsman
10:00 – 11:00 am
Session 1 – The role of the private sector and the legal profession in securing the rule of law and combatting corruption
Panelists
- Ibi Ogunbiyi – Partner, Olaniwun Ajayi LP | Nigeria
- Lindi Atieno Vundla – Senior Corporate Counsel – Head of Legal, Sub-Saharan Africa, Amazon; African Legal Fellow Alumni | South Africa
- Steven Powell – Head of Forensics practice, ENSafrica | South Africa
- Ayanda Ngubo – Partner, Webber Wentzel | South Africa
- Tshepo Legodi – Divisional Executive: Legal & Compliance, Industrial Development Corporation | South Africa
Moderators
- Antonia Stolper – Of Counsel, Shearman & Sterling; Vance Center Committee
- Ope Osinubi – Senior Associate, Clifford Chance
11:15 am – 12:15 pm
Session 2 – Pro Bono Practice in Africa: Challenges and Prospects
Panelists
- Assunta Ndami – Pro Bono Institute of Kenya; Team Lead, The Dispute Resolution Hub | Kenya
- Funmi Ayeni – Executive Director, Public Interest Law Partnership | Nigeria
- Fatima Laher – Head of Pro Bono, Bowmans | South Africa
- Odette Geldenhuys – Partner, Webber Wentzel | South Africa
- Andrés Nieto – International Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright | Mexico
Moderators:
- Ted Maynard – Of Counsel, Paul, Weiss; Vance Center Committee
- Adaobi Egboka – Africa Program Director, Vance Center
12:15 – 1:15 pm | Lunch
1:15 – 1:45 pm | Keynote Address
Rorisang Mzozoyana – Senior Legal Counsel, African Legal Fellows Alumni and AWW mentor
1:45 – 2:45 pm
Session 3 – African women in the legal profession: Advancing opportunities and addressing challenges
Panelists
- Ursula Fikelepi – Consultant, PPM Attorneys | South Africa
- Wangui Kaniaru – Partner, Anjarwalla & Khanna (ALN Kenya); Co-Chair WIP Kenya | Kenya
- Patricia Menendez Cambo – former Managing Partner and Deputy General Counsel of SoftBank Group International and General Counsel of SoftBank Latin America Fund; Member, WIP International Steering Committee | United States
- Lulu Ng’wanakilala – Chief Executive Officer, Legal Services Facility | Tanzania
- Lerisha (Lee) Naidu – Managing Partner, Baker McKenzie | South Africa
Moderators:
- Inosi Nyatta – Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell; Chair, Africa sub-Committee, Vance Center Committee
- Siviwe Anthony – GM: Commercial Legal, MTN Group
3:00 – 4:00 pm
Session 4 – An organized Bar as a bulwark for a democratic and pluralist society
Panelists
- Donald Deya – Chief Executive Officer, Pan African Lawyers Union | Tanzania
- Sheila Boston – Partner, Arnold & Porter; former President of the New York City Bar Association | United States
- Stanley Nyamanhindi – Chief Executive Officer, SADC Lawyers’ Association | Zimbabwe
- Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh – Director, Africa Regional Programme, International Commission of Jurists | South Africa
- Adv Kameshni Pillay – Commissioner, Judicial Services Commission; Legal Practice Council | South Africa
Moderators:
- Lorraine McGowen – Partner, Orrick; Co-Chair, Vance Center Committee
- Masechaba Makgolane – Head of Legal, Thungela
4:00 – 4:15 pm | Closing Remarks
- Alexander Papachristou – Executive Director, Vance Center
- Nontuthuzelo Made – Chairperson, African Legal Fellows Network
October 13
9:00 am – 1:00 pm | Group Visits and Law Firm Meetings
Meetings with partners at law firms and other legal institutions in Johannesburg.