Membership Benefits

Who can join CLASA?

• is a fit and proper person to be admitted;
  
• is 21 or older;
  
• is a South African citizen or is ordinarily resident in South Africa;
  
• actively and bona fide practises as a corporate lawyer;
  and
  
• is or is entitled to be admitted to practise as an advocate or attorney in South Africa;
  or
  
• has a South Africa law degree or an equivalent degree;
  or
  
• by virtue of his/her training and experience, is qualified to practise as a corporate lawyer in South Africa.
  

Individual and Corporate Membership

A person who qualifies for ordinary membership may join as an individual member or as a representative of his/her employer organisation (in which case that organisation joins as a corporate member and has as many corporate lawyer representatives as it requires).

Associate Membership
A person who does not qualify for ordinary membership may apply to join CLASA as an associate member (again as an individual or as a representative of his/her employer organisation). Examples are practising attorneys, advocates and company secretaries.

Why join CLASA?

The benefits of membership appear from the following outline of CLASA activities:

Educational Courses

A variety of educational courses are held each year. Current subjects include “Contracts : Negotiating, Drafting and Vetting”; “Specialised Contracts”; and “Understanding Finance”. The courses are open to the public but CLASA members pay a reduced fee.

Seminars

Each year CLASA holds seminars on various topics relevant to corporate lawyers. CLASA also endorses and participates in various seminars arranged by professional seminar organisers, thereby obtaining reduced fees for its members.

Magazine

CLASA publishes a magazine (Incorporate), which not only reports on the Association’s activities, but also contains articles of interest to corporate lawyers. Incorporate is distributed to members free of charge.

Club Nights/Breakfasts

The aim is to hold one such event every second month : an opportunity to listen to a topical speaker and to network with colleagues.

Annual Lunch

The annual lunch provides an opportunity for corporate lawyers to get together with their colleagues on an informal basis.

Other Functions

Each year CLASA arranges a variety of fun events, such as a golf day, wine/beer tasting, and awards dinner.

Congress

CLASA’s three-day congress is held every second year at venues such as the Wild Coast Sun, Kwa Maritane, and Mount Grace.

Salary Survey

The Association commissions a professional salary survey of corporate lawyers on an annual basis and provides the results to participants free of charge.

Linex Legal Search

Access practical guidance, reviews and bulletins through the Linex article search on the CLASA member website.

Butterworths Listing

A listing of corporate lawyers who are CLASA members appears in the Butterworths Law Diary and Directory.

Publicity

CLASA’s Executive Committee actively seeks opportunities to publicise and promote the concept and utilisation of corporate lawyers, especially to the business community.

Liaison with other Associations

CLASA is a member of the International Bar Association and a founder member of the Arbitration Foundation of South Africa. It also maintains links with a variety of other associations including the South African Chamber of Business, the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association, the Association of Arbitrators and the Licensing Executives Society.

Representations

From time to time, the Association makes representations to the relevant authorities on matters of concern to corporate lawyers. An example is extensive submissions regarding the long-awaited Legal Practice Bill.

Regional Branches

As CLASA’s Executive Committee is Johannesburg based, most of the Association’s activities currently take place in the Johannesburg area. However, regional branches in Cape Town and Durban have been established.

Miscellaneous

CLASA’s Executive Committee is always on the lookout for new ways in which CLASA can serve its members and welcomes suggestions

DOWNLOAD a Clasa Membership Application form (PDF format). Simply right click and "Save Target As..." on one of the following —

INDIVIDUAL & CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP

ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP