Zondo to spend 1 year travelling before empowering young legal minds

JOHANNESBURG - Outgoing Chief Justice Raymond Zondo may have committed to taking a step back from work for the next year, but he wants to roll up his sleeves again in the future and get involved in training young lawyers.

Ahead of Zondo’s upcoming retirement, he was honoured at a farewell dinner in Melrose Rach last week, during which attendees heard he had promised to take a full year off.

But in a wide-ranging interview with Eyewitness News, he said he would like to continue contributing towards the legal profession in other ways after that.

"Well, the 12 months is for rest and travelling.  And then after that, I would like to be involved in training young lawyers," Zondo said.

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He said this could potentially involve teaching at university.

"But I would very much like to be involved in a project where one would be involved in training them, giving them practical skills of doing the work of a lawyer," said Zondo.

Zondo’s long and illustrious career has seen him make several significant contributions to the law, specifically labour law -- both as a lawyer and a judge; chairing the State Capture Commission of Inquiry; and ultimately leading the judiciary and the country’s highest court. 

And while not necessarily an easy path to venture down, Zondo’s message to young lawyers is that law can be a satisfying one.