Norton Rose Fulbright Challenges South Africa’s Ethnicity-Based Legal Sector Code in High Court

Norton Rose Fulbright has initiated legal proceedings against South Africa’s government, specifically targeting its justice and trade ministers. The firm is contesting a newly introduced ethnicity rating system, alleging it could impair their ability to secure business and maintain clientele. Filed at the Gauteng Division of the Pretoria High Court, the firm seeks to overturn the legal sector code on Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) that was gazetted in September 2024. Norton Rose argues that the code enforces “unreasonable and unrealistic” targets for large law firms aiming to achieve a strong B-BBEE rating. Industry observers note that this regulation might lead to significant South African law firms losing business opportunities to consulting firms and other professional services, which are not bound by this legal sector code. Further details can be found in The American Lawyer.