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UFS alumna and Council member honoured by the American Bar Association

01 July 2022 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath | Photo Supplied

Leah Molatseli_latest news — Leah Molatseli.

Leah Molatseli– alumna and Council member of the University of the Free State (UFS) – is the first African woman to be recognised by the American Bar Association in its list of Women of Legal Tech for her contribution and influence in the legal tech industry. A commitment to diversity is one of the core values of the American Bar Association, which the Law Practice Division aims to reinforce in the legal tech sector. Annually, talented women in the legal tech space are recognised for making an impact on legal tech.

A lawyer by profession, published legal tech author and speaker, as well as legal tech and innovation specialist, Molatseli uses technology and innovative means to empower and educate law professionals. She is currently head of business development at Legal Interact, a South African law firm that provides technology solutions for the legal industry.

Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, congratulated Molatseli on her achievement. “On behalf of the executive committee of the University of the Free State (UFS) and the university community, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations on being recognised by the American Bar Association for your contribution to the legal tech industry. Being the first African woman to be honoured in this way makes this accomplishment even more extraordinary. You are a trailblazer in your field in so many ways,” said Prof Petersen.

Prof Petersen said, “The university, and the Faculty of Law in particular, is proud to be associated with you. We also appreciate your continued support to the institution. Your dedication and expertise inspire us all – I will continue to follow your professional journey, because I know there is much more in store”. Prof Petersen continued to thank Molatseli for contributing to the legal field in an innovative and contemporary manner.

Molatseli is host of and guest speaker for various legal tech talks globally, as well as a guest lecturer at the University of Cape Town, where she develops and teaches legal tech innovation-related courses to the legal industry. A Mandela Washington fellow, as well as a Notre Dame alumna, she is a member of the Women in Tech South African Chapter, a country member for the Global Legal Tech Consortium, and is one of 2022’s ILTA’s Most Influential Women in Legal Tech honourees.

News Archive

Judgement in the Supreme Court of Appeal about UFS Language Policy

2016-11-17

The University of the Free State (UFS) is pleased with the judgment handed down in the Supreme Court of Appeal this morning, relating to the university’s appeal against the implementation order granted on 12 September 2016 by the Full Bench of the Free State High Court. The implementation order barred the UFS from implementing its new Language Policy in 2017, pending the outcome of the appeal of the review application.

The Supreme Court of Appeal held that the application brought by AfriForum and Solidarity failed on a legal and factual level, and was misconceived. The court accordingly upheld the appeal by the UFS against the implementation order, setting aside the order, and directing that AfriForum and Solidarity pay the legal costs of the UFS in respect of both the High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal proceedings pertaining to implementation.

The effect of today’s judgment is that the UFS may proceed to implement the new Language Policy in its pilot programme next year, pending the appeal of the review application which will only be heard early in 2017.

In March 2016, the Senate and then Council adopted with overwhelming majority a new Language Policy that strives to achieve multilingualism. The new policy entails English as primary medium of instruction, but with the introduction of a tutorial system in Afrikaans and progressively in Sesotho to support students’ learning in their first and second year of study.

The policy will be piloted in 2017 with first-year students in three faculties: Law, Health Sciences, and the Humanities. In these faculties, the majority of students indicated their preference to be taught in English. The Afrikaans-English policy will be maintained in the rest of the faculties in 2017 and phased out according to an implementation plan as from 2018.

Current registered students will be able to complete their studies in the language they selected upon registration.

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Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 51 444 6393

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