Palesa Thapelo Vanessa Ledwaba
Palesa Thapelo Vanessa Ledwaba holds a bachelor of law from the university of Limpopo as well as a practice Management qualification from Law Society of South Africa. She recently undertook studies towards an MBA with the University of East London (UK) through UNICAF.
She is a young and committed individual who has been privileged to hold executive positions within a relatively short career span ( i.e. 9 years post articles). At the age of 33, Palesa has, despite her physical disability (Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia), surpassed her career goals in her achievements; which include the following:
*being appointed the youngest serving CEO of Maponya Inc, one of South Africa’s biggest black and female owned law firm
*Successfully establishing and heading a second branch of Maponya Inc in Mafikeng
* Elected Deputy Chairperson of the Black Lawyers Association Gauteng branch
* Appointed to serve in Disciplinary and Investigating Committees of legal profession Regulator the Legal Practice Council
Being from the township has been seen by some as a challenge or automatic criteria for failure, but she took it as motivation. She has learnt a lot from her community including resilience and staying humble at all times.
The odds have always been stacked against her, as a black, young, disabled female especially now in a profession that is dominated by white males. But through hard work and persistence she is continuously earning her seat at the table. Overcoming all these “challenges “is what makes her special!
As an attorney, Palesa possesses a sound understanding of commercial, administrative and customs law and practices in same. The latter is an area of law particularly condensed with white males and being able to excel in that space is a huge achievement. From 2013 to date, she has held notable positions at Maponya Inc Attorneys namely as Candidate Attorney, Attorney, Director and Managing Director (CEO).
Maponya Inc, in which Palesa is a 55% shareholder, is one of the leading black and majority female owned law firms in the Republic, specialising in various legal disciplines ranging from Administrative Law, Commercial Law and Property law amongst others. The firm was established in 1995 by Founder Phatudi Maponya and has a staff complement of over 50 (over 90% of whom are female), including a branch in Mafikeng North West. Maponya Inc has been involved in a number of high profile matters, with Palesa leading some of these cases and a list of its (and her ) clients include SARS, ESKOM, SANRAL, SANC, NHBRC and ABSA. The firm prides itself in empowerment and as part of her tenure as CEO, Palesa has implemented the following policies;
* Black Economic Empowerment policy
* Staff Development and Training policy and
* Employee wellness policy
Maponya Inc has also been the recipient of the following awards, amongst others;
*TOPCO top women empowerment award
* Top 10 Pro Bono legal services law firm by the Law Society
* Top Empowered Corporate by Oliver Empowerment Awards
Palesa’s other career achievements include the following:
*Litigating and appearing in the Constitutional Court and the SCA for ESKOM
* Acting on behalf of SARS and successfully opposing numerous matters involving capital of well over billions of rands including cases against prominent institutions and individuals
*Representing client in a multi-million construction agreement dispute
* Acting for SARS in two matters that involved international institutions, including a dispute on royalties
* Acting for SARS in recovery of illicit trade cigarettes
* Management of a staff complement of 50 people and
*Conducting Investigations and drafting reports on high profile cases
Participation in the Black Lawyers Association
The Black Lawyers’ Association (BLA), is a voluntary organisation which guards against the interests of its members, a majority of which are previously disadvantaged, and the public at large. It was formed to deal with amongst other unfair practices in the profession, including skewed briefing patterns, and empowering of members with skills development through its Legal Education Centre. It has national membership of over 1000 legal practitioners.
Palesa joined the BLA back in 2009 when she was still a student and became the first female Chairperson of her university since its re-launch. Post her studies, she continued to be a member of the BLA and has been part of the Provincial executive committee twice initially in the events desk and currently elected as the Deputy Chairperson of the Province. Some of her duties include:
* Hosting woman advancement seminars
*Speaking at events on issues of women empowerment
* Research and opinion drafting on the state of women empowerment in the profession
In 2023, Palesa was nominated to represent the BLA at the Pretoria High court Commemorative Sitting in which the legal profession was to present a Motion for Reconsideration of the Incorporated Law Society v Wookey 1912 AD 623 and Schlesin vs Incorporated Law society 1909 TS 363 – to mark the centenary of the promulgation of the Women Legal Practitioners Act 7 of 1923 that allowed for the admission of women legal practitioners and to advise on the general state of women’s development in the legal profession. The Panel presented to a crowd of over 30 High Court Judges, esteemed guests, the media and the public, including the Judge President Dustin Mlambo. Of the 7 panelists, inclusive of senior counsel, Palesa’s submission received the highest media attention which led to an interview with Capricorn FM, a feature in the legal publication DeRebus and a feature on the 702 news report.
PRO BONO WORK AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
Palesa is also actively involved in pro bono work as well as campaigns involving the empowerment of disadvantaged communities, through her participation in the BLA and the firm. She has previously partnered with the following institutions;
* ProBono.org, since 2015, in which she has drafted wills at no charge for indigent communities
*Funanani Trust since 2014, where she goes to communities like Mamelodi and does community outreaches by giving free legal advice on a variety of issues,
* Dream Team Foundation, a rehabilitation centre which houses ex-convicts and reintroduces them to the community through skills training. A donation was made to the centre.
* Pledge a Pad movement, where a donation of sanitary and toiletry packs made
*National Association of persons with Cerebral Palsy wherein a donation was also made.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
As an entrepreneur, she founded Tshwene Tlou (Pty) Ltd in 2016, a small private company which aims to bring solutions to the community. Her vision was to supply the community with goods and services in a convenient and efficient manner. She has been able to transfer her experience and skills in business administration, attained as a director at the law firm, into this business.
In collaboration with other entities, she has been involved in the delivery and packaging of vegetables, cleaning services and recently bought into a Franchise for a small scale food outlet known as JunkJoint.
Tshwene Tlou t/a JunkJoint currently operates in Soshanguve township and employs 3 members of the very same community. It has been in operation for less than a year and the intention is to grow the business to a full-scale restaurant and to create more job-opportunities for the community of Soshanguve .