We strongly believe in empowerment, transformation, diversity and inclusion. As the song Umuntu says, it is not because we must, but because we want to.

Empowerment and transformation

We empower both our employees and our clients by increasing their knowledge of the law, giving them tools to perform their roles better, guiding them to achieve more, and including them in relevant, interesting projects. We foster a learning environment and have created online learning programmes for both hard and soft skills. We meet with our attorneys regularly to plan ahead, learn together, and guide their professional and personal development.

We strive to transform society so previously disadvantaged people are empowered, and we address the wrongs of the past. We believe black economic empowerment is important, and we strive to achieve it not because the law requires us to, but because we want to. Even if the law exempts us, we strive to empower black people economically.

  • We give preference to previously disadvantaged people when we hire new team members.
  • We prefer to brief black and women advocates.
  • We procure from black-owned businesses whenever possible.
  • We have extensive skills development programmes.
  • We are committed to enterprise and supplier development and identify new beneficiaries each year. We support them by providing them with discounted or complimentary legal services.
  • We aim to transfer both ownership and control of the firm to black people over time.

Broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) certification

We are certified as BEE level 8, which means that 10% of your spend with us can be recognised.

Michalsons recently moved to a new applicable scorecard: the “B-BBEE SCORECARD: Legal Sector (Attorneys Sub-Sector) QSE Scorecard.” (Legal Sector Code) During the 2026 financial year, we worked hard on the scorecard’s various elements. We are certified as BEE level 8, meaning 10% of your spend with us can be recognised. We are working hard to improve our levels each year.

On 7 October 2026, the High Court, Gauteng Division, handed down a judgment that set aside the Legal Sector Code. It is unclear what this means for firms measured against the code, and for the validity of their current BEE certificates. We will update this page as we find out more.

Diversity and inclusion

We believe that a diverse group is always more interesting, brings different perspectives and ultimately adds more value. We also believe in including people. Everyone’s view matters and is worth listening to. We acknowledge the historical and current racism and sexism against certain people. We acknowledge that white privilege exists. We strive to:
  • never be racist or sexist,
  • speak out against any form of racism or sexism (or gender bias),
  • improve the lives of people who have been discriminated against in all we do.

We believe in striving for a world where people are equal. Black and white. Men and women.

Gender equality

We support the He for She Foundation – a movement for gender equality.