Dass elected President of the SA University Law Clinics Association
- Wits University
Daven Dass, a key figure in clinical legal education, is dedicated to promoting excellence and access to justice.
A former Director of the Wits Law Clinic, Dass was appointed President of the South African University Law Clinics Association (SAULCA) at the association's virtual annual general meeting held on 7 February 2024. He previously served as the Vice-President of SAULCA and has been part of the executive since 2009.
Established in 1982, SAULCA is the national umbrella body representing University Law Clinics in South Africa and is dedicated to promoting excellence in clinical legal education and access to justice.
Dass says he is “both honoured and humbled to have been elected to the position” and whilst he is fully cognisant of the substantive challenges that currently face law clinics throughout the country, he is looking forward to utilising his presidency to renew and embolden the pivotal role of university law clinics. This includes the critical tasks of equipping final year law students with the appropriate and necessary skills, enabling them to enter the legal profession with a measure of adequacy and a sense of social justice. He is also committed to ensuring that through clinical legal programmes that most vulnerable members of the community are provided quality legal assistance.
Dass is also looking forward to fostering renewed collaborations between relevant stakeholders such as the South African Law Deans Association and the Legal Practice Council.
He is the African representative on the steering committee of the Global Alliance for Justice Education and is involved in the development and expansion of clinical programmes in Zimbabwe.
A Wits alumnus, he completed both his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Wits. As part of his masters of law he focused on clinical legal education in South Africa, which ignited his passion for the experiential pedagogy.