What will practising law look like by the time today’s prospective students graduate? Artificial intelligence is already changing legal work. Climate and environmental questions are reshaping ideas of justice, while commercial law, labour law and access to justice continue to respond to a changing world.
For young people considering a legal career, choosing where to study is also a choice about how closely they want to engage with that changing world. Eduvos is inviting prospective students to join its upcoming law conference, Legal Horizons for African Prosperity, on 22 and 23 September 2026 at the Eduvos Bedfordview campus, with online attendance available.
The conference will bring together 33 local and international speakers, including former Public Protector Professor Thuli Madonsela; Professor J. Kim Wright, a leading figure in the global movement to make legal practice more collaborative and human-centred; and representatives from Lawyers for Human Rights.
Across the programme, speakers will explore how law can respond to real questions affecting people, businesses and communities in South Africa and beyond.
“Legal education must keep pace with the world graduates will enter. By connecting students with practitioners, researchers and current debates, we help them develop the practical insight and adaptability the profession increasingly demands,” says Dr Tinaye Chivizhe, Executive Dean: Learning and Teaching and Dean of the Faculty of Law at Eduvos.
A view of law from every horizon
Rather than treating law as a fixed body of rules, the conference considers where it is heading. Its programme is organised around four horizons. The commercial horizon looks at developments affecting business and commercial law.
The justice horizon considers social, environmental and climate justice. The digital horizon examines AI, algorithms and the digitisation of legal work. The human horizon turns to the people behind the profession, including employee wellbeing and labour law.
This breadth matters for prospective students because a modern legal career can take many forms. A future practitioner may help a business navigate new regulations, work with communities seeking access to justice, examine the legal implications of an algorithm or contribute to a healthier workplace.
The conference offers students a chance to listen to those conversations now, before deciding which part of the law interests them most.
“It is so important to have these academic conversations, hear what is happening in research and industry, and understand what people have to contribute,” says Lilandi Niemand, Manager of Academic Delivery in the Faculty of Law at Eduvos Online and Chairperson of the Eduvos Faculty of Law Research and Ethics Committee. “Going forward, this will inspire publications and collaboration. It will also help us to get our students involved and grow our research presence in the legal and academic space.”
Learning through connection
The event also reflects Eduvos’ focus on building partnerships around legal education. By bringing students, academics, practitioners, human-rights organisations and local and international voices into the same conversation, Eduvos aims to narrow the distance between legal theory and the world in which graduates will work.
These relationships form part of a wider approach that includes industry-aligned learning, expanded work-integrated learning opportunities and growing postgraduate and research activity. The intention is practical: to help students understand the demands of the profession, learn from people already working across different areas of law and build the adaptability needed for a legal environment that will continue to change.
Collaboration also benefits legal education more broadly. When institutions and practitioners share ideas, compare approaches and contribute to research, they can raise the quality and relevance of the learning available to the next generation of legal professionals. The conference follows Eduvos’ Legal Indaba held in August and extends that conversation by creating another space for students and experts to examine possible solutions together.
A front-row seat from wherever you are
Prospective students do not need to know exactly where they want to specialise to take part. They can join the online stream, move between sessions and follow the topics that catch their attention. It is an accessible way to meet some of the minds influencing law today and to see how Eduvos connects classroom learning with live professional and social debates.
The Legal Horizons for African Prosperity conference takes place on 22 and 23 September 2026 at the Eduvos Bedfordview campus, with online attendance available. Register or access the online stream at Legal Horizons for African Prosperity.
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