Eyeing a Big-Five Articles Seat? Lessons from Lesedi Letshokgohla

^{The myth of articles is that they are two years of drudgery before you get to do the “real” work.}

^{The truth? Articles are the deep end, and you’re already swimming.}

^{Lesedi Letshokgohla knows this firsthand.} 

^{Lesedi is a Wits graduate (BA Law and LLB) and a second-year candidate attorney at a Big Five firm. His path has taken him through Competition Law, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Banking & Finance. He is now in Dispute Resolution, a seat that tests both analytical sharpness and courtroom composure.}

^{What makes him stand out goes beyond the rotation cycle. As an Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Fellow, he brings an entrepreneurial mindset into a profession that often leans heavily on precedent.}

^{In our conversation, he unpacked how to turn uncertainty into opportunity and why the steep learning curve of articles may be the best training ground for a junior lawyer.}

The Application Game → Trial by Zoom

^{Lesedi applied for articles in his second year. He was early, untested, and surrounded by third- and fourth-years who looked like they’d been born in suits. Add pandemic-era Zoom interviews, and impostor syndrome logged in too.}

^{So, when your colleagues have more courses, more confidence, and better lighting…how do you stand out?}

^{For Lesedi, it was by following his interests. He leaned less on rehearsed answers and more on what genuinely engaged him: politics, student movements, even Steve Biko. That’s how he demonstrated his ability to think, connect, and make interviewers lean in.}

^{Advice: Marks get you the interview. Originality makes you unforgettable. Don’t flatten yourself into a script; let your worldview sneak through.}

Building a CV → Drafting Yourself

^{How did Lesedi make paper feel like personality? His CV didn’t read “Moot Court ✔ Debate Society ✔ Charity Drive ✔.” Instead, it told a story: activism, entrepreneurship, business, social development. Those weren’t filler lines; they showed law through his lens.}

^{Most CVs blur. Recruiters scroll them like TikTok; fast, distracted, forgettable. The ones that stick sound like a person.} 

^{Advice: Frame your experiences so they connect to skills. Activism? That’s advocacy. Business? Commercial instinct. Policy? Strategic thinking. Bring yourself to the page, but make every line earn its keep.}

Baby Lawyer Energy → Objection, I Have No Idea

^{At university, you’re the senior; the tutor, the committee member, the go-to for past papers in WhatsApp groups. Day one of articles? You’re Googling how to draft a letter of demand while silently panicking.}

^{Lesedi calls this “baby lawyer energy.” It’s equal parts challenging and rewarding. No one expects you to know everything. They want teachability and someone who can recover when they inevitably email the wrong client.}

^{Advice: Don’t fake being an associate on day one. Lean into the chaos, ask “stupid” questions, crash spectacularly, and learn fast. Baby lawyer today, legend tomorrow.}

Beyond Basic Admin  → When Drafts Turn into Pleadings

^{Yes, you’ll do admin, but it’s far from meaningless. This is where trust is earned, one typo-free memo at a time. Lesedi quickly moved from admin tasks to sitting in client meetings alone, drafting pleadings, and weighing in on strategy.}

^{The secret? Details. Proofread like a hawk, meet deadlines, follow instructions without shortcuts. Nail these, and the headline-making work lands on your desk.}

^{Advice: Sweat the small stuff, and the big stuff will follow.}

Commercial Awareness → Cross-Examine the World

^{“Commercial awareness” gets thrown around so much that it feels like law-student bingo. But Lesedi makes it simple: it’s just connecting law to the world around you.}

^{It could be tariffs shaking up M&A, energy policy steering project finance, or political chaos that rewrites cross-border deals. You don’t need a PhD in economics; aim to spot the patterns and the links.}

^{He calls it being a T-shaped lawyer: broad awareness of the world, deep expertise in the law.}

^{Advice: Start now. Read firm press releases, skim the business pages, scroll LinkedIn with intent. You don’t need all the answers, just enough curiosity to ask the right questions.}

Finding Your Cause → The Big “Why” Test

^{Lesedi’s parting thought wasn’t about climbing corporate ladders:}

^{For him, that cause is South Africa’s development, working on projects that grow economies and shape industries. For you, it might be justice, transformation, or reform. Whatever it is, that “why” makes the grind bearable.}

^{Advice: Don’t chase prestige alone. Anchor yourself in something bigger.} 

Closing argument → Verdict: Worth It

^{Lesedi’s journey shows articles aren’t about photocopying and endurance. They’re about stepping into the deep end earlier than you expect, finding resilience through mistakes, cultivating awareness, and anchoring yourself in purpose.}

^{The myths undersell it. The reality is harder and infinitely more rewarding.}