BLSA Members Lend Legal Skills in Service Trip to Cape Town

Traveling to South Africa from Charlottesville is no easy feat. However, for seven members of the Black Law Students Association at the University of Virginia, the transfers, layovers and 14-hour flight over the Atlantic to get to Cape Town were well worth it, as the group spent 11 days offering legal assistance and exploring the city.

“This trip was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Kendall Rogers ’26 said. “It taught me what it really means to do pro bono work. Even with our limited experience [as law students], we can already help so many of the people around us.”

The students traveled to Cape Town as part of BLSA’s partnership with Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa to assist the firm with researching legal mechanisms behind euthanasia, protections in employment discrimination and recompense for workplace sexual harassment. The students each contributed 40 pro bono hours, for a combined total of 280 from the group.

“It was rewarding to do research that will hopefully lead to real change in a number of areas,” Hennessey Chism ’27 said.

The students’ research culminated in a presentation to their supervisors at Norton Rose Fulbright. They also visited the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town, an organization that provides support to migrants and refugees.

“It was surprising to see the immigration process in South Africa and hear about changes to the program due to South African politics and the impending withdrawal of financial support from the U.S.,” Chism said. “Hearing the experiences of immigrants was challenging, but I felt inspired seeing the dedicated team at the Scalabrini Center working to get them the resources they need to be successful.”

The research and related work benefited both the individual students and the staff at Norton Rose Fulbright.

“The attorneys engaged with our ideas in a meaningful way,” BLSA President Amelia Isaacs ’26 said. “It was really great experiential learning to be able to use the skills we’ve learned in law school in a hands-on way.”

Bookending the work week were day trips to explore the landscape, historical sites, museums and local views.

On their first full day, students embarked on a safari ride through the Aquila Private Game Reserve, getting up close and personal with “the big five” African animals — buffalos, elephants, leopards, lions and rhinos.

“The baboons were super cute,” Isaacs said.

At the end of the trip, students visited Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, and participated in sightseeing tours and a beach outing.

A visit to the District Six Museum, which chronicles the reconstruction and restitution of post-apartheid Cape Town, was particularly meaningful for the students.

“There were many moments where we were just standing in front of the same picture or quote for like five minutes, reading it over and taking it all in,” Isaacs said. “Spending time walking around the city only introduced us to the tip of the iceberg. Learning about South Africa’s history at the museum let us see beneath the surface and provided insight into current-day parallels.”

One of the exhibits highlighted recipes from people who lived in the district.

“Some of the recipes were family favorites or traditional holiday recipes, so I went home with the recipes for Bak Brood, Koeksisters and Tomato Bredie,” Rogers said. “I’m excited to try them out and maybe share them with my family when I go home.”

The historical, cultural and law-related experiences stuck with the students even after their return to Charlottesville.

“This trip gave us a chance to see the legal landscape and work culture of another country. It was a very unique and rewarding opportunity to apply the lessons we learned in the classroom to the world around us,” Rogers said.

The trip was BLSA’s 14th service trip abroad. The experience is open to a limited number of students, and past destinations have included Tanzania and Uganda.