South Africa LAWA Fellow 2001-2002 L.L.B., University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Higher Diploma in Company Law, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Competition Law Certificate, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg L.L.M., Georgetown University Law Center Webber Wentzel Bowens 10 Fricker Road Illovo Boulevard Johannesburg, 2196 Tel: 27 11 530 5739 Fax: 27 11 530 6739 Email: ntibidir@wwb.co.za or ntibidi@yahoo.com

Profile:

Ms. Rampete was recently admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa and is working with the Public Interest Law Department of Webber Wentzel Bowens, providing pro bono legal assistance for indigent clients. She provides pro-bono legal services to a breadth of communities and organizations with the goal to narrow the divide between poor and affluent communities in South Africa.

LAWA Experience

Ms. Rampete’s research into discrimination in the legal field culminated in her graduate thesis, “The Struggles of Black Women Lawyers in South Africa’s Legal Profession Continues.”

For her fellowship internship, Ms. Rampete worked at the International Human Rights Law Group on the Inheritance Rights Project, where she compiled a report to be used by NGOs working on the inheritance rights of women in Africa. She developed work plans for Field offices, drafted a manual outline for the integration of a gender approach in Field offices, and engaged actively in the CEDAW Ratification efforts by women’s groups in the U.S.

Additionally, Ms. Rampete worked at Coudert Brothers, LLP on public interest and pro-bono matters and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity to build homes in North Carolina.

Additional Experience

Prior to LAWA, Ms. Rampete was active in the 1994 South Africa elections, organizing women in a voter education project. She also worked as a volunteer on a project to economically empower women in rural areas.

Ms. Rampete worked at the Black Lawyers Association beginning in 1999 and as an administrator of the Placement and Subsidy Scheme, assisting law graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds to obtain placement in the legal field. (1999-2001)

In 2003 she began working for the Center for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) Gender Research Project, looking at new ways to approach the problem of reform of the Customary Law of Succession. She researched customary practices and their impact on gender relations in society as well as ways in which organizations can influence the customary law reform process.

Throughout 2004, Ms. Rampete worked as a researcher to Justice Ngcobo in the Constitutional Court of South Africa. There, she prepared memoranda of fact and law, researched specific areas of law, and served as an officer for the Venice Commission Sub-Committee, also known as the European Commission for Democracy.