Currently the deputy chairman, Modise will take over from Derek Rabin on April 1 as chairman of the South African operations of Eversheds International, which claims to be one of the largest law firms in the world.

Modise's "design" as a lawyer started 25 years ago with a fellowship at the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) in Johannesburg, after finishing his LLB degree at Wits University.

"They mainly employed students from disadvantaged backgrounds to work with people like [former chief justice] Arthur Chaskalson," Modise said.

"The LRC focused on public interest law. We used the law as a shield against the laws which existed then ... and brought test cases against many laws which existed then."

One of these laws, the Group Areas Act, was responsible for moving Modise's family from the former Western Native Township, nowadays Westbury in Johannesburg, where he was born, to Soweto, where he grew up and went to school.

After school Modise started studying at Turfloop University near Polokwane (now part of the University of Limpopo). After several disruptions to his studies he eventually acquired a BA degree from the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape.

But when he went to Wits in 1984 it was the first time he was taught to think critically and innovatively, Modise said.

"Studying at Wits was a very good experience," he said.

"At the universities we used to go to you were just taught to regurgitate your notes. But at Wits there was no one right answer. As long as the lecturer could see you thought logically and rationally you were credited. So I grew [at Wits], and for the first time I enjoyed studying."

In those days, Modise said, young black university students wanted to study law in the hope of using it to fight the unjust laws of the day.

"Money was not even a consideration. It was about trying to fight the cause by using the law. We saw what [Nelson] Mandela and [Oliver] Tambo did and we all tried to emulate that when we studied law."

But driving past one of the big law firms in Sandton nowadays shows that money is plentiful in the legal profession.

"Things have changed," Modise said.

"We live in a different era. The law is a prestigious profession and I am sure they [young lawyers] want to earn a decent living. I would prefer them to [have the money] than people who get money through tenders without even working for it."

After his year at the LRC Modise served articles at Bell Dewar & Hall and joined the current judge president of the Labour Courts of SA and chairman of Legal Aid SA, Dunstan Mlambo, in 1988 to form Mlambo & Modise.

Late in 1997 Mlambo was appointed as a judge of the Labour Appeal Court.

Modise said he did not feel ready then to run a private practice on his own and was approached by the law firm Routledges. This meant a move to the more commercial side of law for Modise and led to the formation of Routledge Modise Attorneys in 1999. In 2008 the firm joined Eversheds International and since 2009 Routledge Modise has been Eversheds South Africa.

Having represented unions, workers and employers and served as an acting judge of the Labour Court between 2004 and 2006, Modise has seen all sides of labour legislation in SA.

He said that while he is cognisant of the criticism of South African labour legislation, especially with regard to firing workers, he does not see it as stifling businesses.

"If you follow the right procedures you can terminate a person's employment," Modise said.

"The legal environment [in SA], complex as it might seem, offers a security for tenure for potential investors that does not exist in other African countries."

But he is less sympathetic towards the conduct of members and some leaders of labour unions nowadays, especially with the example of the recent teacher strike in the Eastern Cape in mind.

"Somewhere along the lines the leadership that used to be in the unions is not the same as we have now," he said.

"Most of the past [union] leaders are either in government or in business. The unions have to develop some quality leaders who can guide their members properly.

"The labour movement is still key and a constitutional right. The right to fair labour practice is protected by the constitution and it allows members to operate like in all proper democracies. But unions need to prevail on their members that certain things, like the destruction of property, is not allowed."

A lot has changed since he started his law career 25 years ago, Modise said.

But there is still work for institutions like the LRC.

"There are areas where people's lives did not necessarily improve to the extent that they would have wanted them to," he said.

And while he now heads a firm with almost 300 employees, if he had his way he would still be doing the kind of work he did at the LRC, Modise said.