Lamp

Explanation: the lamp because of the light it sheds, is used as a symbol of wisdom and purity. The Bible describes the Word of God as a lamp unto the faithful.

Significance: We acknowledge that God is the fountain of wisdom and we need to humbly depend on Him for wisdom and guidance in our professional work which we deem as our Calling.

Lion

Explanation: The lion is used in Renaissance art with various meanings. In general, the lion is emblematic of strength, majesty, courage, and fortitude.

Significance: We strive to be fearless, strong and unwavering in protecting and advancing our clients’ interests.

Wings

Explanation: Wings are the symbol of divine mission. That is why the angels, archangels, seraphim, and cherubim are painted with wings.

Significance: This is associated with the idea of the legal profession being our Calling.

Lamb

Explanation: In Renaissance allegories it accompanies Innocence, Patience, Humility and other personified virtues, also the Phlegmatic person, one of the four temperaments.

Significance: In our dealings with the business community, we strive to be patient, humble, wise as the serpent but innocent as the dove.

Heart

Explanation: The heart is considered to be the source of understanding, love, courage, devotion, sorrow, and joy. Its meaning is expressed in 1 Samuel 16: 7, “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature….. for the Lord seeth not a man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”

Significance: We strive to be humane and compassionate when occasion calls, in the course of our professional dealings.

Arrow

Explanation: The arrow is generally used to suggest a spiritual weapon.

Significance: We seek to be fearless in battle, to serve our clients interests but always within the proper bounds of the law.

Banner

Explanation: The banner, usually with a cross, is the symbol of Victory.

Significance: We aim to be victorious in championing our clients’ cause where the facts and circumstances warrant.

Beehive

Explanation: The beehive has been used to symbolize great eloquence, as is suggested by the expression, “honeyed words.” The beehive was given as an attribute to both St. Bernard of Clairvaux and St. Ambrose because “their eloquence was as sweet as honey.”

Significance: We recognize that one of the effective weapons in the discharge of our duties is the gift of eloquence and persuasion which we will use in representing clients in Court.

Anchor

Explanation: The anchor is the Christian symbol for hope and steadfastness. This symbolic meaning rests on the Epistle to the Hebrews 6:19, which refers to the everlasting virtue of God’s counsel in these words, “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.”

Significance: Self-explanatory.

Oak

Explanation: Because of its solidity and endurance, the oak is a symbol of the strength of faith and virtue, and of endurance against adversity.

Significance: We seek to inculcate in our lawyers and staff the virtue of perseverance, cheerfulness and endurance to overcome adversity and obstacles, and in so doing, to be able to advise and counsel our clients to do likewise in whatever challenges they may be faced with.

Olive

Explanation 1: The olive is a true Biblical tree, a tree “full of fatness” which yields great quantities of oil. Its rich yield symbolized the providence of God toward His children.

Significance: We recognize that unless God build and prosper what we do, we labour in vain.

Explanation 2: The olive branch has also been regarded as a symbol of peace, and appears as such in allegorical paintings of Peace. It will be recalled that when Noah was in the ark during the flood, he sent forth a dove to find out whether the waters had receded from the earth “and the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was a olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.” (Genesis 8:11). In this passage, the olive branch is symbolic of the peace God made with men.

Significance: Hence, we too strive, where possible to utilize the avenues of mediation and alternative dispute resolution to bring to amicable settlement disputes which may otherwise escalate out of proportion.

1. Signs and Symbols in Christian Art by George Ferguson: Oxford University Press (1961).
2. Illustrated Dictionary of Symbols in Eastern and Western Art by James Hall: Harper Collins (1996).