Victor Dlamini

My latest column for The Daily Maverick:

In our digital age, with small all the rage when it comes to accessories, it’s fascinating to see that lawyers and pilots still insist on lugging around oversized bags. If its information that they are hauling along in these monsters, then they are surely the last holdouts against the global wave of miniarization and digitization that has seen ever more information compressed into ever smaller footprints. But the truth is probably more mundane: the mystique these large briefcases lend their owners.

There was a time when the size of an accessory alone told you its worth, and those with the cash used to show off by having the biggest toys. These days, very often, the smallest is the most powerful; if Schiller was still around he would be smiling to see his dictum (small is beautiful) finally come true. But as it always the case in our world, there is an exception to every rule, and it is obvious that lawyers and pilots do not want to downsize.

Recently I was at the High Court in Johannesburg and I was surprised to see just how big some of the bags are that the lawyers and advocates haul around with them. One advocate had two assistants, each pulling a trolley full of files. It made for quite the spectacle.

• Complete article in The Daily Maverick