Advocates are able to take instructions directly from clients, without using a middleman such as a lawyer, in terms of a new legal monitoring structure.
The new body – aimed at promoting uniformity and unification within the law profession – is set to replace the Law Society of SA, the six members of which are the Black Lawyers’ Association, the National Association of Democratic Lawyers and the Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Northern Provinces law societies.
One of the big pluses for the man on the street is that it will include a regulation framework that will allow members of the public to obtain a breakdown of estimated legal costs before the start of a case.
But while the Legal Practice Council has been welcomed by sectors of the profession because it will cater for advocates in addition to lawyers, there are concerns over how it will be structured, and teething problems are anticipated.
The law societies’ mandate and responsibilities will be taken over by the council and, once fully functional, it is expected to have offices in all nine provinces.
The council was established in line with the Legal Practice Act 2014, which is aimed at providing a legislative framework for the transformation and restructuring of the legal profession.
It was promulgated on Thursday last week.
In a letter to all legal practitioners dated November 1, council chair Kathleen Dlepu said the new structure would continue to serve the members of the profession and society.
“We will ensure that there is no breakdown of essential services to the legal profession.
“The offices of the former provincial law societies are now the offices of the Legal Practice Council,” she said.
Dlepu said once the council was ready, it would announce the election process.
Thereafter, the provinces would elect and constitute their provincial councils without delay so that “our services must be near to the practitioners as well as members of the public”.
Until all nine provincial council offices are established, the council has urged members of the profession and the public who require services to contact the previous offices of law societies.
The new council will also act as a disciplinary and regulatory body.
Port Elizabeth attorney Rihanda Strydom, who is also the chair of the Attorneys’ Association of South Eastern Cape, said the four provincial law societies that ceased to exist would remain in the same building, acting as branches for the interim council. But they would eventually fall away.
“The idea behind the [council] is to have the same rules for everybody, whether you are an attorney or advocate, so that there is no differentiation.
“The new category entails that advocates can deal with the public directly,” she said.
“If you choose to trade like an advocate, you will also have to have a trust account which must be audited every year.
“Secondly, you need to complete a practice management course.”
Attorney Zolile Ngqeza, a member of the Black Lawyers’ Association, said he was thrilled as a black attorney.
“We are destined for an exciting era. People must not be sceptical about the [council].
“Yes, it’s a fairly new structure – mistakes will be made through the teething period, but they must give it an opportunity to grow.”
Ngqeza said the council was focused, among other things, on protecting the interests of the community by regulating the fees charged by lawyers.
“For example, the lawyer can now issue an estimated cost of the case upfront to the client.
“Secondly, the council is inclusive for everyone, including advocates, side-bar advocates and attorneys.”
Attorney Kuban Chetty said the intention of the council was to bring uniformity within the law profession and to do away with disparity between attorneys and advocates.
But there were many unanswered questions and he had mixed feelings over the new body, such as how it would be restructured.
“Now you open something different with different sets of rules. There are going to be teething problems and we do not know how long the teething will last.”
Chetty said he understood the respective law societies would still be in place to assist with the transition.
Bukky Olowookorun, branch chair of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers, said: “We welcome the new [council] and the unification of the legal profession that it brings.”
Dlepu referred further inquiries to a spokesperson, who did not respond to phone calls or e-mails.