MODULE - 5 - Legal Practice Management - 2024 - V1-Smaller

LEGAL PRACTICE
MANAGEMENT
Syllabus
The syllabus is compiled by
Practitioners with experience
in practice.
Training Guide The guide for 2024 has been

revised by Sonja Labuschagne
Version Learning Resources No. 001/01
and reviewed by Advocate (Dr)
Publish Date: 01/01/2024
James Clark, Clark Chambers
Confirmation Date: 10/01/2024
____________
This training guide is intended as a supplementary Notes on Content

tool for purpose of the training at L.E.A.D’s Practical
The document records the
Vocational Training School and Courses.
views of the drafters. There
The publishing of this training guide (“guide”) was may be justifiable variations in
made possible through financial support of the Legal practice.
Practice Council (via the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity
____________
Fund).
The content may not be a

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Lawyers Association, the National Association of and/or practice at the moment
Democratic Lawyers and the Provincial Attorneys’ of reading due to legislative
associations in representing the Attorneys’ profession in changes after printing.
South Africa.
Lifelong learning towards a just society

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOMES ......................................................1
1.1 MANAGEMENT.................................................................................. 1
1.2 LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGER ............................................................. 1
2. THE MANAGER .................................................................................3
2.1 WHAT SKILLS DO A MANAGER NEED? .............................................. 3
2.1.1 Technical .......................................................................... 3

2.1.2 Human Relationships .......................................................... 3
2.1.3 Conceptual ........................................................................ 3
2.1.4 In addition to the above skills, it is recommended you also
require the following skills to succeed .................................... 3
2.2 A MANAGER WEARS MANY DIFFERENT HATS ................................... 6
2.3 OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR VS PRACTICE MANAGER .......................... 6
2.3.1 Nature of work................................................................... 6

2.3.2 Function ........................................................................... 6
2.3.3 Authority in the organisation ................................................ 7
2.3.4 Status .............................................................................. 7
2.3.5 Competition ...................................................................... 7
2.3.6 Selection of team ............................................................... 7
2.3.7 Productivity ....................................................................... 7
2.3.8 Human resources ............................................................... 7
2.3.9 Skills ................................................................................ 7
2.3.10 Decision-making ................................................................ 7
2.3.11 Conclusion ........................................................................ 7
2.4 MANAGE WITH INTENT.................................................................... 8
2.4.1 Manage people .................................................................. 8

2.4.2 Manage time ....................................................................11
2.4.3 Managing Conflict ..............................................................15
2.4.4 Managing Change..............................................................16
2.4.5 Managing Stress ...............................................................18
2.4.6 Effective communication.....................................................20
2.4.7 Manage self-motivation ......................................................31
2.4.8 Managing decisions ...........................................................31
2.4.9 Managing delegation ..........................................................32
2.4.10 Working with a secretary ....................................................33

2.5 MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS ............................................................ 34
2.5.1 Planning ..........................................................................34

2.5.2 Organising .......................................................................34
2.5.3 Staffing ...........................................................................34
2.5.4 Leading ...........................................................................34
2.5.5 Controlling .......................................................................34
3. THE LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGER ....................................................35
3.1 LEGAL ETHICS ............................................................................... 35
3.1.1 Introduction .....................................................................35

3.1.2 Factors impacting on ethical legal practice .............................36
3.1.3 Institution that regulates Legal Practitioner conduct ................38
3.1.4 Ethical conduct in legal practice ...........................................41
3.1.5 Conclusion .......................................................................43
3.1.6 Sources (also for further reading) ........................................43
3.1.7 List of cases .....................................................................45
3.2 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT ............................................................... 46
3.2.1 Practice Administration ......................................................46

3.2.2 Office Maintenance ............................................................54
3.2.3 Filing System....................................................................56
3.2.4 Opening of files .................................................................58
3.2.5 Reminder system ..............................................................59
3.2.6 Closed Files ......................................................................61
3.2.7 Importance of the effective handling of correspondence ..........62
3.3 COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT .......................................................... 65
3.3.1 Statutory Compliance ........................................................65

3.3.2 Contractual Compliance......................................................66
3.3.3 Public Tender Compliance ...................................................66
3.3.4 Profession compliance ........................................................66
3.4 RISK MANAGEMENT ....................................................................... 67
3.4.1 Introduction .....................................................................67

3.4.2 The Prescription Alert programme of the LPIIF .......................68
3.4.3 Professional Indemnity Insurance and Cover for Misappropriation
of Trust Funds ..................................................................69
3.4.4 Legal Practitioners Insurance Indemnity Fund (LPIIF)..............69
3.4.4 Cover for Misappropriation of Trust Money ............................71
3.4.5 Office Insurance................................................................72

3.4.6 Risk management strategies ...............................................75
3.4.7 Strategic risk ....................................................................76
3.4.8 Long term Insurance .........................................................76
3.5 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ............................................................. 76
3.5.1 Budgets ...........................................................................76

3.5.2 Forecasts .........................................................................78
3.5.3 Difference between a cashflow projection and a budget ...........78
3.5.4 Management statements ....................................................81
3.5.5 Financial statements ..........................................................81
3.5.6 Taxes ..............................................................................84
3.6 MARKETING MANAGEMENT............................................................ 89
3.6.1 Utilise mailing lists ............................................................90

3.6.2 Survey clients ...................................................................90
3.7 IT MANAGEMENT ........................................................................... 90
3.8 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ................................................. 92
3.8.1 Recruitment of Employees ..................................................92

3.8.2 Planning in the firm ...........................................................93
3.8.3 Training ...........................................................................93
3.8.4 Payroll .............................................................................93
3.8.5 Policies and procedures ......................................................93
3.8.6 Functions .........................................................................94
3.9 FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE CENTRE ACT (FICA) ............................ 94
3.9.1 Which Clients do Legal Practitioners have to FICA? .................95

3.9.2 What do we need to be FICA compliant? ...............................96
3.9.3 Informing Clients of FICA, Confidentiality and Privilege ............98
3.9.4 How to register for FICA .....................................................99
3.9.5 FIC Amendment Act......................................................... 103
3.9.6 FIC INSPECTIONS WARNING ............................................. 106
3.10 PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT (PAIA) .............. 108
3.10.1 Requirements for private bodies ........................................ 108

3.10.2 Requirements for PAIA manual .......................................... 109
3.11 THE BROAD-BASED BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT ACT NO. 53

OF 2003 (“BBBEE” ACT) .............................................................. 109
3.11.1 Introduction ................................................................... 109

3.11.2 Amendments to the BBBEE Act .......................................... 110
3.11.3 Amended Scores in the Codes ........................................... 111

3.11.4 Revised BBBEE Elements .................................................. 112
3.11.5 Small, Medium and Start-Up Businesses ............................. 113
3.11.6 Completion of Form B-BBEE 1 and the Compliance Matrix ...... 113
3.11.7 Other Developments ........................................................ 114
3.12 PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION ACT NO. 4 OF 2013

(POPIA) ....................................................................................... 115
3.12.1 Introduction ................................................................... 115

3.12.2 Helpful resources ............................................................ 115
3.12.3 Terminology ................................................................... 115
3.12.4 Applicability of POPIA ....................................................... 117
3.12.5 Rights of Data Subjects .................................................... 117
3.12.6 Lawful Processing of Information ....................................... 117
3.12.7 Processing of Special Personal Information .......................... 121
3.12.8 Civil Remedies ................................................................ 122
3.12.9 Enforcement, offences, remedies and penalties .................... 122
3.12.10 Conclusion ..................................................................... 123
4. CONCLUSION ............................................................................... 123

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT TRAINING MODULES
Module 1: General Introduction to Practice Management
Module 2: Risk Management and Insurance
Module 3: Law Business Finance
Module 4: Systems and Technology
Module 5: Legal Practice Management
Module 6: Marketing
Module 7: Human Resources
Module 8: Strategic Management
Within these training guides reference is made to various Court cases, textbooks, articles
(for example De Rebus) as well as other sources and the obligation remains on the
Delegate to stay abreast of changes within the law through their own research in order to
ascertain real time standing authorities. South Africa is most definitely one of the countries
since its incorporation as a full democracy, for years to come to go through various
legislative changes occurring at a tremendous rate as the country embraces its newly
found democracy.
In these training guides Delegates will also find various developmental questions on the
subject matter within this guide. Answer to these questions will not necessarily be
available to Delegates as the questions are also intended to be used by lecturers in
developing the theoretical and especially the practical skills of Delegates whilst lecturing
to them.

1. GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completion of this training the learner should know:
1.1 MANAGEMENT
• What skills a Practice Manager requires.
• The difference between an Office Administrator and a Practice Manager.
• How to manage with intent.
• What a Practice Manager’s functions are.
• What strategic thinking entails.
• What Emotional Intelligence is.
• How to communicate effectively.
• How to motivate their staff.
• How to manage people.
• How to manage your own time.
• How to deal with conflict.
• How to delegate effectively.
• The process of planning and decision-making.
1.2 LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGER

• Know and understand the ethics and Rules prescribed by the Regulator.
• Know how to manage a Legal Practice efficiently.
• Understand what is required to be compliant.
• Know and understand the importance of FICA, what documents are
required to FICA each different client and how to register, report and
manage FICA in the practice.
• Know and understand the importance of PAIA and how to register and
submit the practice’s PAIA manual.
• Understand BEE and how to apply for a BEE certificate.
• Know and understand how POPI will affect the practice.
• Know about other management aspects including:
• Grasping what risk management is and how to manage risks in the
practice.
• Understanding and knowing the importance of financial management
for a successful business.
• Knowing how to manage human resources and employment equity.
PMT MODULE 5 | LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT © LSSA 1

• Knowing how to manage the information technology of the practice.
• Knowing how to manage marketing in professional manner and
within the regulator guidelines.

2. THE MANAGER
2.1 WHAT SKILLS DO A MANAGER NEED?
To be a good manager you need to have competence in three general areas:
2.1.1 TECHNICAL
This skill requires the ability to use a special proficiency or expertise to perform
tasks. Legal Practice Managers, Accountants, Engineers, Market Researchers,
and Computer Scientists, as examples, possess technical skills. Managers
acquire these skills initially through formal education and then further develop
them through training and job experience.
2.1.2 HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS

This skill demonstrates the ability to understand people, communicate with
them and work well in co-operation with others. Human skills emerge in the
workplace as a spirit of trust, enthusiasm, and genuine involvement in
interpersonal relationships. A Practice Manager with good human skills has a
high degree of self-awareness and a capacity to understand or empathise with
the feelings of others. Some Practice Managers are naturally born with great
human skills, while others improve their skills through classes or experience.
No matter how human skills are acquired, they’re critical for all Practice
Managers because of the highly interpersonal nature of managerial work.
2.1.3 CONCEPTUAL
This skill calls for the ability to think analytically. Analytical skills enable
Practice Managers to break down problems into smaller parts, to see the
relations among the parts, and to recognise the implications of any one
problem for others. As Practice Managers assume ever-higher responsibilities
in firms, they must deal with more ambiguous problems that have long-term
consequences. Again, Practice Managers may acquire these skills initially
through formal education and then further develop them by training and job
experience. The higher the management level, the more important conceptual
skills become.
2.1.4 IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE SKILLS, IT IS RECOMMENDED YOU ALSO

REQUIRE THE FOLLOWING SKILLS TO SUCCEED:
2.1.4.1 Strategic Thinking
Don’t just focus on today’s tasks at hand, step back and think about the big
picture. Set priorities and align them with medium to long-term goals. Review
existing systems and change them if necessary.
2.1.4.2 Emotional Intelligence

Know how to read and understand the emotions of other people and how to
put that knowledge to work. Understanding your own emotional strengths
and challenges, build on your own strengths and overcome your weaknesses.
Emotionally unintelligent people jump to the wrong conclusions, expect other

people to deal with their mood swings, are oblivious or unconcerned about
the feelings of others, fly off their handle in times of crises while others keep
their cool. They also think that they are good managers and behaving like
good leaders, while they are not.
2.1.4.3 Critical Thinking

Question conventional wisdom. This involves continuously identifying and
challenging assumptions and generalisations that underlie individuals’ actions
or inactions. It involves the question: “How do we know that for certain?” It
involves fair-mindedness, not letting your own biases colour your thoughts,
obtaining all the relevant facts, clarifying issues, evaluating the credibility of
sources of information, analysing, or evaluating arguments, interpretations,
beliefs, and theories.
2.1.4.4 Effective Communication

Employees look to management for everything from inspiration to
information. Managers’ failure to communicate effectively, can stand in the
way of their employees’ effectiveness. Goods managers master the skills of
interpersonal communication, this includes one-on-one, small groups, full
staff, e-mail, social media and very importantly listening effectively.
2.1.4.5 Motivation
You may not be a psychologist, but good managers understand that people’s
most powerful motivators come from within (intrinsic motivators) not from
outside forces such as rewards and punishment (extrinsic motivators).
Intrinsic motivators include:

• Competence
It feels good to do things we know we do well. Managers should give
their staff feedback that reinforces what their staff does well and hand
out assignments that play to the individual’s strengths.
• Autonomy
Giving a person the freedom to attend to the task in the manner that
they deem fit. A good manager should therefor know not to
micromanage their staff but rather to convey their expectations and
allow the staff member maximum latitude on how to reach their goals.
• Meaningful work
Good managers help staff to see and feel the meaning in all sorts of
work. Helping people understand and reminding them of the positive
impact of their work (even if just a small part in a big picture) is a
powerful and motivational tool and can also help to improve co-
operation between groups.

2.1.4.6 Feedback
Good managers know to give their staff regular feedback. Not only feedback
e.g., during performance appraisals, but regular feedback on a more informal
basis. Feedback is a recurring request from staff members. Know your staff,
know what your goals are for them and what their goals are and then always
be on the alert for an opportunity to deliver helpful, personalised information
to people about their performance and their value to the organisation.
2.1.4.7 Coaching
Are you one of the managers who are constantly “fixing” the staff’s work or
are the staff constantly bothering you with questions and waiting for your
decisions? At the end of the day, you are exhausted, you have worked hard
but failed to complete any of the items on your “to do”-list because you have
been busy all day doing other people’s work and thinking for them. Then you
need to learn to coach your staff’s growth. Coaching is different from fixing.
Fixing is faster and easier in the short run, but it becomes chronic and can
be a great time waster in the long run. Coaching focuses on the person first
and then on the product. It teaches staff to discover why and how to take
the right steps and make good decisions about their work. It might take more
time, but it pays off in the long run in growing your staff who in turn then
starts to improve their own productivity and the quality of their work.
2.1.4.8 Managing Difficult Conversations

No one likes having those difficult conversations. It is even more frustrating
if they get derailed.
Knowing how to deal with them is important. What derails difficult

conversations:
• Denial
The other person rejects the information you are putting forward,
claims it is untrue or completely shuts down. Preparation is the key to
dealing with denial. Get to the facts you have confirmed to be true and
give a clear message about the next steps.
• Deflection
This is when the other person changes the subject. Don’t take the bait
and allow the person to change the subject. Stay focused on the issue
that brought you to this conversation.
• Disruption
When the other person shouts, swears, cries, or storms out. Stay calm
and don’t be tempted to match their volume or to also start swearing.
Stay rational and keep calm.
• Dumping on the boss
When the other person declares that it is your fault and tries to criticise
you or the practice for the problem. Remember, this isn’t about you.

Don’t get aggressive when being criticised or blamed. Rather distance
yourself, take a step back and deal with it as though you are a
bystander. With your angry responses deflected, you will be better able
to focus on moving the conversation on to your original goal.
2.2 A MANAGER WEARS MANY DIFFERENT HATS

Management is a universal phenomenon and entails the art of knowing what to do,
when to do and to see that it is done in the most effective and economic way.
Management is a purposive activity. It is something that directs group efforts
towards the attainment of certain pre-determined goals.
A manager wears many hats. Not only is a manager a team leader, but he or she
is also a planner, organiser, cheerleader, coach, problem solver, financial advisor,
and decision-maker — all rolled into one. And these are just a few of a Practice
Manager’s roles.
In addition, managers’ schedules are usually jam-packed. Whether they’re busy

with employee meetings, unexpected problems, budgets, financial planning, or
strategy sessions, managers often find little spare time on their calendars (And that
doesn’t even include responding to e-mail!).
Therefore, we can say that good management includes both being effective and
efficient. Being effective means doing the appropriate task. Being efficient means
doing the task correctly, at least possible cost with minimum wastage of resources.
2.3 OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR VS PRACTICE MANAGER

Practice Manager and Office Administrator/Office Manager are terms quite often
interchangeably used by Attorneys. There are obvious differences between a
manager and an administrator, but for a vast majority of people, these two are
interchangeable terms. In many Attorneys’ firms, especially small ones, the person
who oversees administration is essentially the same one who performs the duties
of a manager, but without the necessary decision-making abilities which don’t make
you a manager. But in large firms, these are two different posts that carry separate
rights and functions.
The differences between the roles and functions of a Practice Manager and an
Administrator can be better understood under following categories
2.3.1 NATURE OF WORK

The Administrator is responsible for implementing minor objectives and
policies of the firm and tend to administrative work that include manage
stationery, oversee the receptionist, drivers, and cleaning staff of the firm
while a Practice Manager must decide on what policies and procedure are
needed as well as the way forward for the firm and to put them into action.
2.3.2 FUNCTION
The Administrator makes minor decisions about the logistics, automation, and

planning of events of the firm while a Practice Manager make all major
decisions about the firm from confirming decisions by the Administrator to
major changes or decisions regarding the smooth running of the firm.
2.3.3 AUTHORITY IN THE ORGANISATION

An Administrator has limited authority in the firm which implies he/she comes
from junior management whereas a Practice Manager forms part of the top
management of the firm.
2.3.4 STATUS
A Practice Manager is usually one of the decision-makers of the firm whereas
an Administrator implements decisions made by top management.
2.3.5 COMPETITION
An Administrator faces competition within the organisation whereas there is
no competition for the Practice Manager.
2.3.6 SELECTION OF TEAM

A Practice Manager has the sole right to decide his/her team of employees
while an Administrator is part of the team.
2.3.7 PRODUCTIVITY
While both desire higher productivity, it is the Practice Manager who is
responsible for preventing any lapses in productivity.
2.3.8 HUMAN RESOURCES

It is the Practice Manager who is in direct touch with the employees while an
Administrator maintains office policies and procedures.
2.3.9 SKILLS
A Practice Manager requires both managerial as well as technical skills whereas
an administrator only needs technical skills.
2.3.10 DECISION-MAKING
While the decisions of a Practice Manager are pragmatic and part of the Rules
and Regulations of the firm the decisions of an Administrator are taken on a
day-to-day basis.
2.3.11 CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it would suffice to say that whereas an Administrator deals with
both the employees as well as management, the Practice Manager is more
involved with the business aspects such as finance, risk, compliance, and
human resources.

2.4 MANAGE WITH INTENT
2.4.1 MANAGE PEOPLE
“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise
you with their ingenuity.”
• Manage by walking about

Management by walking about is one of the best management tools
around. If you’re closeted in an office, hunched over a desk, or have your
eyes glued to a computer screen, you won’t see half of what’s going on.
Walking about is the way to see what’s really happening and to find out
how people really feel. It also helps your staff to see that you are
interested in what they do.
In pandemic lock-down times or if your office staff operate remotely for
whatever reason, find other ways (such as online platforms) to keep in
touch and show interest.
• Network for all you’re worth
Networking is the way to tap into that kind of informal knowledge and
experience. The more networks you are plugged into the better. The
grapevine often tells you more about what is really going on than anyone
will dare tell you openly or officially.
• Ask questions and listen to the answers
Never be afraid to ask questions or to challenge assumptions. The Why?
When? Who? Where? How? What if? Is the best vocabulary that you can
have. Once you have asked the question, listen very carefully to the
answer. Remember that active listening can be hard work, especially if
the person answering goes on and on and on.
• Enjoy
Enjoy your work and help others to enjoy their work. Enthusiasm can be
very infectious. If you’re positive, the chances are that others will follow
your example. You can’t do your best if you don’t enjoy your work.
• Don’t say one thing and do another
Don’t ever lose the respect of your directors or staff by saying one thing
and do the opposite. If you expect your staff to arrive on time in the
mornings and you are arriving late it is obvious that this won’t do much
for staff morale. Remember: deeds speak louder than words.
• Don’t mislead
Honesty is very important. Don’t make promises you won’t be able to
keep. If you are the bearer of bad news, don’t shirk the responsibility.
Choose the right time and the right words and do it carefully and
sensitively but do it. The staff may not like it, but they will like it even
less if you mislead them.

• Don’t double-deal
Don’t ever tell one person one view of an issue and another view to
someone else. You will be regarded as untrustworthy and duplicitous.
Staff talks to each other, and they will soon find out that you made
yourself guilty of double dealing.
• Take your job seriously
You won’t be a good manager if you don’t take your job seriously. Meeting
targets, making sure that the staff works effectively and efficiently,
maintaining high standards, seeking continuous improvement – it’s all
very important. But all is not always serious. Keep a sense of proportion
and perspective. Occasionally you’ll need to recognise that there are
more important things than work.
• Have a sense of humour
Management is serious, but the most serious tasks sometimes benefit
from a little humour. Having a sense of humour does not mean cracking
jokes and laughing at staff or making fun of them. It simply means
recognising that you don’t need to be deadly serious all the time. Take
the opportunity now and then to lighten the mood and see the funny side
of things.
• Don’t behave badly
It’s easy to be abrupt or offhand or even downright rude. Perhaps you’re
in a bad mood for some reason. It happens to all of us. Or maybe you
are just focused on a difficult task, and you resent anything and anyone
who breaks your concentration. Just stop for a second and think about
the effect on other people. Don’t take your bad day out on people around
you.
• Be passionate
If you’re passionate about your work and really care about what you’re
doing, some of that passion is bound to rub off on those around you.
• Say thank you
All employees want to feel appreciated, whether they’ll admit to it or not.
It’s important to recognise and thank them for the contributions they
have made that they may feel most proud of. You can say things like, “I
know that you didn’t have the time or all of the resources you needed,
but you pulled the project off anyway,” or “You knew we needed to finish
this case for a difficult client to make our fee targets and you came up
with a way to get it done. I’m grateful to you. Thanks.” If this is the way
you treat your staff your directors will treat you in the same manner.
Employees love recognition and rewards that are on-the-spot. Even the
smallest monetary gift can make a difference, such as a special chocolate
with a thank you note on their desk early in the morning or an
announcement of their achievement at a staff meeting.

• Don’t keep your directors in the dark
Don’t try to outsmart or keep your directors in the dark. If there is bad
news, be up front about it. If you’re not they will find out sooner or later.
Directors don’t like nasty shocks and then realise that you have known
about it all along.
• Your director’s problems are your opportunities
Take time to understand your directors. Get to know them and how they
operate and why. Get to know their different management styles and
what they like and dislike. You also need to know what they like and what
they really enjoy. If you know what their strengths and weaknesses are
and you can make them look good, it will only improve your relationship
with them. If you can use their weaknesses and your strength you will
make an excellent team. If you assist wherever your director has a
problem and show them how resourceful and helpful you can be they will
trust and relay on you more.
• If you have a difficult director, grasp the nettle
No-one is perfect. The chances that you will disagree with one of your
directors are good. If life becomes intolerable and your director is
consistently acting in a way which is unfair or unreasonable, you’ll have
to do something about it. If you don’t and you end up totally stressed
out, your health is bound to suffer. Begin by broaching the matter orally,
but before you speak make sure you’re prepared. Make notes of the
points you’re going to make and rehearse them. If an oral approach does
not work, but your concerns in writing.
• Learn how to influence and persuade
Whenever you are dealing with your directors or staff influencing and
persuading is an important management tool. Make sure you know what
you are talking about and that you are clear about all your facts. Put
yourself in their shoes and see if you can convince yourself. You won’t be
able to influence or persuade somebody if you are unsure about the facts
yourself.
• Get yourself a mentor
A mentor is somebody that you trust and whose advice you respect. A
good mentor should be able to help with almost anything. It is also good
to soundboard with your mentor if you have a difficult task that you want
to persuade your directors to accept.
• Have a personal plan
Everybody makes New Year’s resolutions that they usually don’t keep.
Make a career-related resolution and keep to it. Maybe you won’t end up
where you thought you will end, but it will help you on your way there.
Rather think 100% and reach 80% than to think 80% and reach 50%.

• Be yourself
Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. Trying to change your
personality to suit what you think is suitable for the firm is doomed to
failure. You will be unhappy and will always have to make decisions that
the “other you” are happy with.
• Don’t micro-manage
Don’t ever try to micro-manage your staff. Allow them to manage both
themselves and their own work. If you trust them to manage their own
work, they will have the confidence to do a good job and to talk to you if
they need help. You will have so much more to manage that it will kill
you slowly if you try to micro-manage.
2.4.2 MANAGE TIME

Before you can manage others, you must learn to manage yourself. Time
management is not about managing time, it is about managing yourself. Some
writers describe time management as “organising and executing around
priorities”.
When dealing with time management, we should distinguish between what is

“important” and what is “urgent”. “Urgent” matters require your immediate
attention, and we naturally tend to react to urgent matters first. “Important”
matters have to do with results. When you deal with important matters, it
contributes to your mission, values, and goals. Not managing time properly,
may result in you having to spend most, if not all your time, on “urgent”
matters that do not necessarily assist you in achieving your goals.
Prioritisation is the key to time management. To achieve your goals at work

and in your personal life, it is necessary to plan by prioritising certain tasks
and managing your time properly. This will enable you to minimise the
“urgent” matters which you have to attend to and allow you more time to focus
on the “important” matters and accomplishing results.
2.4.2.1 Identifying time wasters

The following are just some examples of time wasters at work:
• Distractions from clients and colleagues with unnecessary queries
Having a database which is regularly updated and accessible to all
management and employees containing important information such as
telephone numbers and internal extension lists, office policies, staff and
management’s birthdays, important dates and deadlines, preferred
service providers, etc., will assist in reducing the number of
unnecessary queries by staff.
• “Overly friendly” and “chatty” colleagues
If you are approached by a colleague who wants to speak to you, find

out whether the purpose of the conversation is work or of a social
nature. Attend to the work-related enquiries as soon as possible. If the
conversation seems to be of a social nature and you do not have the
time to attend to it, then rather schedule a suitable time for you to meet
with the colleague to talk. Co-workers should understand that we all
have our own schedules and deadlines to deal with and should not take
offence when required to reschedule a “social call”.
• Switchboard directing incorrect calls.
• Tasks not being prioritised correctly
Prioritising unnecessary, unimportant tasks.
• Poor knowledge of your job, what is required from you and how to
perform it
Having a proper, written job description will assist.
• Poor computer skills and not being able to operate the software used
by the office
Take a course to acquire general computer skills and speak to your
employer to arrange for training for the staff to enable them to operate
the software used by the employer properly. Such training does not
have to be by external service providers, but can even be provided
internally by an experienced colleague.
• Directors and staff’s failure to plan or communicate their plans
timeously
Continuously remind staff and directors of important upcoming events
and dates. Send them reminders to plan and to notify you or the
administrative assistant, timeously and well in advance of any
assistance that they may require from you in preparation of an
upcoming event.
• Procrastination
Junk, unimportant or non-work related e-mails.
• Social media distractions.
2.4.2.2 Procrastination
Since procrastination is such a big-time waster, here are a few tips to deal
with it:
• Just get started;
• Do the most unpleasant task first;
• Break the task into smaller components then it would not seem so
daunting;
• Avoid any distractions e.g., TV, radio, chatty colleagues and social
media notifications;
• Set deadlines for yourself;

• \
• Delegate certain tasks where appropriate;
• Make your workspace comfortable and convenient.
2.4.2.3 Continuous Process

To improve your time management skills, it is important that you consciously
practice your time management skills in all aspects of your life.
• Prioritise your tasks
Determine what is and what is not urgent and what is and what is not
important e.g., emergencies and deadlines are urgent and important,
they must be attended to immediately. Surfing the internet for matters
that are not work-related or socialising at work is neither urgent nor
important. Learn to resist and cease activities that are not urgent or
important until such time as you have completed all the urgent and
important tasks first or until you have an official break time.
Keep to high priority tasks.
Complete tasks before leaving the office; do not leave for tomorrow
what you can do today.
Always remember, even though you feel it is best to leave a task for
tomorrow, there are going to be more tasks for you to complete
tomorrow; by leaving it, you are creating more work for yourself. If left
unattended, a task which would otherwise have been important but not
urgent, may become urgent and then you may not have the necessary
time available to spend completing that task as what you would have
liked.
• Do one job at a time
Do not let yourself get distracted by additional tasks.
• Stay focused
If you continuously become distracted while working on a task, it will
not only take you longer to complete, but chances are there will be
mistakes in your work.
• Create “to do lists”
Where possible, divide the “to do lists” into different categories e.g.,
urgent tasks, important tasks and tasks that are neither urgent nor
important but which you would like to attend to in each day.
Such lists help you keep on top of your workflow, help you to keep a
record of what tasks you still need to complete for the day, how much
time you have available to spend on each task and which tasks you still
must go back to before leaving for the day.
It can also be extremely satisfying to tick off or draw a line through
tasks you have already completed, giving you a sense of
accomplishment and an idea of how much time you still have left to

complete the remaining tasks.
• Planning and scheduling time is important
Plan to complete urgent and important tasks first. Plan and schedule for
interruptions as well so that your workflow is not unnecessarily
adversely affected.
• Identify both your good and bad time management habits
Where do you manage your time well and where do you manage it
poorly? Identifying these points can be an extremely positive start in
your time management strategy.
2.4.2.4 Take a break

No matter how busy you are it’s not a good idea to slog away at your desk for
hour after hour without a break. If you do that the quality of your work will
suffer. Take a coffee break and drink your coffee away from your desk or turn
your chair away and look out of the window. That few minutes will restore
your perspective and clear your head and you will feel refreshed again.
2.4.2.5 Be punctual
To be punctual is one of the management tools that are not negotiable. If you
have a meeting or a deadline or even arriving at the office, make sure you are
on time. Being punctual must be a habit even in your personal life. Don’t let
people wait for you and you don’t wait for people. If you wait for other people,
you will waste your time just us other people will waste their time waiting for
you. If you tend to pitch up late for work, church, a function or even a private
party with friends, you will have to rethink your ability as manager.
2.4.2.6 Energy can get you to the top

There is no substitute for energy and hard work. That’s how you can make the
best possible use of your time. Those who make it to the top of any
organisation are usually intelligent individuals with good communication skills
and a clear focus on results, but there is something just as important and that
is sheer energy. Look at any sphere of activity and you’ll see that those who
reach the very top often have no more talent or intelligence than their peers.
What sets them apart, often, is energy and drive. Energy can take you a long
way.
At the end of the day, managing your time effectively means taking and
retaining control wherever possible:
• Control over how we use our time;
• Control over interruptions from others;
• Control over how we deal with time wasting activities.

2.4.3 MANAGING CONFLICT
2.4.3.1 Introduction
Conflict is an expression of a difference of opinion; a deeply felt conviction
where people are not afraid to state their reservations openly. Most of us have
had to deal with conflict at some point or another in our lives, be it at school,
with family or at the office.
Employers expect staff to manage their anger and disputes in a professional

manner. Remember physical violence and verbal abuse in person or via social
media will not be tolerated in any company and may be grounds for dismissal.
Although conflict is often seen in a negative light, conflict in the sense of
contrast of ideas is not undesirable. Only through expression of difference can
good problem-solving take place.
Conflict can lead to clarification, progress or even the establishment of a way

forward. Openness can create a climate of mutual support and co-operation,
encouraging all staff to participate and contribute to the best of their abilities.
2.4.3.2 Sources of Conflict in the Workplace

There are various sources of conflict in the workplace. Some of these include:
• Inaccurate or incomplete information conveyed
If a message has not been conveyed clearly and correctly and certain
colleagues interpret the information incorrectly or negatively, then this
could lead to conflict.
• Inappropriate or seemingly incompatible goals
E.g., you might be given a daily, weekly, or monthly target to achieve,
but much of your target hinges on the performance of one or more of
your colleagues, who is clearly not pulling his/her weight. Ineffective or
unacceptable work methods in the workplace.
• Antagonistic or other negative feelings between staff
A disagreement, when it surfaces, may have a long history. Left over
resentment from previously mismanaged conflicts tend to linger. People
may have been humiliated or may feel betrayed, may act in punishing
ways, or try to even the score. When a disagreement stems from old
wounds, it may be difficult to diagnose because it is rarely
acknowledged and often masquerades as a personality clash.
2.4.3.3 Dealing with Conflict

A few points to remember when attempting to resolve conflict and
disagreement, are as follows:
• Preserve dignity and self-respect in all those involved.
• Listen with empathy.
• Do not expect other people to change their style or behaviour.

• Express your independent perspective.
• Simply because someone expresses an opinion that is different from
your own, does not mean that that person’s opinion is wrong.
People’s opinions and perspectives are often influenced by their
background, level of education, experience and culture which may be
different from your own. You must respect that sometimes you should
simply agree to disagree and find ways to work around it.
Finally, steps to consider when resolving conflict:

• Meet in person with the opposing person or team.
• Do not address the conflict simply in writing or telephonically.
• Jointly define what the actual conflict is.
• Determine and establish who is affected by the conflict.
• Communicate potential changes in feelings.
• Communicate your intention to co-operate.
• Listen to the other side’s perspective.
• Last, but not least, reach an agreement.
2.4.4 MANAGING CHANGE

Change is part and parcel of modern life and if not dealt with properly, can be
a source of great stress. We should all embrace change as it often raises new
possibilities and opportunities for achieving our goals.
Do not be afraid of change. Treat each situation as an opportunity to learn.

Mistakes while trying to cope with change are not necessarily negative, as long
as you are prepared to learn from previous mistakes.
Within a legal practice you could be faced with retrenchment, staff

resignations, death of a colleague, restructure of the practice, discarding of
old software and methods and the introduction of new policies, methods, and
software. It is your ability to deal with these situations that will determine how
well you adapt to change.
2.4.4.2 Techniques to Improve Ability to Deal with Change

As with all scenarios that you will be faced with in your workplace, there are
techniques for improving your ability to manage change:
• Be aware of the rate of change in your life.
You are constantly surrounded by change, the fact that you are aware
of it will ease transition and acceptance thereof. You will find yourself
better prepared for nasty surprises.
• Find out about imposed changes as early as possible.

Time is the key. By having more time to get used to the idea and
manage the change, the less likely you will be to fall victim to stress
brought about by change.
• Adapt a positive attitude towards change.
You can do anything if you simply set your mind to it and a positive
attitude is an integral part of it.
• Take a flexible approach to change.
If you are to set in your ways and unwilling to budge, you will find
change even more difficult to deal with.
• Be confident about your ability to cope.
In much the same way that a positive attitude will help you with change,
so will confidence in your own abilities. If you believe you can handle
change effectively, you will.
• Find a source of emotional support.
Be it a friend, relative or colleague whom you can trust and share your
thoughts or ask for advice or suggestions.
• Look after yourself
It is far easier to deal with change when you are healthy and on top of
your game.
• Get involved in planning changes and keep the directors informed and
involved if you are planning the change.
The more involved people are in the planning of the changes, the less
surprised they will be when the changes take effect, and they will also
have been given more time to prepare for the change. People tend to
resist change for fear of failure. If people are directly involved in the
planning, implementation, and evaluation of the change process, they
take ownership thereof and are less likely to resist the change.
To build other’s commitment toward change:

• Discuss the benefit of the change.
This will reduce the threatening aspects of change and finally identify
the resistance to change.
• Two-way communication and involving others.
This allows for openness, discussion, clarification, feedback, the
generation of new ideas and may also lead to the acceptance of the
change.
• Commitment toward change is more sustainable if we get others to
accept change rather than to force it on them.
• Change should be viewed as a process of growth, innovation, and
improvement.

• To be meaningful, change must be positive, productive, and beneficial
to the staff and the legal practice as a business.
• Change should allow staff to develop new skills.
Whilst gaining useful experience and knowledge which should be
valuable in the staff’s future careers.
2.4.5 MANAGING STRESS

Stress is an inevitable part of our lives. Sometimes certain situations may
result in our stress increasing to unhealthy levels. This may result in serious
physical and mental disorders. It is important to identify the symptoms of
stress as soon as possible and seek ways to deal with it.
2.4.5.2 Characteristics of Stress

Learning how to identify stress is the first step towards managing it effectively.
Characteristics to look out for include:

• Physical stress
Symptoms such as increased heart rate, high blood pressure, frequent
headaches, inability to sleep, exhaustion and excessive sweating.
• Emotional Stress
Includes symptoms such as depression, anxiety and crying easily and
more often.
• Mental Stress
Includes decreased ability or complete inability to concentrate.
• Behavioural stress
Includes withdrawal, becoming anti-social, being irritable.
2.4.5.3 Ways to deal with Stress

• Figure out where the stress is coming from
Instead of feeling as if you are constantly failing, identify what you’re
stressed about e.g., a specific project at work, a dispute with your
employer, a fight with your family, etc. By getting specific and
pinpointing the stressor/cause of stress in your life, you’re one step
closer to getting organised and acting.
• Consider what you can control, what you can’t and focus on what you
can control.
You cannot necessarily control the causes of your stress, but you can
control your response to it. Do not try and take control over
uncontrollable things e.g., the state of the economy, inflation, or the
petrol price as it’s beyond your control. Once you have identified the

stressors you can control, determine the best way to act and deal with
it. Stress can be paralysing. Doing what’s within your power moves you
forward and is empowering and invigorating.
• Do what you love
It’s much easier to deal with “pockets” of stress if the rest of your life is
filled with activities you love. It is important to manage a balanced
lifestyle. If your job is stressful, then find a hobby or sport which you
enjoy and helps you to relax.
• Manage your time well
One of the biggest stressors is lack of time. Time management at work
and home is important, that way you can check off your “to do list” and
find time for the things you truly enjoy.
• Create a “toolbox” of stress coping techniques
One stress-coping strategy does not necessarily work for all kinds of
stress. Read up about coping techniques and try them out to build your
“toolbox” of techniques so that you have the right tool to deal with a
specific kind of stress at a specific time.
• Reduce the “negotiable” activities in your schedule
Do your children really need or enjoy the extra-curricular activity or are
they simply doping it to please you? Do you really have to be the first
one at the office in the morning and the last one to leave? Ask yourself
whether an activity helps you in reaching your goals and values? Does
everything in your schedule give meaning to your life? Reducing the
“negotiable” activities in your schedule can greatly reduce your stress
levels.
• Preserve good boundaries by learning to say “NO”
If you are a people-pleaser, saying “no” feels like you are abandoning
someone, have become a terrible person, or are throwing all civility out
the window. That is not true. Those few seconds of discomfort in saying
“no” to someone may be well worth avoiding stress by taking extra work
or activities when you don’t have the time or capacity to deal with it.
Productive, happy people are often very protective of their time and
having their boundaries crossed.
• Embrace mistakes - don’t drown in perfectionism
Perfectionism can exacerbate stress. Being reckless or negligent about
the quality of your work is also a stressor but trying to be completely
“mistake-free” can result in you wasting a lot of time, spending your
time walking on eggshells all day, and it can be exhausting and anxiety
provoking.

2.4.6 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Quite often problems within any organisation can be traced back to a
breakdown in communication. Successful organisations recognise this and
make effective communication a key priority. Every manager needs
communication skills, and the more senior you are, the more important they
become.
2.4.6.2 Make sure you understand the message

You can’t communicate effectively if you don’t understand (really understand)
the message you’re seeking to put across. So, the first, crucial step is to take
time to brief yourself thoroughly. Whoever the audience you won’t be listened
to with respect unless you can show that you know what you’re talking about.
Get to grips with the subject and make sure you’ve got the essential facts at
your fingertips.
2.4.6.3 Keep it short and simple

The longer and the more complex the message the less likely it is to be
remembered. People will listen to your first few sentences and then realise
this is going to be a long stretched out discussion and then they lose interest
in what you say. Keep it short and simple (KISS) very easy to remember and
difficult for some people to do.
2.4.6.4 Tell the truth

It’s important to give everyone the same message. It is easier to remember
what you said if you tell the truth than to remember a lie. It might enable you
to deal more easily with the immediate issue to lie, but it will damage your
credibility and do you no good in the long run.
2.4.6.5 Communicate with energy and confidence, but don’t overdo it

Whatever it is you must communicate, do it with enthusiasm. Diffidence or
hesitancy can undermine the most brilliant message. Having too much
information is just as bad as having too little.
2.4.6.6 Written communication needs to be clear and concise

Legal Practitioners frequently use legal jargon, Latin terminology, or terms
otherwise used in contracts such as “wherefore”, “therefore”, “herein above”,
etc., this makes reading their general communication and the documents they
draft difficult if you are not used to it. As a general principle write in a style
that’s as close as you can make it to the way you speak.
That doesn’t mean using slang or colloquialisms or SMS-abbreviations that

would look ugly and unprofessional on a printed page. It just means using
plain English. Use short sentences. Make only one statement of fact in a

sentence. They are easier to read, easier to understand and the
facts/statements are easier to remember.
If you use an acronym or even a shortened version of a phrase/term, describe

it in full when first used and thereafter the acronym e.g., Nelson Mandela Bay
Municipality (“NMBM”).
Finally use short paragraphs and number the paragraphs. A page of solid text
does not invite people to read it, but short, numbered paragraphs are easier
to read and refer to.
2.4.6.7 Principles of drafting a business letter

• Sender’s address
This is usually a letterhead. It must contain as much detail as necessary
to inform the recipient about the name of the practice (i.e., XYZ
Incorporated), its physical address (i.e., 10 Main Road), its postal
address (i.e., P.O. Box 3267), the suburb (i.e., Auckland Park), the
postal code, the telephone number, the fax number, and e-mail
address. The firm’s website address can also be displayed on the
letterhead.
• Reference
The abbreviation Ref. is used for the reference details for filing the copy
of the letter in the sender’s files. The initials “BJ” refer to the writer Ben
Jones and the letters “ft” refer to the person who typed the letter. (With
word processors replacing typewriters and with automatic filing of
letters in a computer system, this type of reference is not always
necessary). If you are replying to a letter that quotes a reference, it is
polite to quote that reference as YOUR REF. It will appear under the
sender’s reference or in the subject line.
• Date
There are two ways of writing the date, either 20XX-04-01 or 1 April
20XX. If you use the former, notice the order, year-month-day, and
notice that there are always eight digits. It is also correct to use dd.mm.
yyyy.
• Receiver’s address
Always address a letter to a person (here The Principal) even if you do
not know the name. If you know the person’s name, you should start
with it, e.g., Mr J S Son. Again, the receiver’s address will include the
postal address. (P O Box 612), the Post Office (Orange Grove) and the
postal code.
• Salutation
If you know the person’s name, you should use it in the salutation, e.g.
“Dear Mr Son” (Do not use initials in the salutation). If you do not know
the person’s name but have used his title, the usual salutation is “Dear

Sir” but if you know the recipient is a woman, but you do not know her
name, then “Dear Madam” can be used. It is not normal to write “Dear
Sir or Madam”. Some writers use “Dear Sirs” when writing to a firm in
general and not to one individual, but the best policy is to write to a
particular individual, e.g. “The Manager”. It is also becoming standard
practice to leave out the salutation if you do not know whether the
recipient is a man or a woman.
• Subject line
A business letter should have a subject heading to give a brief
explanation of what the letter is about. The subject heading can be
written in capitals without underlining or without capital and with
underlining. In our example the subject line was “REQUEST FOR
MANAGEMENT SCHOOL BROCHURES.” A good option is bold with only
natural capital letters.
• The body of the letter
This is usually divided into:
o an introductory paragraph;
o one or more paragraphs or details; and
o a concluding paragraph.
• Complimentary close
The ending “Yours faithfully” is used when you do not know the name
of the recipient, as in our example. If you knew the person’s name,
e.g., Mr J.S. Son, you would use “Yours sincerely”. After this on a new
line the signature should follow. Because signatures are sometimes
difficult to read, the name of the writer is always typed on the next line
and on the following line in capitals, his / her title. It is still a useful
convention for a woman writer to state how she would like to be
addressed in the letter of reply, e.g., Mrs, Miss, or Ms. This is written
in brackets after the typed name. A man would never put (Mr) after his
typed name. However, in a business letter the typist would naturally
and quite correctly add the title “Dr” where the correspondent holds a
PhD.
• Enclosures
If there are any enclosures with the letter, the abbreviation Encl. is
typed after the complimentary close and it is followed by brief details
of what has been enclosed, e.g., in the reply to this letter the brochures
sent would be itemised after the abbreviation Encl.
• Initials of sender and typist
If not already mentioned in the reference, it is sometimes the practice
to include the initials of the sender and the typist at the very end of the
letter.

2.4.6.8 Check before you send
No matter how much effort and time you’ve put in your message it’s very easy
to make simple mistakes or typos. Once you have sent it out, it’s too late to
do anything about it. If you send something with some ghastly mistakes you
could ruin your reputation for good.
2.4.6.9 E-mail Etiquette

Legal practices and business in general are using e-mails more and more. If
used correctly, e-mails, as opposed to letters sent via the Post Office, Docex
or even faxed, can have numerous benefits. Depending on their size, e-mails
can reach their audience in mere seconds. E-mails are a cheap and convenient
means of communication and allow the sender to ask for delivery and read
receipts to ensure that the recipient received the correspondence.
There are however also various pitfalls that one should look out for when
communicating via e-mail. Many of these pitfalls relate to the speed at which
e-mails are delivered to the recipient. All staff who have access to e-mails and
who use e-mails to communicate with clients, suppliers, and the public should
be made aware of the pitfalls and the correct e-mail etiquette. If used
incorrectly, or at the spur of the moment, an e-mail could very easily fall into
the wrong hands, be misinterpreted, and create a poor and unprofessional
impression of the sender and the legal practice.
All legal practices who use e-mail as a means of correspondence, should have
a written e-mail policy, which is made available to staff and enforced. The staff
at your practice should all be quite comfortable in using e-mails by now, so
much so that it seems almost unnecessary to take the extra time to train them
on the correct use of e-mails and e-mail etiquette. It is however exactly
because people are so comfortable in using e-mails that they often forget basic
e-mail etiquette and end up making unnecessary and unprofessional mistakes
when using e-mails.
The following general principles and tips on etiquette should be remembered

and included in an e-mail policy:
• Your tone and degree of formality should be situational but yet
professional.
Use “Dear Mr Smith” or “Dear John” as a greeting and not “Hi John”.
Also rather use “Kind Regards” or “Yours sincerely” as a close as
opposed to “Ciao”.
• Remember your grammar and punctuation
Do not use SMS text messaging abbreviations e.g., “LOL” or “u w8 N
C”. Type out the words in full and only use proper English abbreviations
where necessary.
• Use the subject box to describe the content of the e-mail and include
your file reference as well as that of the recipient therein.

• Do not allow the body of the e-mail to become too long. Beware of
repetitive replies, rather start a new e-mail if the string of previous e-
mails become too long.
• Beware of capital letters
Do not write your entire e-mail in capital letters as this is considered
“shouting”.
• Only add attachments if necessary and be aware of the size thereof.
Try to ensure that e-mail attachment sizes are less than 1mb in total.
If there are several attachments, then arrange with the recipient for
you to send it grouped together in a few “smaller” e-mails i.e., instead
of attaching 10 files/documents, send 3 medium sized ones at a time.
• Do not send private or personal e-mails via your work e-mail
E-mails are not as private as you might think.
• Keep a record of all your e-mails sent and received.
• Do not use a personalised background or signature.
Have the practice develop and design an e-mail template in which e-
mails must be sent. Also have a proper template designed for the
sender’s signature at the bottom of e-mails.
• Do not use animated pictures
Do not use animated pictures such as butterflies, teddy bears, waving
faces, etc., at the bottom of your signature, unless it is part of the
practice’s logo.
• Ensure your details are correct and updated in the signature block.
• Send e-mails to the correct recipients only.
With predictive texting and e-mail recipients from the address book’s
simply “popping up” when you start writing the recipient’s name, it is
very easy to send an e-mail to the incorrect recipient. Also be careful
that you do not “reply” to an e-mail instead of “forwarding” it or vice
versa.
• Do not reply to an e-mail in anger.
This is often very tempting, but because e-mails are sent
instantaneously, this can cause problems. You may say things in the e-
mail that should rather have been left unsaid and which may appear to
be unprofessional. Rather leave the reply of such an e-mail for a couple
of hours, if possible before you formulate a reply or give a draft copy to
a colleague to read first before sending it.
• Use the “CC” field sparingly.
Do not to involve people unnecessarily in an issue. Over CC-ing is a
common mistake, typically because people want to make sure that no
one is left out.

• Keep your e-mails succinct and to the point.
Focus on the point you wish to make and include any relevant
information that drives home that point.
• It is hard to sense sarcasm in an e-mail.
Things you can communicate in a face-to-face conversation with
someone is not always that easy to communicate in a written context.
If misunderstood, the recipient of an e-mail may end up feeling insulted
by what they read in your e-mail.
• E-mails to clients and the public at large, are a professional medium
and need to be treated as more of a formal business letter than a casual
one.
• Do not forward e-mails without explanation.
• Make a positive impression with your e-mails.
Set yourself and your employer apart by spending extra time to be
careful about what goes into your e-mails and who receives them.
2.4.6.10 Use of Social Media

Social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are not only
used by people in their private capacity but are also increasingly being used
by legal practices to communicate with their existing clients, to promote their
service to the public at large and to manage and promote their brand.
Like e-mails, using social media is a fast and inexpensive way of promoting
yourself and your practice’s services to the public at large. Once again, people
are becoming increasingly comfortable with the use of social media, so much
so that they become too relaxed about the use thereof and often make
mistakes that can be very damaging to their professional reputation and may
even end up costing them a lot of money in the form of damages claims
against them.
Here are some rules to remember when using social media, in your personal
and professional capacity and for the marketing tool for the legal practice.
• Keep your personal and professional/the practice’s accounts separate
Do not use your personal Facebook page where you post photographs
of your family holidays, your dogs or your son scoring a goal in soccer
to promote your legal practice. Do not post personal messages and
photographs on your professional/legal practice’s page.
• Use the security settings
Ensure that members from the public and unauthorised staff members
cannot post comments on your practice’s or your own Facebook page.
Members from the public and your staff must naturally be able to see
the comments and newsletters you post on your practice’s page, but
should not be able to edit it or to post unsolicited comments thereto.

• Have dedicated, authorised, and properly trained staff monitor and
update the practice’s social media page or account regularly.
It is no use if the practice has a Facebook page or social media account
which is never used or outdated. Then you may as well cancel it.
• Only post relevant and appropriate comments on your page or account.
• Statements made on social media can be construed as defamatory
and/or discriminatory of nature.
There are several examples of South African cases where someone has
posted defamatory statements or hate speech on social media and
where the Courts have held the owner of the account liable for payment
of damages to the person that they have defamed. Employers can
similarly be held vicariously liable for defamatory or hate speech
statements made by their employees.
• The practice can be held liable even if it did not post the comment or if
it was tagged therein
According to South African case law, you may be held liable to pay
damages in a defamation claim even where you did not actually post
the comment yourself, but were tagged therein and failed to distance
yourself from the defamatory or discriminatory statement that you were
tagged in as soon as it came to your attention.
• When you find a defamatory statement or hate speech
If it comes to your attention that a statement posted on your page or
account is of a defamatory or discriminatory nature, immediately
remove the statement, distance the practice, its management, and staff
from it and apologise to anyone who may have been affected by it, on
the same forum.
• Online complaints
If clients are allowed to use your page or account to post comments,
complaints, or enquiries, respond to it immediately by contacting the
client and responding on the page or account itself. Do not simply delete
negative comments or complaints from your page or account. If dealt
with correctly, they can be used as a tool to improve your public image
and improve client service.
• Do not respond to a comment in anger
You might just say something that should rather have been left unsaid
and then it is out there for the world to see. Remember, even if you
should remove a comment, it is not a guarantee that it is completely
removed from the internet. The statements you make and photographs
you post on social media can “follow” you for the rest of your career
and may cause you great reputational harm. Potential clients,
colleagues, correspondents, employers, and employees often search for
your or your legal practice’s name on the internet before they approach
you or employ you. It only takes one inappropriate and/or

unprofessional statement or photograph to cause you and/or your
practice reputational harm and result in you losing that client or job
opportunity.
2.4.6.11 Emojis
Emojis, the little colourful icons and pictures you can add to text messages, can
represent a variety of things—from faces to sports, to nature, and transportation.
With the rise of social media and smartphones, they are firmly entrenched in the way
people communicate textually. So much so that many smartphone keyboards suggest
emojis based on the words you type, saving you from having to search for the perfect
one to use.
This comes as no surprise since texting is a short form of communication, so it makes

sense that people want to make their communication brief and simple. After all, people
have used symbols to communicate for hundreds of years.
When it comes to using emojis, there aren't really grammatical rules to use as a
guideline. It comes down to context.
People have also transformed the meaning of certain emojis, allocating inferred or
metaphorical meanings to them that are culturally understood. For example, the
skull emoji can be used in response to something funny or embarrassing and people
share the flames emoji when something is considered cool.
Unfortunately, emojis have some serious flaws. They’re a combination of imperfect

emotional representations and slang that vary by region, group and individual. This
makes them impossible to objectively interpret. These challenges are exacerbated by
cross-platform inconsistencies in emoji presentation.
So, what does this mean for emojis in contract and law?
Though ambiguous, emojis do convey meaning and lawyers need to consider when they
will be legally binding or convey intent.
Imagine these scenarios:
• A landlord receives a message from a potential tenant with positive emojis (like a
popping champagne bottle).
• A teenager posts a picture of a person or their school with gun, knife or bomb
emoji.
An Israeli court determined that an emoji can illustrate legal intent. It ordered damages
to a landlord who claimed reliance when he received a text with positive emojis and
took down the ad for the property.
In the US, a teenager was arrested for terror threats after posting a status showing
emojis of guns pointing at a police officer (amongst other things) and a

charged with computer harassment and threatening school staff after posting two
messages that included gun, bomb and knife emojis with messages that read “Killing”
and “meet me in the library Tuesday”.
There’s also been an uptick in interest in pictorial contracts recently, particularly where
contracts are being made in communities with high illiteracy rates or regional dialects
that aren’t widely understood. Often these contracts take a comic strip form, but it’s not
unthinkable that they could be written in the language of emojis.
Unusually this is one situation where the untested legal language of emojis could prove
a more accurate means of communication than drafting in either party’s native tongue.
So we need to know what happens when emojis become legally binding and how the
courts will interpret them.
How will courts interpret emojis?
Courts in a number of jurisdictions have already considered the use of emojis in

messages:
• In Re Nichol [2017] QSC 220 an unsent text message deemed to be a last will
and testament included consideration of a smiley emoticon. The Court found this
informality didn’t prevent it constituting a will.
• The absence of an emoji was raised in a claim before the Fair Work Commission
for unfair dismissal by a baggage handler who included the statement “We all
support ISIS” in a Facebook post and claimed it was sarcastic (Singh v Aerocare
Flight Support Pty Ltd [2016] FWC 6186[OE(1] ).
• In New Zealand a judge stated that the words “You’re going to f***ing get it”,
followed by an aeroplane emoji from an ex-partner were threatening and
indicated he was “coming to get her”. This is arguably a pretty clear threat
though, even without the emoji.
• In the US high profile trial of Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road, the court
considered whether a jury should be shown messages including emoticons to
prevent them being presented misleadingly. The less than perfect result was that
lawyers read the texts to the jury and said the word “emoticon”, to indicate an
emoticon had appeared, without further description.
• US courts have also ruled on the use of a smiley face to indicate sarcasm,
happiness or a wink (see Surveying the Law of Emojis) but this is a basic and
widely used emoticon. Newer, less common or more intricate emoticons might
present greater challenges.
Emojis can have a multitude of meanings depending on their context. A winky face
could indicate flirting, teasing, joking or sarcasm. Context can be drawn from the
immediate message, the sender and receiver’s personal history or wider cultural
contexts (see The Emoji Factor: Humanizing the Emerging Law of Digital Speech).
Slang meanings can be obscure, particularly when multiple emojis are combined. There
are few reliable emoji dictionaries (the online Emoji Dictionary, for example, describes
itself as tongue in cheek and is sponsored by the Word Translation Foundation or

“WTF”). Emojipedia appears to be the most reliable. This site is a commercial endeavour
established and administered by an Aussie, Jeremy Burge, who is a world-leading emoji
authority. Searching for emojis using text descriptions, with about 2,000 Unicode
emojis to wade through, also presents significant issues.
The courts have dealt with non-verbal, non-written communication before but there are
a few emoji-specific challenges that the courts haven’t had to consider yet. These arise
from the way emojis were developed and how they’re conveyed between users and
platforms.
Emoji discrepancies between platforms
Most emojis are conveyed using a universal code called Unicode. This is interpreted by
different platforms differently, a bit like having different fonts for text.
Unicode defines each emoji with a ‘suggested’ outline image and a brief description (for
example ‘grinning face with smiling eyes’). The emoji is conveyed using a code and
when the other platform receives that code, it presents its own interpretation of the
emoji. This might be quite different from the interpretation of the sender’s platform. The
sender and recipient might never know they’re seeing different images.
These differences are usually slight but can be compounded because branding and
intellectual property rights incentivise platforms to present emojis differently. Platforms
also manage their emojis according to their user’s needs or to discourage unsavoury
use. For instance, Instagram blocked searches of the phallic aubergine emoticon and
Apple changed its gun emoji to a green water pistol.
Non-unicode emojis, like the stickers on Snapchat or Facebook, have even greater
cross-platform problems. Generally, if sent outside their platform they will display only
as a placeholder icon (like a blank square) or disappear without a trace.
Examples:
• Different platforms’ interpretation of the Unicode emoji ‘grinning face

with smiling eyes’. On Google Nexus, this is a toothy smiling face. On Apple,
this looks like a grimace with teeth bared that some people interpreted as “ready
to fight”.
A huge interpretation disparity existed in relation to Microsoft’s Windows 10

version of grinning squinting face which 44 per cent of people surveyed
interpreted as negative while 54 per cent interpreted as positive (“Blissfully
happy” or “ready to fight”: Varying Interpretations of Emoji).
• Unsupported emojis. A ‘laughing clown face’ for a Samsung user can become a
question mark in a box, if sent to an Apple user. If the recipient assumes the
placeholder icon is the intended emoji, they think the sender has sent ‘?’ when
they should’ve seen a laughing clown.
It’s unlikely judicial officers will take these factors into account. Currently, the courts’
understanding of emoji use is limited at best (see, for example, Warren v Peat [2017]
FCCA 664 and R v Mella [2017] NSWDC 193).
Growth of the emoji language
Emoji use is increasing, encouraged by companies like Apple which ‘auto-suggests’

emojis for certain words.
• Literary works have even been rewritten entirely in emoji (see Emoji Are
Entertainment in the 2016 Emoji Report). Soon enough emojis may be on our
physical keyboards.
• Snapchat allows users to ‘pin’ emoji stickers to moving objects in video.
• Facebook filed a number of patents to use facial recognition technology to tailor
emojis to a user’s facial expressions or keyboard strokes (see Emoji Progress
within Mobile Messaging in the 2016 Emoji Report).
Emoji as a language is becoming richer and more complex. New emojis are added to the
family every year and over time their use is resulting in more widely understood
connotations. Certain emojis, such as the aubergine and peach, have well-known
connotations beyond representing flora.
Contracting in emoji
Questions for lawyers are:
• What’s the risk when the emoji sent is different to the one
received? Contracts formed using mismatched emojis could result in a
fundamental common mistake and be rendered void. Even if only certain aspects
of the contract are affected parties might need to litigate to seek rectification.
• What happens when an emoji disappears from a message (changing its
meaning) because the recipient’s platform doesn’t recognise it? Courts
could decide that where some sort of indicator is sent that an emoji hasn’t been
recognised the recipient is on notice that there could be more to a message.
However, this will depend on the facts. The average smartphone user might not
be aware that placeholders indicate that the sender has included an unsupported
emoji in their message. Where the emoji drops away completely, a sarcastic
comment saying “sign me up” with a winky face might saddle someone with a
legal obligation they didn’t intend. This could result in a good old fashioned intent
to contract argument.

However, it pans out, context is likely to be key.
For now, lawyers should be advising their clients to avoid emoticons and emojis in
business dealings. The chance of misinterpretation is high and compounded by the
differences on different platforms and versions. But more than that, no one wants their
client to be the test case for emoji interpretation.
2.4.6.11 Take a note

Take notes of any conversation. It could be very useful if you must react on a
conversation a few days later. You could impress your directors by mentioning
something that they thought you won’t remember.
2.4.7 MANAGE SELF-MOTIVATION

“Motivation is the art to do what you do because you want to do it”.
There are many ways to bring motivation into your work so that you can
improve your outlook on your job and do your best work.
Think about whom you most enjoy working with at work - your leaders, peers,
teams, and clients (regardless of the formal hierarchies and structures). Build
more opportunities to connect and collaborate with these people. Don’t limit
your connections to people that you “have” to connect with in your work.
Connect to the people who inspire you.
Don’t wait for your annual performance appraisal and for your director to tell
you how you’re doing. Take responsibility for this. Conduct your own
performance appraisal on a weekly basis. What are you doing well? Where do
you want to improve? Set goals for yourself on a weekly basis. Keep upping the
stake and pushing yourself to grow. The “sweet spot” where you’ll perform your
best is when you’re working on goals that are just outside of your comfort zone,
so as you achieve your goals, adjust them, and increase their difficulty so you
can take it to the next level.
Take the initiative on projects rather than waiting for instructions. Chat with
your directors and negotiate on gradually increasing your autonomy at work.
Seek feedback from your directors and staff. Create systems to collect regular
feedback and you’ll be more likely to hear about the good stuff too. Use this
good and bad feedback to design your weekly learning and performance goals
and to track your progress and your motivation will increase as you watch
yourself improve.
2.4.8 MANAGING DECISIONS

Taking decisions comes with the territory. If you’re a manager, you can’t avoid
them. The more senior you are the more decisions you’re likely to have to take
and the more critical and difficult they’ll be. Effective decision-making requires
experience, common sense, and good judgment.

2.4.8.1 Make sure it’s your decision to take
Before you take the decision, make sure you are the right person to take it. If
it is your decision to take get into the habit of giving your own views and
saying what decision you recommend. Don’t decide what you think somebody
else would have decided.
2.4.8.2 Identify the pros and cons

Before you make a decision, you need to consider the pros and cons. For each
option there are bound to be both advantages and disadvantages. Just put
them all down methodically, either on paper or on a flip chart and then make
your decision.
2.4.8.3 Think creatively

If you’re faced with a difficult decision, it’s sensible to look at how similar
issues or problems have been dealt with in the past. Think about who may
have been faced with the problem before. Look at the issue with a fresh pair
of eyes. Think laterally.
2.4.8.4 Make sure the decision is put to effect

It’s often easier to take a decision than to ensure that it is implemented
effectively. Make sure that the necessary follow-up action is taken.
2.4.9 MANAGING DELEGATION

Delegation is a precious skill in any business whether you are an employee,
manager, or business owner. By delegating you can benefit greatly and take a
whole lot of pressure of yourself. However, there is a fine line between
delegating and just offloading work on others. Here are a few tips on how to
delegate effectively.
2.4.9.1 Mind-set
Learn to change your mind set of believing that you are the only person that
can carry out a specific task. You need to trust other employees to do just as
good as a job as you. You can’t judge someone on a mistake they may have
made previously.
2.4.9.2 Responsibilities
Many employees are always eager for added responsibility and an opportunity
to show what they are capable of. Employees can gain extra motivation from
added responsibility as they will realise that their investment into added task
with pay long term dividends.
2.4.9.3 Action plan

Establish a plan of action on how you propose to delegate responsibilities in
terms of what you are going to delegate to whom. Creating a list can work
well and prevent you from poor delegation.

2.4.9.4 Give clear instructions
It is vital to give clear instructions of what you need to be done, however,
don’t tell the relevant person how they must do it. Let the person know what
they are needed to do and what they need to achieve by doing it. Set deadlines
and request progress reports.
2.4.10 WORKING WITH A SECRETARY
Good secretaries are worth their weight in gold. Unfortunately, secretaries are
only as good as you allow them to be, and too few lawyers really know how to
work well with this invaluable resource. Mayson supra p 29.
2.4.10.1 Shared secretaries

Some firms have a policy whereby two or more fee-earners share one
secretary.
Advantages
• More efficiency in cost, use of word processors and other technology.
Disadvantages
• No opportunity for developing a close working relationship.
• Creates opportunity for conflicts.
• Creates opportunity for undue pressure on the secretary.
2.4.10.2 Ensuring a successful working relationship with your secretary

Discuss with your secretary the best ways of handing work over, maintaining
your diary, taking messages, helping you prepare for meetings, dealing with
routine correspondence, filing and reminder systems.
Before you dictate anything, prepare yourself by collecting the information you
need and the thoughts you wish to express. Bear in mind the urgency of the
work you are dictating, its type, and enclosures you may need. Give clear
instructions to your secretary where necessary. “Collect your thoughts before
you open your mouth.”
2.4.10.3 Distribute tasks evenly

Distribute tasks evenly so that everyone gets an opportunity to complete new
jobs and receive new training.
2.4.10.4 Manage the delegation process

Take responsibility for the delegation process. Although you will have fewer
tasks, you should still take responsibility for the results. Ensure that the jobs
get done, but steer clear of micro-managing and giving the impression you
don’t trust your Delegates.

2.4.10.5 Praise
Give praise when an employee carries out a task successfully. Employees will
be encouraged if they are lauded for their efforts. However, if there are areas
they need to improve on, they need to be made aware of that.
2.5 MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS

Practice Managers just don’t go out and haphazardly perform their responsibilities.
Good managers discover how to master five basic functions: planning, organising,
staffing, leading, and controlling.
2.5.1 PLANNING
This step involves mapping out exactly how to achieve a particular goal. Say,
for example, that the firm’s goal is to implement a new department. The
Practice Manager first needs to decide which steps are necessary to accomplish
that goal. These steps may include increasing advertising, recruitment of staff
and new procedures. These necessary steps are developed into a plan. When
the plan is in place, the Practice Manager can follow it to accomplish the goal
of implementing the new department.
2.5.2 ORGANISING
After a plan is in place, a Practice Manager needs to organise the staff and
workflow according to the plan. Assigning work and granting authority are two
important elements of organising.
2.5.3 STAFFING
After a Practice Manager determines the needs of the new department, they
may decide to increase the staff by recruiting, selecting, training, and
developing employees. A Practice Manager in a large organisation often works
with the company’s human resources department to accomplish this goal. In a
small to medium firm everything will be the responsibility of the Practice
Manager.
2.5.4 LEADING
A Practice Manager needs to do more than just plan, organise, and staff their
team to achieve a goal. They must also lead. Leading involves motivating,
communicating, guiding, and encouraging. It requires the Practice Manager to
coach, assist, and problem solve with employees.
2.5.5 CONTROLLING
After the other elements are in place, a Practice Manager’s job is not finished.
They need to continuously check results against goals and take any corrective
actions necessary to make sure that the new department’s plans remain on
track.

3. THE LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGER
3.1 LEGAL ETHICS
“A Legal Practitioner is expected to scrupulously observe and comply with the
provisions of the Act, the Rules promulgated thereunder and the Code of Conduct.
The Respondent is a member of a learned, respected and honourable profession
and by entering, upon taking the oath, he pledged himself with total and
unquestionable integrity to society, to the Courts and to the profession.”
MUDAU, J in South African Legal Practice Council v Chalom [2020] ZAGPPHC

663 at [17].
3.1.1 INTRODUCTION
Legal ethics is the study of moral standards and how they affect the conduct of
the legal professionals. The word “moral” in the previous sentence refers to
what involves right and wrong and to how individual people should behave.
Personal conscience normally plays a role: decisions are then based on what
somebody’s conscience suggests is right or wrong, rather than on what Rules
or the law says should be done. Moral conduct is also in line with a common
standard of justice in terms of what is known to be right or just, as opposed to
what is officially or outwardly declared to be right or just. Accepted standards
of good or right prevail, as judged by the standards of the average person or
society at large. Moral attitudes encourage goodness and decency: they give
guidance on how to behave decently and honourably. Moral issues involve
questions of value which imply value dilemmas in choosing the appropriate
conduct (Callahan, 7).
Law is practised as a profession and is not merely a job. Bruce Ackerman (1063)
put it to a group of final-year law students: “Like it or not, you will get nowhere
unless you find more in the law than a lucrative job. You must find it a calling.
Most importantly, the law must call upon the highest exercise of your highest
selves”. A sound moral character is essential to professionalism. A legal
professional’s conduct should justify the trust placed in him by clients,
adversaries, the Courts, and the whole of society. Lawyers find their social role
permeated by ethics (Professional Ethics, 3). Continuous moral development is
imperative since it is not easy to make moral choices. Sometimes a lawyer must
decide which is the lesser of two wrongs, and not only on what is right or wrong.
Since the beginning of time, the law was considered a noble profession and only
certain people were allowed to practise. A very important requirement for
admission as an Attorney is to be a “fit and proper” person. Lawyers can also
be struck from the roll if they cease to be “fit and proper” persons. The
requirement for being considered a “fit and proper” person is neither defined
nor described in legislation, even though it is a stringent requirement (Slabbert,
209). Given the lack of definition, it must be interpreted in a subjective manner
and applied by seniors in the profession and ultimately by the Courts.
The reason why a lawyer should have a good character, alternatively be a fit

and proper person, is generally stated as follows: lawyers are entrusted with
matters related to the affairs, honour, money, property, confidential
information, and lives of their clients, and should be worthy of this trust and
confidence. Lawyers of bad character may fail to uphold their duty either to the
Courts or clients or may abuse their position of trust. The public is protected
when lawyers are honest, diligent and place both the rights of clients and the
law above their own interests (Professional Ethics, 4). Three core values are of
the utmost importance in legal practice: honesty and trustworthiness, good
judgment, and objectivity. These should be integrated into the lives of lawyers.
3.1.2 FACTORS IMPACTING ON ETHICAL LEGAL PRACTICE

3.1.2.1 Lawyers: professionals or businesspeople?
In early days the concept of “a profession” was intended to include only the
learned occupations of divinity, law, and medicine, and before the industrial
revolution, social class and status determined entry into these professions. A
profession is born out of a social need for services which require specialised
knowledge and skills. Rossouw (58-59) identifies the characteristics of
professionals which are also relevant to the legal profession: specialised
intellectual knowledge, commitment to a basic good, service orientation,
relative autonomy, and prestige. According to Hughes (in Callahan, 30) a
professional lawyer does not have the right to practice; it is a privilege
conferred by the state. A privilege is a permission to perform certain acts
provided certain specified conditions are met, inter alia the Attorney must
deliver proper legal service.
A profession is a career which should comply with the following six

requirements: an intellectual basis, a private practice, an advisory function, a
tradition of service, a representative body, and a code of conduct. The Legal
Practitioner fulfils a dual function by assisting the client on the one hand and
by promoting justice in society on the other hand. The first Chief Justice of the
Constitutional Court, Judge Mahomed, once remarked: “… [t]he ethical
objectives of the law contain the life blood of a nation…”.
By choosing the law as profession, one tends to become a certain kind of
person. “To be a lawyer is to be a person of a particular sort, a person with a
distinctive set of character traits as well as an expertise” (Kronman, 841). The
legal profession is indeed a profession which requires extraordinary people,
since it is not just an ordinary job. Yet, if they want to be recognised as such,
professional lawyers themselves should act accordingly (Slabbert, 224).
3.1.2.2 Competition and money as a prime motive

The number of lawyers entering the profession has increased dramatically.
This has amplified the level of professional competition (Callahan, 34). Due to
the intense competition amongst law firms younger Attorneys must work
many hours. “All work and no play is fast becoming the norm rather than the
exception” (Rhode, 4). In the process morality can be sacrificed to take and
win more cases.

It has been said that “no profession offers a surer path to affluence and
influence” than the legal one (Rhode, 23). Many lawyers believe that the life
they have chosen is the best one because it offers opportunities for wealth
and prestige. Some lawyers will do what it takes despite their own moral
character. There is also an intense pressure to serve clients with short-term
solutions to make more money and earn better salaries at the expense of
other values. This also wreaks havoc in an Attorney’s personal life.
3.1.2.3 Education
Formal education in the law does not prepare lawyers for the moral challenges
of the profession. The aim of legal training is to enable the student to become
a successful Attorney or Advocate. Knowledge is important for the lawyer to
be able to make a convincing case for either side in a dispute. “What this sort
of learned cleverness does not require is either a developed capacity to judge
what is right or a disposition to seek it” (Eshete, 271).
Many universities do not present Professional Ethics as a compulsory module.

The issue of ethical values, what ethics is and how to act morally is thus
insufficiently addressed before the student enters either their training for
Attorneys or pupilage. Furthermore, moral behaviour is not acquired by
studying a book; it is a character trait that should be developed.
3.1.2.4 Lawlessness in general

The climate of lawlessness in South Africa can be blamed on the blunting of
moral sensitivities during the pre-1994 years and to the transition from a
culture of authority to one with more relaxed political and moral bonds
(Slabbert, 223). It contributes to the moral crisis experienced by lawyers.
Justice is no longer seen to be done. It is sometimes alleged that some lawyers
do not think twice before delaying a case unnecessarily, calling irrelevant
witnesses, or litigating despite knowing that the litigation is without merit. It
is even alleged: “... at times, good can be accomplished in this profession only
by acting badly” (Callahan, 392).
3.1.2.5 Adversarial system

In an adversarial system two parties face each other (e.g., the state and the
accused in a criminal case, or two private/juristic persons in a civil case). The
roles of the legal representatives and Judges are carefully separated (Slabbert,
221). On the one hand, the Judge acts as an impartial “referee” who listens
to both sides of the case. Lawyers on the other hand focus on their clients’
interests and do not really strive for justice or the promotion of the general
good. The lawyer is required to present the client’s case in the best possible
light with an indifference to the moral merits of the case. “The lawyer is
required… to place the client’s interest ahead of the interest of the adversary…
as well as of public values such as justice” (Eshete, 272).
This happens especially in criminal cases, where the burden of proof is on the
state. The defense lawyer represents his or her client fiercely, as there is an

element of performance in which the lawyer can display his or her combative
and persuasive skills openly, but what about justice? The lawyer may have to
deliberately convey the impression that the client is completely innocent of
wrongdoing. The adversarial system puts lawyers in a moral dilemma by
requiring them (Markovits 285): not only to display ordinarily impermissible
partiality in favour of their clients, but also to subordinate their ordinary first-
personal ethical ideals of honesty, fair play and kindness to a professional role
in which they must, in some measure or other, i.e., cheat and abuse [and] to
pursue courses of action and adopt forms of life that separate them from their
personal ambitions and ideals.
3.1.2.6 Political interference

“Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza SC all but accused SCA judges of bias during a
Constitutional Court hearing on mining rights on two Limpopo farms
yesterday” (Legal Brief 16 August 2013).
“The writer alleges that the American National Endowment for Democracy has
even judges of the Constitutional Court on its payroll which will vote for
anything that we demand from them” (translated from Beeld 17 August 2013).
These quotes suggest that the independency of the legal profession may be
under threat. The Constitution in Sections 165 and 167 promotes the ideal of
a separation of powers under the rule of law where legislative action and
administrative conduct could be scrutinised as to their constitutionality. A
climate of political interference and corruption suggests that the objective,
critical function of the Courts may play second fiddle to other non-judicial
means and ends.
3.1.3 INSTITUTION THAT REGULATES LEGAL PRACTITIONER CONDUCT

3.1.3.1 The Legal Practice Act No. 28 of 2014 (as amended)
The LPA was promulgated to provide for a uniform regulator for the profession.
As discussed in Module 1, save for certain sections on cost-related matters
such as estimates, the Legal Services Ombud, the dissolution of the Legal
Practice Council under certain circumstances and the internal appeal processes
against disciplinary findings, the Act is fully operational.
The Act created a single national regulator known as the Legal Practice Council
(LPC) with Provincial Councils (PCs) which are currently found in each
province.
The LPC regulates Attorneys and Advocates. These include Attorneys,

Conveyancers, Notaries, referral profession Advocates and Advocates (with
trust accounts) who may take instructions direct from the public.
The Act also has the stated ensuring that legal services are accessible to the
public and entry into the profession is unrestricted to bring the legal profession
in line with the Constitution’s transformative ideal.

Legal Practitioners should have a good working knowledge of the LPA of which
the Chapters cover the following:
• Chapter 1 Definitions, Application and LPA Purpose;
• Chapter 2 South African Legal Practice Council;
• Chapter 3 Regulation of Legal Practitioners and Candidate Legal
Practitioners;
• Chapter 4 Professional Conduct and Establishment of Disciplinary
Bodies;
• Chapter 5 Legal Services Ombud;
• Chapter 6 Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund;
• Chapter 7 Handling of Trust Monies;
• Chapter 8 General Provisions;
• Chapter 9 Regulations and Rules;
• Chapter 10 National Forum and Transitional Provisions.
3.1.3.2 Requirements to Practice Law

A useful brochure on opening and operating a law practice in South Africa has
been compiled by the LSSA and is available at https://www.lssa.org.za/wp-
content/uploads/2021/05/Opening-a-legal-practice-in-South-Africa-Final-
Draft-20-April-2021.pdf.
To practice as a Legal Practitioner, one must have

• Academically qualified. See the discussion in Independent Institute of
Education (Pty) Ltd v The KwaZulu-Natal Law Society and Others
2019(4) SA 200 (KZP) regarding academic qualification and the LPA;
• Vocationally qualified;
• Be admitted as such by the High Court; and
• Be enrolled to practise as such by the South African Legal Practice
Council (LPC).
There are additional requirements if one wants to practise as an Attorney for

own account, a director or partner in an Attorneys’ practice or as an Advocate
taking direct instructions from the public. These requirements include that the
Legal Practitioner:
• Operates a trust account;
• Is in possession of a validly issued Fidelity Fund certificate;
• Does not receive or hold funds or property belonging to any person
unless the Legal Practitioner has been issued a Fidelity Fund certificate;
• Keep the required accounting records for the trust account practice;

• Has completed a legal practice management course approved by the
LPC, if practising for the first time.
Legal Practitioners enrolled by the LPC on the practising roll during the first
two years of practise, must pay the LPC an annual fee of R1 725 and those
who have been enrolled for more than two years must pay an annual fee of
R4 025.
3.1.3.3 Rules and Regulations in terms of the LPA

Regulations have been promulgated to deal with Provincial Councils and
certain other formal issues in terms of the LPA.
The Rules for Legal Practitioners under the LPA deal with the following aspects:
Part 1 Definitions;
Part 2 Fees and Charges;
Part 3 The LPC;
Part 4 Provincial Councils;
Part 5 Professional Practice;
Part 6 Education and Training;
Part 7 Keeping of Rolls and Conversion of Rolls;
Part 8 Rendering of Legal Services;
Part 9 Law Clinics;
Part 10 Disciplinary;
Part 11 Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund;
Part 12 Accounting Rules.
The LPA, and the Rules pertaining to accounting and ethical issues should be
studied in full.
3.1.3.4 The Code of Conduct

The Legal Practice Council has published a Code of Conduct applicable to Legal
Practitioners. This Code contains a large volume of ethical Rules and should
be studied to determine the ethical duties of the various types of Legal
Practitioners.
It is divided into seven parts as follows:
Part 1 Definitions;
Part 2 General Provisions;
Part 3 Conduct of Attorneys, which covers:
• Approaches and publicity;
• Specialisation and expertise;

• Sharing of fees;
• Sharing of offices;
• Payment of commission;
• Naming of partners and practice;
• Replying to communications;
• Naming in deed of alienation;
• Specific provisions relating to conduct of Attorneys;
• Misconduct.
Part 4 Conduct of Direct Instruction or Section 34(2)(a)(i) Advocates and
the norm of the reasonable fee;
Part 5 General work, trust account Advocates as prosecutors for the State
and Acting judicial appointments;
Part 6 Interviewing of witnesses of opposing party in civil litigation and
interviewing of prosecution witnesses by defence Legal Practitioner;
Part 7 Conduct of Legal Practitioners not in private practice.
3.1.4 ETHICAL CONDUCT IN LEGAL PRACTICE

A Practitioner must avoid all conduct which, if known, could damage his
reputation as an honourable lawyer and honourable citizen (Lewis, 8).
3.1.4.1 Lawyer’s duties to the State

Legal Practitioners must respect the legal order and the state. Practitioners
should never deliberately contravene the law, nor incite or help others to do
so. Lawyers are bound by the content of law and must uphold the law and be
loyal to it, thereby setting an example.
In certain circumstances, a lawyer may feel morally compelled to engage in

acts of civil disobedience and defiance of the law. One should, however, reflect
very carefully before doing so. A lawyer should not advise a client to engage
in civil disobedience but may point out the consequences of such an action if
asked about this.
Apart from being an honourable lawyer, a Legal Practitioner should be an
honourable citizen and act morally in personal relationships.
3.1.4.2 Lawyer’s duties to the Court

An Attorney has a duty to act honestly, consciously, and openly; conversely:
not to mislead the Court and to disclose material facts. He must act with
utmost good faith towards the Court and has to acquaint himself with the
Rules of Court and articulate the best argument available. He has a duty not
to abuse the process of the Courts and should not use coarse, lavatorial and
abusive language (including irrelevant or slanderous material).

3.1.4.3 Lawyer’s duty to the client
The behaviour required from a professional in relationship with his client is
one of role-differentiated conduct (Callahan, 59). It is often appropriate for a
lawyer to do things that an ordinary person need not and should not do. This
may cause difficult moral dilemmas, since the end the client strives for may
involve an uneven course and many hurdles. The duty of privilege and
confidentiality can cause a serious dilemma (Callahan, 230). If an Attorney is
told by his client that the latter is planning to murder his business partner in
retribution for damages caused, should the Attorney inform the authorities in
order to prevent a death?
The Attorney has a duty when he/she represents a client to give his utmost
best and treat an unrepresented party with respect. He should avoid conflicts
of interest and stay independent and in control over a case. Contingency and
correspondence fee arrangements must be drafted skilfully and with due care.
Of paramount importance is the proper management of trust funds.
3.1.4.4 Lawyer’s duties to other Practitioners

Although there is competition amongst fellow lawyers, especially in open
Court, professionals should always be courteous and avoid personal insults
and outbursts of rage. It is somewhat customary in practice to try to outsmart
your opponent which may end in a raging war that does not promote justice.
It is best to co-operate with other Practitioners as far as possible and even be
accommodating to their small mistakes – one never knows when you may
need some indulgence on your part.

3.1.4.5 Lawyer’s duty to society and the community
A Legal Practitioner has duties to his/her professional society and regulator
and in general a duty of reasonable care in giving advice and other conduct.
Responsibility should also be taken for the actions of employees, especially
when clients are negatively impacted.
3.1.5 CONCLUSION
It is evident that moral issues pervade the legal profession. Although most legal
firms appear to be businesses run on good management principles intending
profit, the essential output or desired goal is still proper legal services. To be
able to do just that, it is vital that a Legal Practitioner conduct his business in
an ethical way. This starts with a personal commitment to proper moral choices,
cultivating the right attitude and character and then acting in a moral fashion
while conducting legal inputs and making business decisions.
The future of the legal profession in South Africa is at stake here. Being a state
under the rule of law, values and moral obligations play a big role. If the legal
profession is not guided by a high standard of moral responsibility, lawyers
would lose their good standing in the eyes of the public and would not be able
to contribute to a better society for all.
3.1.6 SOURCES (ALSO FOR FURTHER READING)

• Anderson B “A new class of lawyers” 1996 Columbia Law Review 1062.
• Callahan J Ethical issues in professional life 1988 Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
• Carter M “Increased professionalism: An experience from the United
States” 1998 Journal of Leisure ability (25)(2) 20-25.
• Du Plessis L M “The ideal Legal Practitioner (from an academic angle)”
1981 De Rebus 424-427.
• Ellis P, Lamey AT and Kilbourn L, The South African Legal Practitioner: A
Commentary on the Legal Practice Act, Second Edition, LexisNexis,
Johannesburg, 2018.
• Eshete A “Does lawyer’s character matter?” in Luban D (ed) The Good
Lawyer: Lawyers’ Roles and Lawyers’ Ethics 1984 Rowman and Allanheld
270-285.
• Ethics and professional responsibility (study guide for LLB IV) 2011
Grahamstown: University of Rhodes.
• Govender K (Chairperson of the Ethics Committee in the Ethics
Committee Report) 2010/11 Law Society of South Africa, Annual Report.
• Hazard G and Rhode D The Legal Profession: Responsibility and
Regulation (1985) The Foundation Press: New York.
• Hoffman I M Lewis & Kyrou’s Handy hints on legal practice 2011 Durban:
Lexis Nexis.

• Kronman A T “Living the Law” 1987 University of Chicago Law Review
835-876.
• Larson M S The Rise of Professionalism: A Sociological Analysis 1977
Berkeley, California: University of California Press.
• Lewis E A L Legal Ethics 1982 Cape Town: Juta .
• Luban D Lawyers and Justice: An Ethical Study 1988 Princeton:
University Press.
• Luban D Legal Ethics and Human Dignity 2007 Cambridge: University
Press.
• Mahomed I (former Chief Justice) Speech at a dinner by the
Johannesburg Bar 27 June 1997.
• Markovits D “Legal ethics from a lawyer’s point of view” 2003 Yale Journal
of Law & the Humanities 209-293
• McDowell B “The usefulness of ‘good moral character’” 1993 Washburn
Law Journal 323-336.
• Midgley J R Lawyers’ professional responsibility (1992) Juta: Cape Town.
• Postema G ‘Moral Responsibility in Professional Ethics’ (1980) New York
Law Review 63-64 73-83.
• Professional Ethics (study guide for LJU413J) 2009 Pretoria: Unisa.
• Research Report on Mandatory Continuing Professional Development,
commissioned by the Law Society of South Africa 2010.
• Rhode D “Expanding the role of ethics in legal education and the legal
profession”.
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/submitted/rhode/legaled.htlm
[date of use 19 Aug 2013].
• Rossouw GJ “Why professional ethics in the legal profession” 1998 (1)
TSAR 53-62.
• Rotunda RD & Krauss MI Legal Ethics in a nutshell 2003 St Paul:
Thomson/West.
• Slabbert M “The requirement of being a “fit and proper” person for the
legal profession” 2011 PER / PELJ (14)4 209 – 351.
• Van der Walt A, The Legal Manager 2012 LEAD: Study Guide.
• Van Zyl S “Hoe om te maak as jy voel jou prokureur lewer nie goeie diens
nie” 2010 Tshwane-Beeld 13 October 7.
• Wildenboer L “The origins of the division of the legal profession in South
Africa: A brief overview” 2010 Fundamina (16)(2) 199-225.

3.1.7 LIST OF CASES
• Botha and Another v Law Society, Northern Provinces 2009 (3)
SA 329 (SCA);
• Ex Parte Moseneke 1979 (4) SA 884 (T);
• Incorporated Law Society, Transvaal v Mandela 1954 (3) SA 102
(T);
• Incorporated Law Society, Natal v Hassim 1976 (4) SA 332;
• Incorporated Law Society v Dagg 1903 TS 583;
• In re Gandhi 1894 NLR 263;
• Kaplan v Incorporated Law Society, Tvl 1981 (2) SA 762 (T);
• Law Society of Transvaal v Machaka 1998 (4) SA 413 (T);
• Malan & another v The Law Society, Northern Provinces 2009(1)
All SA 133 (SCA);
• Matthews v Cape Law Society 1956 (1) SA 807 (C);
• Natal Law Society v Maqubela 1986 (3) SA 849 (N);
• Prince v President of the Law Society, Cape of Good Hope 1998
(8) BCLR 976 (C);
• Prince v President, Cape Law Society 2000 (3) SA 845 (SCA);
• Prince v President, Cape Law Society and Others 2002 (2) SA
794 (CC);
• Prokureursorde van die Oranje Vrystaat v Schoeman 1977 (4)
SA 588 (O);
• Prokureursorde van Transvaal v Kleynhans 1995 (1) SA 839 (T);
• Society of Advocates of Natal v De Freitas 1998 (4) SA 1134;
• Swartzberg v Law Society, Northern Provinces 2008 All SA 438
(SCA);
• The Law Society of the Cape of Good Hope v Berrange 2005 (5)
SA 160 (C);
• Ex Parte Mokoena [2019] ZAGPPHC 256;
• South African Legal Practice Council v Chalom [2020] ZAGPPHC
663;
• South African Legal Practice Council v Mashabela [2021]
ZAGPPHC 303;
• South African Legal Practice Council v Van der Merwe [2020]
ZAGPPHC 775;
• South African Legal Practice Council v Joynt [2021] ZAGPPHC
471;
• Johannesburg Society of Advocates and Another v Nthai And
Others 2021 (2) SA 343 (SCA).
• University of South Africa v Socikwa and Others (J 675/23; J
680/23) [2023] ZALCJHB 172; [2023] 8 BLLR 836 (LC) (7 June
2023)
• Dzingirai and Others v S - Appeal (A81/2023) [2023] ZAFSHC
425 (2 November 2023)

3.2 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
As a Practice Manager your responsibilities are vast and could involve anything from
as little as a cup of tea to the firm receiving a certificate of good standing.
3.2.1 PRACTICE ADMINISTRATION

3.2.1.1 Policies and procedures
An important responsibility of the office manager is to ensure that there are
policies and systems in place regarding the administration of the legal practice.
This ensures that the practice:

• runs smoothly;
• meets its goals;
• complies with legislative and regulatory requirements;
• renders a superior service to its clients.
Providing staff with written policies on various issues relating to the

administration of the legal practice ensures the following:
• uniformity in the way different staff members and departments fulfil
their duties;
• reduced uncertainty amongst the staff;
• continuity in the way work, and tasks are performed;
• saves management’s time in not having to repeatedly answer the same
queries from staff relating to administrative issues;
• saves time in training new staff members by allowing new staff to read
the internal office policies and codes of conduct instead of having to
verbally inform them and risk the chance of the new staff members not
being provided all or the correct information.
There are several administrative duties on which the office manager should
develop internal policies to be implemented and made available to all the staff
in a legal practice.
To prevent unnecessary printing costs, it may help to open a separate folder

on the practice’s computer network. This folder should be accessible to all
staff, but the content should be password protected against amendments or
accidental deletions. It should contain copies of all the policies of the practice
and internal documents such as letterheads, payment requisition forms, leave
application forms, dress code, social media and internet use, etc.
3.2.1.2 Importance of first impressions

The best sources of new clients are existing and previous clients. Most of the
future work in most practices will arise from these clients. A happy client is an
Attorney’s best friend in the effort to increase business.

To get these clients and to retain them as clients, it obviously means that first
impressions are lasting impressions. A client will never return to an Attorney’s
office or refer other people to an Attorney’s office if he/she is not satisfied with
the first impressions of the Attorney’s office. It is essential that you as the
Attorney create a client service-orientated atmosphere. The client must feel
that you are committed to providing a quality service. Your client and future
clients must feel wanted.
You are a member of a profession, and your office should portray a lasting
image of professionalism. You have studied for long years to become a
professional person; you have appointed professional staff, and this should be
reflected by a professional office image.
Ideas to improve the image of your office will be discussed below.
• Introduce staff
Introduce your clients to everyone who will work on their file or whom
they may speak to on the telephone and identify that person’s role. The
clients will then have the perception that you really care about their
problems and will feel special. Nametags for the reception staff can be
useful.
• Exhibit work satisfaction

Work satisfaction should be expressed or, at a very least, dissatisfaction
should not be expressed. Clients do not want to hear that you think that
you are working too hard, are not adequately remunerated or that you
do not like a particular file or field of practice. Also impress on your staff
not to discuss work (or personal) problems in front of clients.
• Manage client expectations

Do not hide or downplay the potential difficulties of a case. Explain to
clients that legal eventualities are unpredictable and then describe the
variables and the consequences. Always be honest with your clients
and do not surprise them with exorbitant bills.
At the first consultation it is important to discuss your fee structure with
your client and to ensure that the client understands the difference
between party and party costs and Attorney and client costs (in
litigation matters). Also, if you work on an hourly rate, tell the client
what your hourly tariff is and how many hours you expect to spend on
his case and give a rough estimate of cost up front. Explain to the client
how you will bill, either monthly or after the case has been finalised.
A formal mandate or engagement letter to be co-signed by the client is
always a good idea. The client then acknowledges that you have
understood his requirements correctly, that the potential fees have
been properly explained and discussed with him and the length of time
that the matter is likely to take, is understood (to name but a few). In
many cases where Legal Practitioners are reported to regulators, it has

been found that the client had unreasonable expectations or that the
process had not been explained to him properly.
• Keep clients informed

Inform clients about each stage of the transaction or proceedings,
before reaching that stage. Keep in regular contact with clients even if
nothing is happening. It is advisable to provide your clients with written
feedback by way of letter, fax, or e-mail, so that you avoid any future
conflict regarding the client’s mandate and your course of action.
• Building the appropriate philosophy in your office

The main philosophy is to keep the client satisfied by addressing all the
points mentioned above. It has been said that the primary work of all
Attorneys should be to get clients and to keep clients.
• The initial interview

First impressions last, and that is also true for the initial interview. Your
behaviour in the initial interview can go a long way towards establishing
a long and lasting relationship between you and your client.
All the above-mentioned factors can contribute and ensure that your
clients will have a positive first impression of you and your office. Also
see the section on client care in the Marketing of legal services module.
An excellent book “Client care by James Alesccuder (part of the Legal
Practice Handbook series) is available from Butterworth. This series also
contains “Effective Interviewing” by Helena Twist which gives excellent
advice on conducting interviews with clients.”
3.2.1.3 Telephone etiquette

Many clients’ first contact with a law firm is by telephone. The impression
created by the handling of that very important first phone call cannot be over
emphasised but remember that all telephone communication should be
handled in a professional manner.
• Incoming calls
Your switchboard operator (quite often also the receptionist in smaller
practices) is a very important person as far as the image of your practice
is concerned. It is therefore important to appoint an intelligent, well-
spoken, and courteous person in this position. Do not regard this
position as menial. The person handling calls can win you clients but
can also be the cause of potential clients leaving your firm, as they do
not have confidence in your firm’s ability to handle their case, after
engaging with your receptionist/telephonist, who might have sounded
rude, uninterested, or unprofessional.
Ensure that the telephone operator is well trained. If the person you
employ is not experienced, arrange for appropriate training. Private
organisations, chambers of business and Telkom provide such training.

Do not try and save a bit of money here, as such a saving (in employing
the least expensive Candidate) will be lost exponentially if the person is
made up exponentially, if the person is rude or unprofessional and
causes clients to leave your firm.
It is important that the telephone operator knows which professional

handles what type of work so that the new client is put through to the
correct person. In conveyancing practices, it is often a good idea to
have a list of instructions at the switchboard, for the switchboard
operator to be able to put through to the correct conveyancing secretary
or answer the queries directly.
Messages must be taken down correctly and with all the necessary
detail. All staff members must be compelled to return calls promptly. It
is suggested that the operator makes use of a pro-forma for him/her to
enter the necessary detail in the appropriate spaces.
To ensure that messages are taken down correctly, it is necessary to

use a telephone message form.
Here is a typical example:
P TO DATE: TIME:
H FROM: Area Code – Tel. No.
O
N M: ………………………………….
E OF: ………………………………….
M
E M
M E
O S
S
A
G
E
Phoned Came to see you Returned call
Please phone back Requests appointment
Will phone again
It should also be stated when the caller wishes to be called back.

Messages must be taken down accurately; in as far as the name,
telephone number and the matter are concerned. The receptionist
should not only write the name and the number, where the caller has

given a specific message. E.g., has the summons been served? The
specific matter the caller is enquiring about (if the Attorney is attending
to more than one matter on that client’s behalf). The caller wants a
specific answer from the Attorney who phones back and should not need
to repeat his question or query.
When taking or giving numbers, care must be taken to ensure the

accuracy. Repeat the numbers to make sure you have taken them down
correctly. It is important that the telephone operator always obtains a
contact number from the caller.
It is advisable for the telephone operator to retain the two most recent
message books; in case a number is required.
• Outgoing calls
The two available options regarding outgoing calls are: have your
secretary or the receptionist make the calls and put them through to
you and the second option is to make the calls personally. Both methods
have benefits, but the disadvantages of having another person make
your telephone calls outweigh the benefits by far. Generally, the golden
rule as far as any call made to anyone is concerned: Be on the line. Do
not let your secretary first speak to the person you are calling and ask
that person then to wait until she/he gets you on the line. It is bad
manners to do so, and such bad behaviour is often aggravated by the
Attorney not being in the office, or having taken or made another call,
and thus not being available to take the call. This irritates the person
on the other end, creates the impression that he/she is not important
to the Attorney and, worst of all, has wasted that person’s time.
Many practices have turned to voicemail to handle incoming calls. This

may be an efficient and economical way of handling calls but its worst
disadvantages are its impersonal effect and the fact that the calls are
often referred from one voicemail to another, to another.... It is
suggested that smaller firms should rather not consider this option.
However, it can be useful to relay important information while the
operator is busy. Most people prefer to speak to a human being and
make an enquiry rather than leaving messages on machines with pre-
recorded voice messages.
• Telephone directory
You should have the telephone directory of your area as well as the
other areas that you deal with regularly, available in your office. This
way, your staff will not have to make many calls to the 1023 Telkom
Enquiries number.

3.2.1.4 Provide a comfortable reception area
Your reception area and your personnel should provide a welcoming and
inviting atmosphere. Offer clients coffee, tea, or a cold beverage if they must
wait in your reception area. Your reception area should be comfortable and
neat. Your reception should always look professional. It creates a bad image
if your receptionist is eating, smoking, or reading magazines when clients
enter the reception area. If there is not enough reception and telephone duties
to keep her busy full time, delegate some other tasks to her. This way she will
not have the time to engage in personal telephone conversations from the
switchboard. Remember this is the first impression that the client will get of
your office.
Remember, create a favourable lasting first impression. It is also the duty of

the receptionist to keep the reception area tidy and clean. Magazines should
be replaced at least monthly, and newspapers should be replaced daily. Ensure
that your receptionist is aware of the responsibilities regarding the reception
area and stress to this employee the importance of first impressions.
The previous paragraph sets out the general running and certain facets of the
reception area. When starting a practice (or when refurbishing a practice) it is
necessary to keep the following in mind when deciding on your reception area
and choosing the furnishings and decorations for the reception area.
• Choose furniture that fits the scale of the room - a large room can
accommodate bulky furniture while a small room should not be
furnished with large pieces of furniture. A reception area should never
be cluttered.
• Make the area comfortable without spending an enormous amount.
• Many furniture suppliers may be willing to assist you in planning the
interior of your reception area.
• Use paintings, prints and plants to provide a warm atmosphere.
• The reception area should provide some privacy and should not be
situated where staff members must pass through all the time from one
office to another and it should not be open to scrutiny from the public
(for instance glass panels facing onto a pavement).
• Make use of natural light if possible.
• Remember: running water has a calming effect on people. Installing a
small water feature might be a good idea.
• If you have a mixed practice you may wish to consider having more
than one waiting room. This would solve the problem of your criminal
clients and your corporate clients having to rub shoulders and trying to
make small talk in the same area. If you have several interview rooms
available, it may be a good idea to take the client there to await the
Attorney concerned.

• Smoking should not be allowed in the offices, irrespective of the
individual smoking habits of your clients.
3.2.1.5 Appropriate dress

Clients believe their legal problems are serious and worthy of your concern.
Both you and your staff should dress in a manner that makes clients feel you
are professionals and can handle their problems. It is no longer necessary (nor
required) that all Attorneys have the “penguin look” (dark suit and white
shirt), but a professional (and all his staff members) should always dress in a
professional manner.
Without any guidance from the legal practice as to what it deems to be

acceptable dress in the office conflict may arise especially in South Africa with
its many diverse cultures and people who often have different ideas and taste
in clothes and the need for individuality in their dress. A written dress code in
a legal practice that is made available to all staff and incorporated as a
standard term in all contracts of employment, may assist in reducing conflict
about what is regarded as an acceptable dress code in the practice.
Naturally a practice’s dress code must be written bearing in mind the practice’s
own unique requirements and culture and after consultation with management
to determine what in their opinion an acceptable dress code is.
Below as an example, is a copy of a dress code used by one of the legal

practices in the country. Your practice may not necessarily agree with the
content of this example, but it is useful to show how the code distinguishes
between e.g., professional staff (who need to look more formal) and
administrative staff, male and female staff and “Casual Fridays”, with specific
“do’s” and “don’ts” for each category.
“1. DRESS CODE POLICY - Staff must dress neatly and reasonably conservatively
during office hours.
1.1 Dress appropriately for the business environment you are in. Consider
what your appearance tells your client about you and about the Firm.
1.2 The list is designed to be a guide. As these recommendations are often
open to interpretation, management has the right to have the final policy
implementation.
1.3 The Firm has introduced a casual dress code for Fridays.
1.4 Casual wear means that traditional office wear is not required to be worn
on a Friday. Letting go of tradition on a Friday does not mean the end of
appropriate professional work wear at the Firm.
1.5 Always remember that propriety is in the eyes of the beholder. It’s not
about policing every aspect of staff’s dress down to the fine print of the
guidelines. It’s rather about adhering to the spirit and intention of this
policy, making sure you are dressed appropriately.
1.7 Standard workday:

(a) Permitted for male professionals:
(i) Neat, tailored, trousers or suit pants with belt.
(ii) Long sleeved collared shirt.
(iii) Necktie.
(iv) Matching closed shoes with socks.
(v) Suit jacket or blazer.
(b) Not permitted for male professionals:

(i) T-shirts or shorts of any description.
(ii) Jeans.
(iii) Golf Shirts.
(iv) Track Suits.
(v) Sandals, flip-flops; tackies or running shoes.
(vi) Exposed underwear.
(vii) No messages, slogans or insignia designed to offend.
(c) Permitted for female professionals:

(i) Neat, tailored, slacks, denims, Capri and tailored shorts.
(d) Not permitted for female professionals:

(i) See-through clothing.
(ii) Flip-flops; tackies or running shoes.
(iii) Golf shirts.
(iv) Track suits.
(v) Short tops and/or low-cut pants that reveal mid sections or
underwear.
(vi) Very casual shorts and beach wear of any description.
(vii) Very short (revealing) blouses, miniskirts, and dresses.
(viii) No messages, slogans or insignia designed to offend.
1.8 Casual Day:

(a) Permitted for male professionals:
(i) Neat, tailored, trousers; chinos or cargo pants with a belt.
(ii) Collared shirt (tucked in, unless of an ethnic style that is
designed not to).
(iii) Closed shoes with socks.
(iv) Jacket or jersey.
(b) Not permitted for male professionals:

(i) T-shirts or shorts of any description.
(ii) Jeans.
(iii) Golf Shirts.
(iv) Track Suits.
(v) Sandals, flip-flops; tackies or running shoes.
(vi) Exposed underwear.
(vii) No messages, slogans or insignia designed to offend.
(c) Permitted for female professionals:

(i) Neat, office wear, suites, tailored pants, skirts, Capri Pants,
Dresses, Blouses and jackets.
(ii) Sandals, sling-back, court shoes or similar.
(d) Not permitted for female professionals:

(i) See-through clothing.
(ii) Flip-flops; tackies or running shoes.
(iii) Golf shirts.
(iv) Track suits.
(v) Short tops and or low-cut pants that reveal mid sections or
underwear.
(vi) Very casual shorts and beach wear of any description.
(vii) Very short (revealing) blouses, miniskirts, and dresses.
(viii) No messages, slogans or insignia designed to offend.
1.9 Remember you still must dress appropriately for Court appearances and
client meetings.
1.10 Formal Functions require the following dress code:
(a) Black Tie - men wear tuxedos or black suits, women wear cocktail,
long dresses, or dressy evening separates.
(b) Formal - Men wear suits and ties. Women wear office suits or cocktail
dresses.
(c) Semi-formal - Men wear suits and ties. Women wear elegant dresses
or evening separates.
(d) Smart casual - Neat shirt and pants, no tie. Jacket optional.
(e) Casual - Jeans and a neat shirt, or golf shirt.
(f) Cocktail function - Neat shirt and pants, no tie. Jacket optional.
Women wear short or long cocktail dresses or evening separates with
evening accessories.
3.2.2 OFFICE MAINTENANCE

As Practice Manager you need to be the problem solver of everything in the

office. You can’t always rely on staff to keep you informed of any problems that
they experience. It is also not the director’s responsibility to let you know that
you need to investigate a problem. You need to be everywhere every minute of
the day while you also do all your other work.
From the moment that you walk through the front door into the office you need
to look at the office as if you see it for the first time. Make a mental note of the
reception area and what is wrong or look out of place. “What will a client see if
he walks in for the first time”. A small thing like an untidy reception desk won’t
give your firm the opportunity to make a good first impression.
As Practice Manager it is your responsibility to see to the health and safety of

the staff and the clients. As time goes on you don’t see normal wear and tear,
but your clients do.
You need to inspect and maintain the following on a regular basis:

• Neatness of the office;
• Manage the office lay-out and arrange any move of furniture in the office;
• Electricity (are all the power points working and that there are no dead
bulbs anywhere);
• No hazardous objects are allowed to stand around as staff can get hurt;
• Ensure that all air conditioners are in a working order and maintained
regularly;
• Do spot checks on the bathrooms and kitchen to make sure it is clean
and disinfected on a regular basis;
• Are the water coolers maintained regularly;
• Is the furniture in the reception and boardroom areas still in a good
condition and does anything need replacement;
• Arrange to repair or replace any broken or unsafe furniture;
• Is the exterior of the office still in a neat condition and all gates, locks
and electric fencing in a good working order;
• Is the security system still in a good working order and does the panic
button work;
• Manage all keys, remotes and alarm codes given to staff and ensure the
return of the items when a staff member leaves the firms employment;
• Are the telephone system and all copiers and printers still in a good
working order and are the main entrance agreements still in place. Does
maintenance take place on a regular basis;
• Does the person ordering all the stationery still ordering the correct
toners and paper as prescribed by the supplier;
• Ensure that the carpets are cleaned professionally on a regular basis to
prevent dust mites;
• Ensure that the generator is regularly serviced, in good working order

and that it is filled so that it can be used the next time that there is load
shedding or simply a power outage.
3.2.3 FILING SYSTEM

All practices normally have fixed filing systems which all employees must be
familiar with, particularly the secretaries.
Filing refers to the systematic way of storing or keeping papers and documents
so that they may be found when wanted. Papers and documents are required
for record and reference purpose and must be easily accessible. It is therefore
necessary to design a system for the safekeeping of documentation. This
involves two parts – storage and filing – and the goal of these two processes is
to protect all necessary documentation and to make it easily accessible.
Until recently the primary medium for the transfer of information was paper.
Now, however, developments in information technology (e.g., computers) have
meant that other forms of storage and retrieval are being used. Here we shall
concentrate only on the filing of paper documentation. Computers are discussed
on the Information Technology Management module.
A proper filing system will increase the effectiveness and profitability of your
practice. It will also reduce the risk for errors, unhappy clients, and possible
claims against you.
3.2.3.1 Benefits of filing

There are important benefits for the practice if filing is effectively applied:
• Costs can be reduced because filing allows for proper management of
documentation.
• Filing contributes towards standardisation of policies and procedures.
• Responsibilities of the filing clerk can be clearly defined, as can record-
keeping procedures.
• Continual investigations into the retention and disposal of documents
and into active and inactive storage contribute keeping the office up-to-
date and efficient.
3.2.3.2 Requirements of an effective filing system

They are the following:
• Safety. The filing system must be secure enough to prevent loss,
removal, or damage of files. Ideally filing cabinets should be locked and
they should be fireproof.
• Dustproof. If the system is dustproof, the files will last longer (and be
less messy for the filing clerk).
• Accessibility. The system should allow a file to be traced rapidly and
easily. Some systems even have an index system, which assists in the

process.
• Suitability. The system selected must suit the needs of the practice –
factors such as the size of the files, the kinds of documents and the
frequency that the system will be used must be taken into account when
selecting a system.
• Adaptability. The system must be able to expand and adapt to the
changes in the practice.
• Currency. Documents should only be kept as long as they are required.
After that they should be taken to the archives.
• Floor space. Floor space costs money, so the system should be as
compact as possible.
3.2.3.3 Current files

It is not desirable that the filing cabinets and files be stored in the Attorney’s
office. Anyone needing access to the file, such as staff, has to enter the
Attorney’s office to retrieve a file, possibly interrupting a client interview or
other important work. If your firm consists of more than one department, it
may be more efficient to have files of each department located together within
the department.
It is a good idea to have your cabinets in the office of your secretary, which
will enable her to locate files and answer queries on them. She can then also
handle incoming mail and filing of documents in the different files. It should
be stressed to your secretary that it is her/his responsibility to keep the files
neat and tidy. Your secretary should at all times know where to find a specific
file and nobody may remove a file from the cabinet without her knowledge.
3.2.3.4 Classification and filing of material

The following are the most common ways of classifying materials:
• Personal
In this method of classification, a separate file is opened for each
correspondent or client. The file is then marked with the client’s name
(surname, then initials). This means therefore that the first letter of the
surname will indicate the position of the file in the drawer. The files are
filed alphabetically.
• According to subject
In this system the files are grouped according to their subject content.
The files are then filed alphabetically according to the subject.
Correspondence is then filed according to the subject matter of the topic
under which it falls.
• Geographical classification
In this system the areas in which the practice does business are divided

into geographical areas and separate files are kept for each area.
• Alphabetical filing
Here files are kept in strict alphabetical order. If two surnames are the
same, consider the initials and file according to those.
3.2.4 OPENING OF FILES

It is important to open a separate file for each new client. Each client matter
should be individually opened as a file, recorded in the office system,
documented, and followed up.
When you represent two or more parties in the same matter, you should
consider whether you should open separate files for each client or whether you
should open separate sub-files in one master file. In such a case you should
ensure that there is no conflict (or perceived conflict) of interest, and you should
communicate to both parties that you are representing other parties in this
matter as well.
In many instances, there will not be a conflict, e.g., if you represent more than
one worker who has been unfairly dismissed by the same employer, but in other
matters there are clear conflicts, e.g., if you represent both the husband and
the wife in a divorce matter. This could sound ludicrous, that an Attorney can
even contemplate representing both parties in a divorce, but often the parties
have reached a settlement amongst themselves, and they just need someone
to formalise the process for them. Even in such a case, it should be treated with
extreme caution, as there is a huge potential for conflicts (even if only later in
the process) and the Attorney should seriously consider referring one of the
clients (or both) to other firms.
The first document in the file should be the written mandate from the client
(opening sheet). The opening sheet should contain enough basic information
about the client to open the file and to enter the relevant information in your
computer system. To prevent any future problems, it is also important to
indicate on your opening sheet that you have discussed the difference between
the various cost scales with your client and that he/she understands that.
The opening sheet should contain the following:

• Client’s full names;
• Residential address;
• Home telephone number;
• Work address;
• Work telephone number;
• Work facsimile number;
• E-mail address;
• Occupation;

• Two addresses of family members;
• Opposing party’s name;
• Opposing Attorney’s name;
• Subject matter of the file;
• The date the file is opened;
• Deposit;
• Arrangements regarding payment;
• Identity number;
• Full names of spouse;
• Identity number of spouses.
The opening sheet is then given to the accounting department/relevant staff

member to capture the information on the computer system.
When the file is opened it should contain the client’s name, file number, account
number, subject matter, and the name of the opposition.
The file index should also be updated on a continuous basis.
The index system will be the most accessible list of all the files in the office. It
should be arranged alphabetically. You may have several types of active file
lists such us:
• One for the whole firm;
• For your department;
• For each Attorney.
There are four main benefits in maintaining an index:

• The firm has a current record of all files.
• It will give you an indication of the files under your control.
• It will give an indication of your workload and serve as a general reminder
of your responsibilities.
• If you store files numerically, the index list can be used to find the file
number and then locate the file (this will not be necessary if you use the
alphabetical or alpha-numeric method).
If you open files by using a computer list and include the information in your
opening sheet on the computer, you have already created a client database,
which can be used for easy reference, a marketing tool, and a management
record.
3.2.5 REMINDER SYSTEM

The only way to keep deadlines and work flowing is to have a good reminder
system. Such a system also helps you reduce stress and avoid complaints of

not giving proper attention to the affairs of your client. Always ensure that you
diarise your files for a future date whenever you work on a specific file. Your
secretary should enter these dates into a separate diary and the diarised files
must be drawn on the specific dates as indicated on the file and in the diary
held by your secretary. You should stress the importance of this system to your
secretary, and it will be her/his responsibility to ensure that all the files are
diarised, and the dates properly entered into her/his diary.
It should be noted that there are certain computer programs, which enable you
to diarise the files on your computer system. This enables you to print a list of
files that needs attention at the start of each day.
It is important not to skip a day of drawing your diarised files and to give your
immediate attention to them. To ensure that you do not skip any diarised files,
it is a good practice to go through your cabinet once a month to make sure that
none of the files have been overlooked.
3.2.5.1 The mechanics of the practice-wide reminder system

There should be a firm-wide reminder system, as one cannot rely on all
professionals to operate their own personal system conscientiously.
A firm-wide (or department-wide) system entails that every professional in

that firm/department diarises the event for a particular date or sets the
reminder in his/her diary. However, there is a safety net in most computerised
systems in that the system sends the reminder to another person if the first
person has not reacted to it within a day or two. If the second person also
does not react within the specified time, it is sent to a third person. This
prevents a matter from receiving no attention while the professional (or
person dealing with the matter) is on leave or out of the office.
Smaller firms can also use a manual reminder system – making use of a hard
copy diary, with great success. While A is on leave, B will then take A’s diary
and attend to all the matters that have been written into the diary for the days
on which A will be out of the office.
In all cases where one staff member will be out of the office for a few days (or
longer) for whatever reason, his/her responsibilities should be delegated to
another. It creates a very bad impression if a client phones to speak to X and
is told that X is on study leave. “Who is taking care of his/her practice in
his/her absence?” “Nobody”. The client would not expect of the person that
the responsibilities have been delegated to have as much insight into X’s files
as X, but such a person should at least be able to answer simple questions
regarding the progress of the matter and the like.
• All copies will be sent to the responsible employee.

• Establish who will put the reminder form into the system chronologically
according to reminder date.
• On reminder date one copy of the reminder form will be sent to the
submitting Attorney.
• Other copies remain in system according to action date.
• On completion of action the submitting Attorney crosses the reminder
form copy out, signing and dating and returning it to responsible
employee.
• The responsible employee will, on receipt of crossed out and signed
copy from submitting Attorney, remove the remaining reminder form
copies from the system.
• When on the reaction date the original reminder has not been returned,
the responsible employee will then repeat the process with the second
copy of the reminder form.
• The responsible employee should at this stage also phone the
submitting Attorney and the case partner (if applicable).
• The final copy of the form will then be put back into the system
according to the deadline date.
• If at the deadline date no response has been received from the
submitting Attorney and/or case partner, the responsible employee will
contact both again as well as the appropriate senior Attorney/Director.
• The practice-wide reminder system’s success depends on the initiative
and alertness of the people involved in the system.
3.2.6 CLOSED FILES

Once the Practitioner’s mandate has been finalised and all fees and expenses
paid by the client, the file concerned can be closed. This will normally be done
by the removal of the file from the filing cabinet and the preparation thereof for
storage in the firm’s archive.
Documents belonging to the client must be recovered from the file and handed
back. Other important documents, for example contract documents and notarial
documents, must be recovered and, if not handed to the client, be kept in a
safe place.
Practice has proven that the allocation of a further chronological reference

number to the closed file linking up with its initial reference and recorded in the
register makes retrieval of such closed file easier. A number such as 1/10 could,
for example, be allocated to a file indicating it to be the first file closed in 2010.
The closed files can be stored in the archive consecutively numbered in this
way. It is then very simple, when necessary to retrieve the file, to refer to the
register for identification.
It is good practice to have a separate index book for the closed files to enable
you to easily locate the file in the closed filing system. It is also a good idea to

file these files by using a numerical method (as discussed above). Numbers
should be allocated sequentially to the file. The files are then filed in their
numerical order as indicated in the index book for the closed files. After a period
of five years, the files can be destroyed, unless the client has made another
arrangement with the firm or has specifically requested to have the documents
returned to him.
An example of such an index may be as follows:
Number File Number Parties Date Closed Department
Section 29 of the Tax Administration Act No. 28 of 2011, stipulates that tax-
related documentation be kept for 5 years.
Section 155 of the Insolvency Act No. 24 of 1936, stipulates that after six
months have elapsed as from the confirmation by the Master of the Final
Trustees’ Account in any insolvent estate, the trustee may, with the consent in
writing of the Master, destroy all books and documents in his possession
relating to the estate. Practitioners should therefore take care to adhere to
statutory stipulations in respect of the retention of records.
Paragraph 35.4 of the Code of Conduct requires that counsel shall keep and
preserve records of account, in either physical or electronic format, up to date,
for five years or for such longer period as may be required by any law (see
note below*), and hold them available for inspection by the Council at all times.
Such records of account shall accurately record every fee marked, the instructing
Attorneys or other accredited entities who gave the briefs, the nature of the
service rendered, the dates of performance, and every payment received.
*Rule 54.9 of the LPC Rules requires trust account Legal Practitioners,
that is Attorneys and s34(2)(b) Advocates, to keep accounting records
and files for 7 years.
In practice you will be well advised to retain closed files for at least seven years.
3.2.7 IMPORTANCE OF THE EFFECTIVE HANDLING OF CORRESPONDENCE

The large amount of mail-handled daily by the Post Office is an indication of the
importance of letters as a means of communication in commerce. Of the
different methods of communication, viz, the letter, the telephone and personal
contact, the letter is by far the most general; hence the importance of proper
handling of correspondence where all inward and outward mail is to be
expeditiously disposed of. All e-mails need to be handled the same as any letter
received via post. Wherever we talk about mail it indicates mail via post as well
as e-mail.

3.2.7.1 Mail and document handling
All incoming mail and documents should immediately be filed in the relevant
file for the attention of the Attorney. Files with new mail and documents should
be drawn together with the diarised file for the specific day, to enable the
Attorney to give immediate attention to the incoming documents. This will
ensure that the Attorney promptly gives attention to correspondence and new
documents received.
The most important task of an Attorney will be to give immediate attention to

the diarised files together with the incoming mail and documents. It is not a
good practice to leave incoming mail and documents on the file to give
attention to them on the dates the files have been diarised for. This will
ultimately lead to complaints, either from the client or a colleague. A good
suggestion is to indicate the urgency of the letter by means of a stamp or
urgent sticker.
Rather than keeping a pile of files in your office, it is a better practice to diarise
such files for three or four days ahead and get them back into your cabinet to
be drawn on the diarised dates. To gather files in your office is just another
method of not giving attention to these files. These files tend to get moved
from the one corner of your desk to the other without you doing anything
about them. It is thus important to keep your files in the system.
3.2.7.2 Handling of incoming mail

The size of the practice, the types of legal duties it performs and the way it is
organised will determine how its incoming and outgoing mail is handled. In a
small practice the directors will deal with the mail, whereas in a large practice
the administration department will handle all incoming and outgoing
correspondence. The partners should not be turned into mail clerks, but it has
its advantages to have a good idea of the mail coming into and leaving the
firm. The head of the administration department will appoint a mail clerk.
3.2.7.3 Duties of the mail clerk

He/she will empty the Post Office box or fetch a sealed mail bag from the Post
Office (or send a messenger to do so) and opens all letters and parcels in the
presence of a senior, using a paper knife or a letter-opening machine.
Envelopes should be torn apart to ensure that nothing remains inside. All
letters are stamped with the date of receipt, because, in the event of delays
leading to disputes, the date of receipt is important.
Money such as bank notes, postal orders and money-orders must first be
entered in a remittance register and be handed to the cashier, who must sign
for the money handed to him (see example). Luckily very few people send
bank notes in the mail nowadays. Many clients prefer to make direct deposits
into the Attorney’s bank account, as this is a very convenient way of dealing
with payments and is preferred by many clients. The invoice should bear the

Attorney’s trust bank account number and other relevant details.
3.2.7.4 Sorting incoming mail

The mail will be sorted into trays according to the number of departments and
the division of duties among them. This is often done by a mail clerk, but it
has advantages to have an Attorney present at the opening of the mail, as
this gives him a good idea of the activities within the firm and gives him the
opportunity to peruse any possible complaints or letters from clients
expressing their dissatisfaction with the firm or any of its staff.
The Attorney receives all confidential letters, replies to letters written to him,
letters of application for employment, serious complaints, important letters
from business associations, the bank manager, etc. There can, however, be
no hard and fast rule. Letters may first be sent to the department concerned,
where it will be decided which letters are important enough to be referred to
the Attorney.
The accounts department receives statements of accounts, reports on financial
standing of clients and all correspondence in connection with overdue accounts
and financial matters.
The cashier (sometimes the bookkeeper) receives money orders, postal

orders, etc. He/she then makes out a receipt (normally electronically) so that
the payment is immediately allocated to the correct file.
3.2.7.5 Handling outgoing mail

The outgoing mail may consist of letters, orders, invoices, and statements of
accounts, bills, receipts, parcels, and pleadings.
A mail clerk or dispatch clerk oversees the outgoing mail and the duties
involved are:
• Preparing all mail for dispatch, either by hand or by post,
• He/she makes up parcels securely and affixes the necessary stamps,
• He/she keeps an adequate stock of stamps on hand, if a franking
machine is not in use,
• Entering mail matters for local (personal) delivery into a Delivery book,
which must be checked after the deliveryman, has made his rounds.
3.2.7.6 Outgoing mail procedures

Outgoing mail is handled as follows:
• All answers to letters received are drafted by responsible persons or
dictated to typists.
• The typists type the answers in duplicate, taking care that the reference
number appears on each letter and that the number of enclosures is
indicated.

• The letters then go back to the authors. They read them carefully and
either sign them or send them to the supervisor/Attorney for signature.
• The letters then go to the general office, where the mail clerk puts them
in their envelopes, together with any enclosures and affixes the
necessary stamps. When large numbers of circulars, accounts or
receipts must be sent out, windowed envelopes are generally used, and
the stamps affixed, or stamp impressions put on by a franking machine.
• The mail clerk records all letters in a Postage book or Outgoing mail
register which serves as a record of the mail dispatch and also of the
stamps bought and used. The cashier should check the postage book at
least once a week to see whether the cash and the stamps on hand
agree with the balance shown.
• When registered post is mailed, the clerk also enters it into the outgoing
mail register. If there are many items to be registered, a separate
postage book or register is kept for registered mail. The Post Office
recently introduced a computerised system that prints out receipts
containing all the relevant information plus a tracking number. Keep all
the receipts safely in a file. Mail is registered to make its transition safe.
• Handling registered post involves a lot of work. To reduce the amount
of work, the Post Office has introduced a scheme whereby post can be
certified. A green label with a number is pasted on the letter and then
posted in the usual way. The mail clerk enters the details in the Register
for Certified Mail.
• Mail can also be sent by courier services or the fast mail service of the
Post Office.
• The legal profession is also privileged that a Docex mailing service is
available to them. An annual fee is paid, and post is delivered all over
the country to Docex boxes.
3.3 COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

As Practice Manager it is your responsibility to ensure that the firm is compliant
with all statutes and Regulations.
3.3.1 STATUTORY COMPLIANCE

The following is a list of statutes one should be familiar with in this context:
• Legal Practice Act No. 28 of 2014;
• Rules of the LPC;
• Code of Conduct determined by the LPC;
• Consumer Protection Act No. 68 of 2008;
• Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962;
• VAT Act No. 89 of 1991;
• Unemployment Insurance Act No. 63 of 2001;
• Tax Administration Act No. 28 of 2011;
• Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act No. 53 of 2003;

• Skills Development Act No. 97 of 1998;
• Basic Conditions of Employment Act No. 75 of 1997;
• Labour Relations Act No. 66 of 1995;
• Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act No. 130 of
1993;
• Regulations of Local Authority;
• Financial Intelligence Centre Act No. 38 of 2001;
• Protection of Personal Information Act No. 4 of 2013;
• Promotion of Access to Information Act No. 2 of 2000;
• And where Legal Practitioners provide Financial or Intermediary
Services, the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act No. 37
of 2002 and related legislation.
3.3.2 CONTRACTUAL COMPLIANCE

Attorneys on the panels for larger corporations will have service level
agreements in place and the Practice Manager should make sure that they read
and understand all service level agreements and ensure that the firm is
compliant. Some corporate clients will prescribe a minimum requirement for
your computer equipment and software. You will have to make sure that staff,
managers, and directors know what is expected from them regarding feedback
and reports.
One should even ensure that when a client such as a bank prescribed that only
a Conveyancer is allowed to sign documents with clients that your firm adheres
to this requirement.
A practice should comply with the Regulations of SARS to obtain a tax clearance
certificate. You will need a tax clearance certificate for any bank, government
work or some other tenders that one does. Bankers may also insist on a tax
clearance certificate before renewing your firm’s overdraft or finance facility.
3.3.3 PUBLIC TENDER COMPLIANCE

Some practices do tender work for the government, and you will have a service
level agreement with the government institution giving you instructions. If your
firm doesn’t comply with these Regulations, you will risk losing a client.
3.3.4 PROFESSION COMPLIANCE

As seen in 3.1 there are also several requirements to comply with from the
Legal Practice Council. Does your firm have Fidelity Fund certificates for all the
directors, and do you have a “Good standing certificate” on your file? You will
only award a Good standing certificate if your directors have Fidelity Fund
certificates, their membership fees are paid up to date and that the trust audit
report are submitted on time and that any or all queries are resolved.

3.4 RISK MANAGEMENT
3.4.1 INTRODUCTION
There are various factors that can cause a legal practice to suffer damages and
loss. These include damages suffered because of professional negligence or
unethical legal behaviour on the part of the Legal Practitioners, damage to or
loss of the property of the legal practice and theft of property or money.
Risk management essentially consist of two components: taking steps to

prevent damage from occurring and the resultant financial loss being suffered
by the practice, and what to do once damage has occurred to minimise the loss
as much as possible.
Preventing damage and loss because of professional negligence is the duty of

every Legal Practitioner in the practice. This is essentially done by the Legal
Practitioner acting with the necessary care, skill and diligence while rendering
legal services to clients. It is however important to remember that the Legal
Practitioners can be held liable for the actions or omissions of their staff as well.
It is accordingly necessary for the Practice Manager as well as the
administrative staff in a legal practice to have a general knowledge of what is
ethically required from a Legal Practitioner so that they do not contravene these
principles while performing their daily duties.
Preventing damage to and theft of property in a legal practice, is an

administrative duty performed by the Practice Manager. This entails setting
policies and procedures in place to minimise loss by preventing damage and
theft, by purchasing insurance and regularly reviewing the practice’s insurance
cover to ensure that it is properly insured against loss.
It is important to realise that having insurance itself does not eliminate risk and
does not entirely relieve the insured legal practice of its obligation to take
reasonable steps to minimise the risk of damage or theft. Having insurance,
simply transfers the major cost of bearing the loss from the legal practice (the
insured) to another legal entity (the insurance company or insurer). Of course,
insurance policies also have their own terms and conditions that insured legal
practices must comply with before the insurance company will pay out a claim
and it is important to incorporate these terms and conditions into the legal
practice’s own staff policies to ensure compliance with the insurer’s
requirements.
Not all risks are insurable. Risk such as loss brought about by competition in
the industry or economic conditions, are not insurable.
Some practices may also choose not to buy insurance for certain, otherwise
insurable assets e.g., laptops or tablets. In such an instance management
should then devise and implement other measures and policies to limit the risk
of loss.

Legal practices who elect to minimise the risk of loss by buying insurance cover
should identify the risks which their specific practice face. Once this is done, it
is important to find out exactly what different types of insurance cover there
are, obtaining a few different quotes to determine what the cover would cost
and what the practice can afford to pay.
It is advisable to employ the services of a reputable insurance broker or

insurance underwriter (insurance company), who is familiar with your type of
practice, to advise you exactly what risks can be covered, and the costs
involved.
We will focus on the short-term insurance requirements of a legal practice and

some risk management practices that can be applied within the firm. The short-
term insurance requirements can be divided into two categories:
• Professional indemnity insurance and insurance for misappropriation of
trust funds; and
• Office insurance.
3.4.2 THE PRESCRIPTION ALERT PROGRAMME OF THE LPIIF

This is available at no cost to all Practitioners dealing with time-barred matters.
The programme requires Practitioners to register all their clients’ time-barred
matters, and they are then alerted to the approach of prescription dates at
intervals of 3 months, 2 months, 1 month, 2 weeks, 1 week and before 1 day
the claim prescribes.
It should also be borne in mind that the professional indemnity policy issued by
the Legal Practitioners Insurance Indemnity Fund for Legal Practitioners
provides that should a claim in terms of the policy arise from a time-barred
matter which has prescribed and is not registered with ‘Prescription Alert’, or if
the system is not used properly, the Practitioner will be required to pay an
additional deductible over and above the applicable basic deductible. Access
detailed information at: https://lpiif.co.za
3.4.2.1 A risk management kit issued by the LPIIF

The kit contains a:
• List of important statutes and their time-barring provisions;
• Simple and effective filing system; and
• Checklist for MVA/RAF matters.
The kit is available at no cost from the Legal Practitioners Insurance Indemnity
Fund, (previously PO Box 3062, Cape Town, Docex 149, Cape Town)
Currently:
PHYSICAL ADDRESS
Office: 1256 Heuwel Road, Centurion, 0157

POSTAL ADDRESS
Postal Address: PO Box 12189, Die Hoewes, 0163
Docex 24 Centurion
Phone: (012) 622 3900

Email: [email protected]
See the useful LPIIF Risk Management Tips for legal practices which can be
downloaded at https://lpiif.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Risk-
Management-Tips.pdf
Legal Practitioners should annually complete the Risk Management

Questionnaire which can be downloaded at http://lpiif.co.za/wp-
content/uploads/2018/01/Self-Assessment-Form-2016-2017.pdf
3.4.3 PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE AND COVER FOR

MISAPPROPRIATION OF TRUST FUNDS
The cover received from the Legal Practitioners Insurance Indemnity Fund
(LPIIF) and the misappropriation protection provided by the Legal Practitioners’
Fidelity Fund (LPFF) is the “minimum” compulsory cover which a Legal
Practitioner and legal practice must have to practice in the legal profession.
There are other insurance products available on the market which provides
“Top-Up” cover for professional negligence in the legal profession, but they are
in addition to the LPIIF and the LPFF and are not meant to be an alternative to
the LPIIF and LPFF.
To understand the insurance cover available for Legal Practitioners, it is

important that you understand the difference between the professional
indemnity cover provided by the LPIIF and the LPFF.
3.4.4 LEGAL PRACTITIONER INSURANCE INDEMNITY FUND (LPIIF)

3.4.4.1 LPIIF provides professional indemnity insurance (PI) to Legal
Practitioners.
The LPIIF is a registered short-term insurer. It is funded by the Legal
Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund by way of a single annual premium.
LPIIF cover is automatic i.e., all Legal Practitioners with a Fidelity Fund
certificate have this insurance cover. Basic cover is provided at no cost to
Legal Practitioners. The period covered by the policy runs from 1 July of the
first year to 30 June of the following year. It is advisable for the Practice
Manager to download and peruse the LPIIF’s policy terms and conditions at
least once a year when the new cover period comes into operation to ensure
that he/she keeps abreast of any possible amendments to the policy cover
and bring such changes to the attention of the professional staff.

Additional cover or “Top-Up” cover is available for Practitioners who want to
increase the amount of their insurance cover depending on the nature of their
practice.
3.4.4.2 Nature of Cover

• Indemnity is afforded to every individual Practitioner, firm, partnership
or incorporated practice who:-
o is practising in South Africa at the time that the claim arose,
and
o has a Fidelity Fund certificate,
o is extended to also cover former Practitioners, Candidate
Attorneys and other employees of legal practices (collectively
known as the “insured”).
• It covers the insured’s legal liability:

o To any client or third party who alleges that they have suffered
loss or damage; arising out of the negligent act, error, or
omission of the insured in the conduct of his/her profession; and
which is the subject of a claim first made on the insured during
the period of insurance irrespective
o of when the liability arose.
• The indemnity covers all costs, fees and expenses incurred in the
investigation, defence or settlement of any claim(s) made against the
insured as well as the cost of representation at any hearing, inquest,
enquiry, or other proceedings which may be relevant when the claim is
made.
3.4.4.3 Claiming under the PI-cover

As soon as an insured becomes aware of a claim, they should give written
notice to the insurer. An insured may become aware of a potential claim in
one of the following three ways:
• He/she becomes aware of circumstances which may give rise to a claim
e.g., the client’s claim has become prescribed in his/her hands;
• He/she is advised verbally or in writing of a third party’s intention to
institute a claim;
• He/she receives a letter of demand or summons.
Notice can be given to:

Legal Practitioners Insurance Indemnity Fund NPC, 1256 Heuwel Avenue,
Centurion or PO Box 12189, Die Hoewes, 0163 or Docex 24, Centurion or
Email: [email protected] or Telephone No. + 27 (0)12 622 3900

3.4.4.4 Limits of Indemnity and “Top-Up” Cover
The limits of indemnity and deductibles (co-payment by the insured) are
determined by the number of Principals (partners or directors) in the legal
practice at the date on which the cause of action giving rise to the claim arose.
The Professional Indemnity Insurance Policy applicable from 1 July 2021 to 30

June 2022 can be downloaded at
https://lpiif.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-2022-Master-Policy-
Final.pdf .
3.4.4.5 Extent of Cover of the Policy

In terms of the current scheme legal practices have the following cover per
annum, practices with:
• 1- 6 Principals are afforded R1 562 500;
• 7 - 13 Principals are entitled to an increased limit on a tiered structure
with a maximum aggregate of R3 046 875;
• More than 14 Principals are afforded an aggregate of R3 125 000.
The deductibles (co-payment) range from R20 000.00 for sole Practitioners to
R180 000.00 for practices with 14 or more Principals. Conveyancing and RAF
matters have higher deductibles, ranging from R35 000.00 to R315 000.00.
Depending on the nature of the practice, the above cover may not be
sufficient. Practitioners should accordingly consider “Top-Up” cover to meet
the practice’s specific requirements.
It is important that Practitioners and the office manager familiarise themselves
with the policy wording and ensure that they stay abreast of the amounts of
the indemnity provided and the deductibles. All of this information can be
gained from the AIIF’s website: www.aiif.co.za.
3.4.4 COVER FOR MISAPPROPRIATION OF TRUST MONEY

The Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund (LPFF) is a statutory body regulated in
terms of the Legal Practice Act No. 28 of 2014. Its objective is to protect the
public against loss because of theft and/or misappropriation of trust funds by
Legal Practitioners or their employees.
3.4.4.1 Fund of last resort

The LPFF is a fund of last resort. This means that the LPFF does not cover
Legal Practitioners against theft or misappropriation of trust money. A client
or third party whose trust funds have been stolen or misappropriated, first
must exhaust all means to recover payment from the Legal Practitioner,
partners, or directors of the practice, before the LPFF will come to the client
or third party’s assistance by paying the balance still owing.
Consequently, all the practices’ assets and all the partners or directors’ entire

personal estates are at the disposal of clients or third parties in the event of
any of the Legal Practitioners or employees in the practice stealing or
misappropriating trust money or trust property.
It is accordingly prudent to implement systems and develop policies in the

practice to prevent the theft or misappropriation of trust money. The practice’s
auditors should be able to provide you with some advice on policies and
procedures that could be implemented in the practice to limit the risk of theft
of trust money. Legal Practitioners should also consider buying insurance to
protect themselves against loss arising from theft or misappropriation of trust
money or trust property by their employees.
For more information, see the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund website at
www.lpff.co.za.
3.4.5 OFFICE INSURANCE

This portion of the module deals with the typical short-term insurance
requirements of a legal practice. It is recommended that you employ the
services of a reputable and experienced insurance broker to assist you in finding
the appropriate cover that meets with all of practice’s requirements. What
follows is a broad indication of the nature of cover that your practice may
require.
• Property Insurance
This type of insurance relates to building and office content.
• Buildings combined
This provides cover for buildings (structures) including fixtures and
fittings inside and outside the building and certain additional
contingencies discussed below
Building, including gates, posts, fences and retaining walls is insured
against
o Fire, lightning, thunderbolts, explosion;
o Storm, wind, water, hail, snow;
o Earthquake (ensure to read the policy properly for exclusions or
conditions);
o Aircraft or other aerial devices or articles dropped there from
 Impact by a vehicle, animal or falling tree.
• Public Supply Connections
o Accidental damage to water, sewerage, gas, electricity, and
telephone connections being the property of the insured or for
which the insured is legally liable.
• Rental Income

o Loss of rent because of the property being so damaged by any of
the perils listed above, as to be rendered un-rentable to a third
party;
o This will only cover the period necessary to repair and reinstate
the property to a state that renders it rentable again;
o The amount of the cover will not exceed 25% of the sum insured
on the affected property.
• Liability
This covers damage for which the practice may become liable to pay
consequent upon the:
o accidental death, bodily injury to or illness of any person; or
o accidental loss of or physical damage to tangible property;
o occurring during the period of insurance, in or about the property
insured and arising from the legal practice’s ownership thereof.
• Office Content
This type of insurance provides cover for office content, excluding
computer equipment, which must be insured separately, and certain
additional contingencies as listed below.
o Contents is insured against:
 Fire, lightning, thunderbolts, explosion;
 Storm, wind, water, hail, snow;
 Earthquake (ensure to read the policy properly for
exclusions or conditions);
 Aircraft or other aerial devices or articles dropped there-
from;
 Impact by a vehicle or animal or falling tree;
 Theft or any attempt thereat, other than by a Principal,
partner, director, or employee of the insured (the latter can
be purchased as additional cover);
 Accidental damage or breakage or mirrors, glass tops of
furniture or fixed glass forming part of any article of
furniture.
Values should be determined in the basis of new replacement costs
projected for the period of insurance.
• Rent
This covers the rent actually incurred where the office premises or
portion thereof is so damaged that it is rendered uninhabitable, and the
practice has to incur additional costs in the form of rental paid to lease
other premises for a period of time until the damaged premises is
habitable again.
• Documents
o This covers loss or damage of documents normally kept at the

office premises by any peril not otherwise specifically excluded in
the policy;
o The term document includes films, tapes, books, records, maps,
plans, drawings, abstracts, deeds, wills, mortgages, agreements,
manuscripts, certificates, documents used or owned by the insured
practice or for which they are responsible, excluding money (for
which separate cover must be purchased).
• Legal Liability Documents
This provides cover where legal liability is as a direct consequence of a
loss or damage to documents as described above and in respect of which
payment, reinstatement or repair has been made.
• Business interruption
Covers the estimated increased costs of operating the legal practice if
the premises become un-rentable following loss or damage to the
building of the insured.
• Loss of revenue
Covers the loss of income that a legal practice may suffer after a disaster.
The loss of revenue may be due to disaster-related closing of the practice
or due to the rebuilding process after a disaster.
It differs from property insurance in that a property insurance policy only
covers the physical damage to the building and its content, while the
additional coverage allotted covers the profits that would have been
earned had the practice remained operational. This extra policy provision
is applicable to all types of businesses, as it is designed to put a business
in the same financial position it would have been in if no loss had
occurred.
• Accounts receivable
Provides cover in the event of loss or damage to the insured’s accounting
records or other business records because of which the insured is unable
to trace or establish the outstanding debit balance in whole or in part due
to it.
• Money insurance
Covers loss of money at an insured’s premises or in transit to or from
any bank or Post Office.
• Business “all-risk”
Provides for “all risk” cover in respect of specified items. Items commonly
covered by this type of insurance are Car radios, cell phones, works of
art, laptops, iPads, tablets, employees’ personal effects, office calculators
and other equipment that are likely to be taken off the premises.
• Accidental damage
Extends the insurance cover of office content to provide for accidental
damage not otherwise covered. This will cover equipment like cell phones

accidentally dropped and not otherwise covered.
• Public Liability (“Slip and Trip”)
This provides indemnity for liability to third parties arising from loss or
damage to property or injury to people on or about the premises e.g.,
when someone slips, trips, or falls on the premises and is injured as a
result thereof.
• Employer’s Liability
Provides cover for the insured as employer for the death of or injury to
employees in instances not covered by the Compensation for
Occupational Injuries and Diseases Fund but for which the employer can
none the less still be held liable.
• Group personal accident
Provides for fixed benefits or benefits linked to annual income of
employees in respect of accidental death, permanent disablement,
temporary disablement, and medical expenses.
• Motor vehicle
Covers specified vehicles owned by the insured or for which the insured
is liable. Special facilities are available for professional people.
• Fidelity guarantee
Provides cover and indemnifies the practice against the loss or
misappropriation by an employee of trust money or property, for which
the practice is responsible.
• Loss of Data
Although proper back-ups should be kept on and off-site, once data is
lost due to theft, ransomware, fire, computer malfunctioning, or some
other cause, there is a cost to the time and inconvenience of reloading
the backed-up data. Insurance cover for such loss cushions the blow in
such a stressful period.
3.4.6 RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

For those risks not covered by insurance, put together a contingency plan for
handling each of the risks identified. Train all employees in what to do if any of
these (or other) emergencies arise. Put your plan in a place where it can be
located quickly, if needed. Have an extra copy in a safe location.
Review your plan annually, including input from all employees.

• Manage cash in your business
o Use pre-numbered receipts to track payments from clients;
o Reconcile your monthly bank statement for both deposits made,
for example electronic payments;
o Have a file (or box) where you place all cash receipts so that you

can have documentation of cash transactions;
o If possible, rotate the responsibilities of the staff in your
bookkeeping department;
o Make sure you have proper procedures in place when trust or
business payments are requested;
o All payments must be authorised by a director or Practice
Manager;
o Do spot checks on payments requested to ensure that it is a
legitimate request.
3.4.7 STRATEGIC RISK

Strategic risks including management changes or loss of reputation. The
resignation or death of a director or a bad judgement will cost your firm dearly.
There is no insurance for the loss of your reputation. You need all your policies,
procedures, and controls in place to prevent the loss of your reputation.
3.4.8 LONG TERM INSURANCE

This is usually called your “key man policy”. This is life insurance when key
people, like your directors, may fall away. It is easy to replace a secretary or
even a professional assistant within a reasonable time, but it is not so easy to
replace a director. You just don’t take the first Candidate with a good CV as a
new director. This person needs to fit in with the culture of the business and be
able to contribute to the business about their speciality of client base. It could
take months to replace a director and in the interim your business needs to
survive. You don’t have to renew your key man policy every year. Only when
circumstances change the Practice Manager need to make sure that the
insurance company is updated with the new details.
3.5 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

As a Practice Manager you need a good knowledge of finance management. The
firm’s bookkeeping is done by bookkeepers, but you as Practice Manager will have
to manage the finances of the firm that include liaising with the auditors regarding
the trust and business audit of the firm. With your knowledge of the LPC
requirements, you will have to make sure that all financial procedures are enforced.
It is also your responsibility to make sure your audit report is submitted to the LPC
(at the relevant Provincial Council) within the prescribed period and that any
qualifications are addressed. You will have to do spot checks on the weekly and
monthly reports from the bookkeeping staff. You won’t be able to do this task
properly if you don’t have any knowledge of Attorney’s bookkeeping and finance
management.
3.5.1 BUDGETS
It is your responsibility to do the budgets of the firm. With your knowledge of
the financial history of the firm and a good prediction of the year ahead you will
draw the budgets of the firm for approval by the directors. You will also have
to implement the budget and maintain it monthly. The Practice Manager reports

back to the directors on budgets and point out challenges for the year ahead.
Usually, your directors and staff won’t know the difference between targets and
budgets, maybe due to the lack of knowledge or just because it suits them to
ignore the term budget. You need to remind directors and especially staff
involved with marketing that there is a budget and how to maintain their own
budget. Give them the responsibility to inform you of their requirement for the
year ahead and manage their own budget and they will soon realise that they
can’t just spend. To share the responsibility will educate them as well.
An example of a law practice budget:

A & B PARTNERSHIP INCOME STATEMENT
BUDGET COMPARISONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 1 FEBRUARY 20--
Variance
INCOME Actual Budgeted (fav/(unfav.)
Prof fees 4 600 000,00 5 000 000,00 -400 000,00
EXPENDITURE
Salaries & Wages 1 600 000,00 1 500 000,00 100 000,00
Office Rental 400 000,00 400 000,00 0,00
Electr. & Services 180 000,00 100 000,00 80 000,00
Motor Expenses 250 000,00 300 000,00 -50 000,00
Rental Equipment 120 000,00 120 000,00 0,00
Telephone & Stamps 130 000,00 140 000,00 -10 000,00
Printing & stationery 100 000,00 150 000,00 -50 000,00
Interest paid 60 000,00 50 000,00 10 000,00
Bank Charges 120 000,00 90 000,00 30 000,00
Depreciation 42 000,00 42 000,00 0,00
Travelling and Entertainment 12 500,00 20 000,00 -7 500,00
Maintenance & Repairs 54 000,00 50 000,00 4 000,00
Data (internet, fibre, etc.) 36 000,00 36 000,00 0,00
LPC & other subscriptions 60 000,00 60 000,00 0,00
Auditor's remuneration 60 000,00 40 000,00 20 000,00
Other expenses 50 000,00 20 000,00 30 000,00
Budgeted Expenditure in R 3 274 500,00 3 118 000,00 156 500,00
Budgeted earnings before tax 1 325 500,00 1 882 000,00 -556 500,00
Provision for income tax 371 140,00 526 960,00 155 820,00
Expected earnings after tax 954 360,00 1 355 040,00 -400 680,00

3.5.2 FORECASTS
To enable you and the directors to plan the strategy of the firm and review the
current situation you will have to provide them with forecasts for the year. You
need to have fee targets in place and use your expense account history as well
as the new budget requirements to do proper forecasts for the firm. Forecasts
can be 100% accurate, but the smaller the difference between the forecasts
and the actual the better you know you know the business. With forecasts you
can also decide on possible growth of the firm and plan accordingly. Again, let
each department manage their own fee targets and make sure you discuss the
fees of the past month and fee projections for the next month with each
department. Your forecasts can only be so good as the information you get from
your staff.
You will also have to know the business and economic trends to project
accurately. Keep in mind that there are slow months where the income will be
considerably less than other months.
At the end of each year, you should study your forecasts and investigate any
major differences to enable you to predict more accurate. Sometimes there are
influences from outside that you can’t control. For these challenges you need
to have a plan in place to overcome the challenges.
3.5.3 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CASHFLOW PROJECTION AND A BUDGET

When a Legal Practitioner or legal practice debits a client with fees, the legal
practice has income. This is not positive cashflow, because the money has not
yet been paid. However, it is income because the fee has been written. It is
important to realise that all fees are not cashflow.
FEES ≠ CASHFLOW
Some important aspects flow from this fact:
• If the Legal Practitioner works hard to earn fees, she or he still might not
necessarily have any money in the bank to buy food, clothes, and other
necessary items, not to even mention luxuries.
• Where a client has paid a deposit into trust at the law firm to cover fees
for work to be done, and that work is done, the cash to settle the fee is
already in the trust account. The moneys can be transferred from trust
to business without having to first collect it from the client. This means
that there is immediate positive cashflow (or cashflow into the business
bank account).
• Some months one might receive large amounts of cash and think that
the firm is doing well, while in truth, those fees were earned in a previous
month and the firm might not be doing well in the current month (for
example, a firm can write no fees for a month but have sufficient cash
because of good fees written three months ago. That is, however, bad

news for next month’s cashflow).
• Income and expenditure do not necessarily have a short-term effect on
the bank account of a firm, whereas cashflow does.
• One should plan to always have access to cash. This is done by building
up cash reserves or having sufficient access to credit.
• It is not sufficient just to budget for income and expenses. In addition to
such a budget, one should also budget for cashflow into and out of the
practice.
• The latter is referred to as a cashflow forecast.
• It is prudent to introduce a policy regarding the minimum cashflow that
should be in the firm. For example, the policy in a small firm might be
that there should always be a minimum amount of R20 000 cash available
in the firm.
• Cashflow forecasts should not be confused with the report on cashflows
for the year which is usually found in the annual accounts of the practice.
A cashflow forecast is a plan or aspiration for the future whereas the
report on cashflows for the year (found in the annual accounts) are a
story of what happened in the relevant past accounting period.
• The process for drafting a cashflow forecast entails the following:
o Working out which sales or services will be paid by debtors of the
practice and when (or, put differently, how long it will take to
convert fees into cash).
o Working out which creditors will be paid when (or, put differently,
how long does the practice have to pay its creditors after incurring
the expense).
o Applying the answer to those questions on a spreadsheet.
Example
If the legal practice bookkeeper has estimated the income and the expenses of the firm
for the period of February 2023 to July 2023 as follows:
2023
February March April May June July
Sales (R) 110 000 120 000 140 000 150 000 125 000 130 000
Purchases (R) 50 000 60 000 85 000 80 000 75 000 90 000
The cashflow can be analysed by working out what how long after the sale or purchase
the cash is affected.
For the cash flowing into the firm, the following might be arrived at based on the analysing
of all information available (on, for example, past performance, or, if it is a new practice,
on the reasonably justifiable or explainable expectations):
2023
March April May June July
Total sales
120 000 140 000 150 000 125 000 130 000

Credit sales (50%)
60 000 70 000 75 000 62 500 65 000
Collected in month of sales (20%)
12 000 14 000 15 000 12 500 13 000
Collected 1 month after sales (60%)
33 000 36 000 42 000 45 000 37 500
Collected 2 months after sales (10%)
5 500 6 000 7 000 7 500
225 000 36 000 266 000
For the cash flowing out of the firm, the following might be arrived at based on the
analysing of all information available (on, for example, past performance, or, if it is a new
practice, on the reasonably justifiable or explainable expectations):
2023
February March April May June July

Total Purchases 50 000 60 000 85 000 80 000 75 000 90 000
Creditors paid 1 month after 50 000 60 000 85 000 80 000 75 000
purchase
The projection or forecast (cashflow budget) starts off with the opening balance
of cash in the practice in the first month. Then add all the cash receipts for the
month and subtract all the payments made. The nett result is the cash in the
practice at the end of the period forecast. If all cash is always banked, the
opening and closing balance should be close to the balance of the practice
business bank account/s.
If the firm keeps a minimum of R1 000 cash, the cashflow forecast for May,
June and July 2023 would then be as follows:
May June July

Opening Balance 1 150.00 35 690.00 1 000.00
Total receipts 138 000.00 127 000.00 123 250.00
Cash sales 75 000.00 62 500.00 65 000.00
Receipts from debtors 63 000.00 64 500.00 58 000.00
Interest 250.00
Total Payments 103 460.00 170 616.00 93787,60
Creditor Payments 85 000.00 80 000.00 75 000.00
Water and electricity 1 560.00 1 716.00 1 887.60
Salaries & Wages 15 000.00 15 000.00 15 000.00
Closed files storage rental 700.00 700.00 700.00
Office expense 1 200.00 1 200.00 1 200.00
Vehicle purchase 52 000.00
Building maintenance 20 000.00
Net Cash flow 35 690.00 (7 926.00) 30 462.40
Minimum Closing Balance (1 000.00) (1 000.00) (1 000.00)
Cash surplus/(deficit) 34 690.00 (8 926.00) 29 462.40
This projection indicates to the Legal Practitioner/director well in advance that

in June 2023 the practice will require funding from outside the practice, for
example, from a bank overdraft facility or from partners/shareholders
contribution.
This example is reduced to 3 months but cashflow forecasting works well in

practice when done for 6 or 12 months in advance.
PRACTICAL:
PLEASE USE THE ABOVE FIGURES AS BASIS AND WRITE OUT THE CASHFLOW
FORECAST FOR MARCH, APRIL, AND AUGUST OF 2024. REMEMBER WHEN DOING
SO, THAT THE APRIL CLOSING BALANCE WOULD HAVE BEEN R1 150.00.
3.5.4 MANAGEMENT STATEMENTS

There is no legal requirement to prepare management accounts, but it is hard
to run a business effectively without them. As Practice Manager you will be
responsible to do monthly management statements. This will give your
directors an overview of the budgets, forecasts, and actual finances of the past
month. At the end of the financial year your management statements will be a
draft for the yearly financials. Some banks require management statements to
enable them to provide financial assistance. If you need to purchase a new
server or company vehicle that require financing the finance house will also
request updated management statements.
3.5.5 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Your auditors are responsible for your financial statements, but few Attorneys
understand financial statements. As Practice Manager you need to understand
the financial statements to provide proper financial guidance to the directors.
We all remember Cuba Gooding Jr.’s immortal line from the movie Jerry
Maguire, “Show me the money!” Well, that’s what financial statements do. They
show you the money. They show you where a company’s money came from,
where it went, and where it is now.
There are four main financial statements. They are: (1) balance sheets; (2)
income statements; (3) cashflow statements; and (4) statements of
shareholders’ equity. Balance sheets show what a company owns and what it
owes at a fixed point in time. Income statements show how much money a
company made and spent over a period. Cashflow statements show the
exchange of money between a company and the outside world also over a
period. The fourth financial statement, called a “statement of shareholders’
equity,” shows changes in the interests of the company’s shareholders over
time.
3.5.5.1 Balance Sheets

A balance sheet provides detailed information about a company’s assets,
liabilities, and shareholders’ equity.
Assets are things that a company owns that have value. This typically means
they can either be sold or used by the company to make products or provide
services that can be sold. Assets include physical property, such as company
vehicles, equipment, and inventory. It also includes things that can’t be
touched but nevertheless exist and have value, such as trademarks and
patents. And cash itself is an asset. So are investments a company makes.

Liabilities are amounts of money that a company owes to others. This can
include all kinds of obligations, like money borrowed from a bank, rent for use
of a building, money owed to suppliers for materials like stationery, payroll a
company owes to its employees, or taxes owed to SARS. Liabilities also include
obligations to provide goods or services to customers in the future.
Shareholders’ equity is sometimes called capital or net worth. It’s the money
that would be left if a company sold all of its assets and paid off all of its
liabilities. This leftover money belongs to the shareholders, or the owners, of
the company.
The following formula summarises what a balance sheet shows:
ASSETS = LIABILITIES + SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

A company’s assets must equal, or “balance,” the sum of its liabilities and shareholders’
equity.
A company’s balance sheet is set up like the basic accounting equation shown
above. On the left side of the balance sheet, companies list their assets. On
the right side, they list their liabilities and shareholders’ equity. Sometimes
balance sheets show assets at the top, followed by liabilities, with
shareholders’ equity at the bottom.
Assets are generally listed based on how quickly they will be converted into
cash. Current assets are things a company expects to convert to cash within
one year. Noncurrent assets are things a company does not expect to convert
to cash within one year or that would take longer than one year to sell.
Noncurrent assets include fixed assets. Fixed assets are those assets used to
operate the business but that are not available for sale, such as vehicles, office
furniture and other property.
Liabilities are generally listed based on their due dates. Liabilities are said to
be either current or long-term. Current liabilities are obligations a company
expects to pay off within the year. Long-term liabilities are obligations due
more than one year away.
Shareholders’ equity is the amount owners invested in the company’s stock

plus or minus the company’s earnings or losses since inception. Sometimes
companies distribute earnings, instead of retaining them. These distributions
are called dividends.
A balance sheet shows a snapshot of a company’s assets, liabilities, and

shareholders’ equity at the end of the reporting period. It does not show the
flows into and out of the accounts during the period.

3.5.5.2 Income Statements
An income statement is a report that shows how much revenue a company
earned over a specific period (usually for a year or some portion of a year).
An income statement also shows the costs and expenses associated with
earning that revenue. The literal “bottom line” of the statement usually shows
the company’s net earnings or losses. This tells you how much the company
earned or lost over the period.
Income statements also report earnings per share (or “EPS”). This calculation
tells you how much money shareholders would receive if the company decided
to distribute all the net earnings for the period. (Companies almost never
distribute all their earnings. Usually, they reinvest them in the business.)
To understand how income statements are set up, think of them as a set of
stairs. You start at the top with the total amount of sales made during the
accounting period. Then you go down, one step at a time. At each step, you
make a deduction for certain costs or other operating expenses associated
with earning the revenue. At the bottom of the stairs, after deducting all of
the expenses, you learn how much the company actually earned or lost during
the accounting period. People often call this “the bottom line.”
At the top of the income statement is the total amount of money brought in
from fees for services. This top line is often referred to as gross revenues. It’s
called “gross” because expenses have not been deducted from it yet.
The next line is money the company doesn’t expect to collect on certain
services. This could be due, for example, to discounts or pro bono services.
When you subtract the returns and allowances from the gross revenues, you
arrive at the company’s net revenues. It’s called “net” because, if you can
imagine a net, these revenues are left in the net after the deductions for
returns and allowances have come out.
There are several lines that represent various kinds of operating expenses.
Although these lines can be reported in various orders, the next line after net
revenues typically shows the costs of the income. This number tells you the
amount of money the company spent to render the service during the
accounting period.
The next line subtracts the costs of income from the net revenues to arrive at
a subtotal called “gross profit” or sometimes “gross margin.” It’s considered
“gross” because there are certain expenses that haven’t been deducted from
it yet.
The next section deals with operating expenses. These are expenses that go
toward supporting a company’s operations for a given period – for example,
salaries of administrative personnel and costs of researching. Marketing
expenses are another example. Operating expenses are different from “costs
of income,” which were deducted above, because operating expenses cannot

be linked directly to the rendering of the service.
Depreciation is also deducted from gross profit. Depreciation provides for the
loss due to wear and tear on some assets, such as vehicles, computer
equipment and furniture, which are used over the long term. Companies
spread the cost of these assets over the periods they are used. This process
of spreading these costs is called depreciation. The “charge” for using these
assets during the period is a fraction of the original cost of the assets.
After all operating expenses are deducted from gross profit, you arrive at
operating profit before interest and income tax expenses. This is often called
“income from operations.”
Next companies must account for interest income and interest expense.
Interest income is the money companies make from keeping their cash in
interest-bearing savings accounts, money market funds and the like. On the
other hand, interest expense is the money companies paid in interest for
money they borrow. Some income statements show interest income and
interest expense separately. Some income statements combine the two
numbers. The interest income and expense are then added or subtracted from
the operating profits to arrive at operating profit before income tax.
Finally, income tax is deducted, and you arrive at the bottom line: net profit
or net losses. (Net profit is also called net income or net earnings.) This tells
you how much the company earned or lost during the accounting period. Did
the company make a profit, or did it lose money?
3.5.5.3 Cashflow Statements

Cashflow statements report a company’s inflows and outflows of cash. This is
important because a company needs to have enough cash on hand to pay its
expenses and purchase assets. While an income statement can tell you
whether a company made a profit, a cashflow statement can tell you whether
the company generated cash. A cashflow statement shows changes over time
rather than absolute rand amounts at a point in time. It uses and reorders the
information from a company’s balance sheet and income statement.
3.5.6 TAXES
A Legal Practitioner can register for all forms of tax by using the Sars Client
Information System (see https://www.sars.gov.za/client-segments/client-
information-system/).
3.5.6.1 Income Tax

SARS’s Client Information System was implemented in 2014 and allows
taxpayers and registered representatives to register, maintain and view all its
associated tax and customs registrations in a consolidated tax profile. Legal
Practitioners not yet registered for any of the listed taxes would only be
required to visit a branch once to verify your identity, address and bank
details. All additional tax registration can be performed from eFiling without

having to visit a branch again (During the COVID-19 related lockdown period
the personal visits requirement has been watered down to allow for safer
process).
The following developments were announced by Sars on 28 June 2021:
“Taxpayers can now request specific Personal Income Tax related

services by sending an SMS to SARS on 47277.
The following additional tax related services are offered to taxpayers via their
mobile device. These services can be accessed with or without data/airtime:
Request an eBooking appointment

Booking (Space) ID number/Passport number/Asylum Seeker number
Confirmation request to determine whether to submit a (PIT) tax

return
File (Space) ID number/Passport number/Asylum Seeker number
Request the issuing of the IT150 (Tax Registration Number)
TRN (Space) ID number/Passport number/Asylum Seeker number
Request Account related queries (balance statements) and/or

provision of Statement of the Account (SOA)
Balance (Space) ID number/Passport number/Asylum Seeker number
For more detail, see the “Guide to SARS Mobile Tax Services.”
The guide for mobile tax services is accessible at

https://www.sars.gov.za/latest-news/new-guide-to-sars-mobile-tax-
services/.
Important information on income tax is provided at

https://www.sars.gov.za/types-of-tax/personal-income-tax/.
A Legal Practitioner does not need to submit a return if ALL the criteria below
apply:
• Her or his total employment income/salary for the year (for example,
March 2023 to February 2024) before tax (gross income) was not more
than R500 000; and
• She or he only received employment income/salary for the full year of
assessment (for example, March 2020 to February 2021) from one
employer; and
• The Legal Practitioner has no car allowance/company car/travel
allowance or other income (for example, interest or rental income); and
• Is not claiming tax related deductions/rebates (e.g., medical expenses,
retirement annuity contributions other than pension contributions made
by your employer, travel).

If these criteria do not all apply, the Legal Practitioner should register for
income tax and submit returns.
As the owner of the business, a Legal Practitioner must register for, and where
applicable, pay provisional tax. Use the SARS E-filing platform for registering
and submitting returns and payments.
3.5.6.2 Employees’ Tax: Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE)

What is it?
Employees’ Tax refers to the tax required to be deducted by an employer from
an employee’s remuneration paid or payable. The process of deducting or
withholding tax from remuneration as it is earned by an employee is commonly
referred to as PAYE.
According to law, an employer must register with the South African Revenue
Service (SARS) within 21 business days after becoming an employer, unless
none of the employees are liable for normal tax. This can be done on eFiling
at https://secure.sarsefiling.co.za/app/login and completing the steps
referred to.
Complete the EMP101e Payroll Taxes form to register with SARS which is
available at:
https://www.sars.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/Ops/Forms/EMP101e-
Application-for-Registration-PAYE-SDL-UIF-External-Form.pdf
3.5.6.3 Skills Development Levy (SDL)

Where a legal practice as an employer expects that the total salaries payable
will be more than R500 000 over the next 12 months, that employer becomes
liable to pay SDL. If not, the practice is exempt and the latter practice is not
required to register to pay SDL.
3.5.6.4 Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF)

A legal practice employer who is registered or required to register with Sars
for PAYE or SDL purposes, must also register with Sars for the payment of
Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) contributions.
The Unemployment Insurance Act also applies to a law firm and therefore
places various obligations on the partners.
All employers who are required to register their workers with SARS for
payment of PAYE must also register with SARS for their UIF.
The salient features are:

• It gives short term relief when workers are to become unemployed or
are unable to work because of maternity, adoption leave, or illness.
• All employees are covered.
• Employers pay 1% of gross salary and employee pays 1% of gross
salary to SARS on EMP 201 before the 7th of each month (see
https://www.sars.gov.za/types-of-tax/pay-as-you-earn/completing-
the-monthly-employer-declaration-emp201/ ).
With effect from 1 June 2021, the maximum earnings ceiling (amount on which
UIF contribution is payable) is R17 712 per month (R212 544 annually).
Previously (since 2012) it was R14 872 per month (R178 464 annually).
Employees who earn more than R17 712 per month (R212 544 annually)
contribute a capped ceiling amount.
Read more about UIF at:

https://www.sars.gov.za/types-of-tax/unemployment-insurance-fund/.
Legal Practitioners should assist their employees to get necessary relief.
For relief claims due to Covid-19, Practitioners could get information at

https://uifecc.labour.gov.za/covid19/
WABU (Workers Affected by Unrest) can get relief information at

https://uifwabu.labour.gov.za/wabu/. This only applies to Gauteng and KZN
employees.
It is good HR policy to assist employees and thus it is prudent to monitor the

news and SARS sites to be able to keep employees informed.
Also read about the Employment tax incentive scheme (ETI) at:
https://www.sars.gov.za/types-of-tax/pay-as-you-earn/employment-tax-
incentive-eti/ . The ETI is an incentive aimed at encouraging employers to hire
young work seekers. It was implemented with effect from 1 January 2014.
Who is it for?
The amounts deducted or withheld must be paid by the employer to SARS
monthly, by completing the Monthly Employer Declaration (EMP201). The
EMP201 is a payment declaration in which the employer declares the total
payment together with the allocations for PAYE, SDL, UIF and/or Employment
Tax Incentive (ETI), if applicable. A unique Payment Reference Number (PRN)
will be pre-populated on the EMP201 and will be used to link the actual
payment with the relevant EMP201 payment declaration.
How and when should it be paid?

It must be paid within seven days after the end of the month during which the
amount was deducted. If the last day for payment falls on a public holiday or

weekend, the payment must be made on the last business day before the
public holiday or weekend.
The following payment methods are available:

• eFiling.
• Electronic payments through the internet (EFT).
• At a branch of one of the relevant approved banking institutions.
• At a specific SARS branch.
3.5.6.5 Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act No. (130 of
1993)
• You are required to register with the Workmen’s Compensation
Commissioner and submit an annual declaration in the prescribed form
of all salaries and wages. A specimen application form is attached.
• Read about and apply the information at:
https://cfonline.labour.gov.za/OnlineSubmissions/;jsessionid=429934
B631679B1AD5F5CAC67078C868.CFONLINEI1S1?0
• To contact the Commissioner of the Compensation fund, see

https://www.labour.gov.za/About-Us/Pages/Compensation_Fund.aspx
3.5.6.6 General on Sars

Remember that although SARS wants you to send through PAYE declarations,
VAT payments and UIF information and payments via e-filing, and although
that format is the best, they should not refuse manual submissions.
Registration of employees for PAYE and Unemployment Insurance cover can
simultaneously be done via SARS and a EMP101e form.
3.5.6.7 VALUE ADDED TAX

Value added Tax Act No. 1991 (No. 89 of 1991)
• Section 55 - Keeping of records;
• Basis of accounting - Section 15;
• Calculation and payment - Sections 16(3) and 27.
Legal Practitioners will soon after commencement with their practices consider
whether for business benefit purposes or because of the envisaged turn over
(revenue earned) to register for VAT.
VAT is a tax levied on the value of goods and services supplied. It is charged
and accounted for at the rate calculated as a percentage of the value of the
goods supplied and or the services rendered. Currently this rate is (0%) zero
or (15%) fifteen percent. The formal incidence of VAT rests on the Vendor who
makes taxable supplies of goods and services. If the taxable services supplied
(revenue) exceed R1 million it is compulsory to register for VAT.

When Vendor “B” supplies goods or services to Vendor “A”, “B” will levy VAT
on the value of the goods or services. The VAT levied by vendor “B” is the
Input Tax of Vendor “A”. When Vendor “A” in turn supplies the goods or
services to other persons (or vendors), he must include VAT in the price
charged for those goods and services. This is the Output Tax of Vendor “A”.
Every person who makes taxable supplies in an enterprise or who is intending to

conduct an enterprise may apply to be registered as a vendor. If the turnover of
an enterprise is likely to exceed one Million Rand (excluding VAT) in any 12-
month period, then the person conducting the enterprise is obliged to register as
a vendor. This registration is called a compulsory registration. A person, who fails
to register when he is compelled to do so, commits an offence that is punishable
by law. Where a person is not obliged to register as a vendor his registration is
called a voluntary registration.
Registration will take place at the end of any month the total value of the
supplies of goods and services (turnover) has exceeded One Million Rand in
the preceding 12 months; or if there is reasonable ground for believing that
the total value of the supplies of goods and services (turnover), which will be
made in the following 12 months, will exceed One Million Rand.
NB: Please note that taxes are usually changed when the Budget is announced in
Parliament in February every year. Please keep an eye out for these changes.
3.6 MARKETING MANAGEMENT

There is much controversy around Attorneys doing marketing. There is a thin line
between marketing and touting. Attorneys are not allowed to tout, and the Practice
Manager needs to make sure the Attorneys and marketing staff adhere to this
requirement.
Market your practice and services provided in a professional manner and subject to
the ethical rules, rulings, and marketing guidelines of the LPC.
Ensure that information about your firm while presenting legal topics to the media
or to audiences does not imply that they are the only, the best, or most experienced
Practitioners in a particular field if they are not. They should also avoid activities
that could be regarded as canvassing or touting for clients.
Don’t advertise services that you not capable in handling just to pass it on to
another company and share fees. If you offer money or commission for any
instructions from a client, it is touting. If you offer to give an advance on
commission to an estate agent just to receive their instructions your firm will be
punished for unprofessional conduct by the LPC. It is just not worth the risk.
Your firm are not allowed to offer any benefit in return of instructions from any
client or somebody that have influence in an organisation to allocate more work
towards your firm.

Make sure you have proper procedure in place to prevent these pitfalls and inform
staff on a regular basis what is right and what is wrong.
3.6.1 UTILISE MAILING LISTS

Put all your clients on your mailing list for newsletters, legal announcements,
seasonal cards etc. Send a “thank you” letter when a client refers someone to
you and send a “thank you” letter to all witnesses who testify for your client.
However, when doing so, be careful to comply with privilege and privacy
requirements.
3.6.2 SURVEY CLIENTS

Discuss services with your clients periodically during the period you are
engaged by them to ensure that everything is satisfactory and afterwards make
alterations if necessary. Also, survey clients and service after the file is closed
and use this information to improve your service.
Many of you would have heard of the 80/20 principle. This principle states that
80% of the work (and of the profit) will come from 20% of the clients. These
clients (forming the 20% responsible for 80% of the profit) should be looked
after especially well and that it could be wise to get rid of some of the
unprofitable clients (forming the 80%). If you buy into this philosophy, it could
be wise to segment your clients into A (star clients), B (average clients) and C
(unprofitable clients).
Even though you should treat all your clients with honesty, loyalty, and respect,
you should not spend as much time on your C class clients as on your A class
clients. A detailed communication plan (e.g., for the distribution of newsletters
and the like) can be fully automated by making use of www.rmail.co.za which
system will, at an annual subscription fee of a few thousand rand, take care of
your communication system. Here, you would obviously send more information
to and communicate more with your A class clients than the others.
3.7 IT MANAGEMENT
The Law Society of South Africa has published guidelines regarding IT. The
Guidelines are available on the Law Society of South Africa website at
www.lssa.org.za.
For most Legal Practitioners, e-mail has become the preferred way of
communication. The communications may be external (to clients or third parties)
or internal (between an Attorney, a secretary, or an assistant). Some e-mail will
also have documents attached to them, which have been created using other
applications like Microsoft word, excel or PDF. Often the e-mails or the documents
attached to the e-mails will be confidential and it is important that this document
is not accidentally of maliciously altered. To prevent unlawful alterations, make sure
you never send letterheads in word format to anybody. Make sure you send it in a
more secure format like PDF.

In using e-mail without properly protecting the e-mail or attached documents there
is a risk that the Attorney’s professional duty to keep such document confidential
may be compromised.
With Legal Practitioners working with very personal information of a client they will
have identity numbers, work, home and cellular phone numbers, home and work
addresses, passport numbers and other contact numbers on their system. For any
person who wants to commit identity theft the unprotected law firm is an open
candy store.
The law firm must make sure that it has all the necessary fire walls in place. This
will hinder or prevent any Third party outside of the office to gain access and “steal”
somebody’s identity.
The Practice Manager need to make sure there all IT related policies and procedures
are in place to protect the firm against misuse of information or facilities. It is easy
for staff to misuse internet access and will spend valuable time surfing the internet
or download music or ringtones or even movies during the time that they get paid
to do their job. Some staff will download games and sometimes these downloads
come with viruses that may place your entire firm at risk. Liaise with your IT service
provider to activate the necessary limitations.
Attorneys’ firms also have prescribed software that they need. They must make
use of bookkeeping software that makes provision for a trust and business account.
There are various bookkeeping programs that don’t provide this facility and
sometimes auditors that don’t have the proper knowledge of Legal Practitioner
bookkeeping requirements, will suggest software that is not compatible.
There are also programs prescribed by banks if you are on a bank panel and certain
licensing is required. The Practice Manager must make sure all software is licensed
properly and no pirate software is used. Arrange maintenance agreements with the
software provider to assist whenever it is needed. Severe fines from software
companies and call-out fees on an hourly rate can cripple your firm financially. Most
licenses need to be renewed yearly and the Practice Manager need to diarise all
renewals to prevent the firm to come to a standstill while licenses are being
renewed.
Keep track of all computer equipment especially laptops and small items like
company cell phones, iPad etc. Update your asset register on a regular basis to
prevent theft by a disgruntle staff member.
Hussain I, Barnard E, and Huges B (Case Management in our Courts: A New

Direction, LSSA LEAD, Pretoria 2016 at 22 to 26) propose a basic checklist for
adapting to technology which covers and elaborates on the detail of:
PROTECTION OF DATA
• Back-Ups;
• Electronic Diaries;

• Accounting For Time;
• Posting Of Fees;
• Lpff Certificate;
• Compiling Of Auditing Questionaire;
• Fais Registration (Where Applicable);
• Security Of Data;
• Accessibility Of Data And Systems;
• Other Risks;
• Environmental Scanning;
• Data Litigation Processes In Place.
To these aspects Legal Practitioners should in their checklists add and elaborate
on:
• Compliance With Popia;
• Compliance With Paia;
• Compliance With Fica.
Legal Practitioners should ensure that such considerations are sufficiently dealt with
in practice.
3.8 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

In large Attorneys firms the Practice Manager need to work with the HR manager
daily but in small and medium size firms the HR function is also done by the Practice
Manager. You will deal with management of people within the organisation. There
are several responsibilities that come with this function. First, you are responsible
for hiring members of staff; this will involve attracting employees, keeping them in
their positions and ensuring that they perform to expectation. Besides, the human
resource department also clarifies and sets day-to-day goals for the organisation.
It is responsible for organisation of people in the entire firm and plans for future
ventures and objectives involving people in the firm.
Research has shown that the human aspect of resources within a firm contributes
approximately eighty percent of the organisation’s value. This implies that if people
are not managed properly, the firm faces a serious chance of falling apart. The
human resource department’s main objective is to bring out the best in their
employees and thus contribute to the success of the firm.
These roles come with certain positive and negative aspects. However, the negative
aspects can be minimised by improvements to their roles and functions.
3.8.1 RECRUITMENT OF EMPLOYEES
This is one of the most fundamental roles of the Practice Manager. This is
because this function ensures that the firm selects the most skilful and
competent person from a sea of Applicants at that time. This function involves
evaluation of ability and competency of potential employees in relation to what

the firm’s needs. If this function is performed well, then the firm will increase
value consequently being on the right pathway to achieve its goals and
objectives.
3.8.2 PLANNING IN THE FIRM

The Practice Manager has the responsibility of ensuring that it plans adequately
for all the firm’s future engagements that will involve people. One important
aspect of this is planning for employees in the firm. It is important that the firm
ensures that all the employees under its wing are just enough to increase value
to the firm.
3.8.3 TRAINING
It is not necessarily a guarantee that staff members are the best in performing
the firm’s functions. Employees need to improve their inefficiency in relation to
their skills. Training is also essential for members of staff who have been
working for the organisation for a long time. This is especially so in the wake of
technological advancements, legal changes, and changes in service delivery. It
is important for a firm to keep up with industry trends otherwise it faces the
danger of becoming obsolete, especially against the backdrop of increasing
competition.
Training need not be restricted to improvement of skills; it can also involve

improvement of attitudes. This is normally characterised by attendance of
workshops and other forms of talks. Training also increases motivation of
employees and gives them that extra boost of energy needed to get them
through tough times in their jobs.
The Practice Manager need to keep record of all the training to be able to submit
the firm’s skills development and employment equity report when needed.
3.8.4 PAYROLL
The Practice Manager also must manage the payroll. Again, there are various
software packages that will make this job easier. Together with the payroll you
must manage all the leave of the staff and make sure they understand the
various kinds of leave available. Record-keeping of leave is very important to
prevent misuse of leave by staff as “sick leave”.
You will also be responsible for the staff’s IRP5 certificates and the submission
of IRP5 recons to SARS. IRP5 recons are done twice a year. PAYE, Skills
Development Levy and UIF is paid over every month to SARS before the 7th of
each month. Submissions take place on e-filing. If this is not managed correctly
it could result in non-compliancy and therefore a tax clearance certificate won’t
be issued to your firm.
3.8.5 POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

As a Practice Manager it will be your responsibility to update and enforce all the

policies and procedures. You will also have a policy and procedure manual
available for staff to assure them of a specific policy or procedure in the firm.
a) Policies
Policies are guidelines or standards on how things should be carried out
in the workplace.
b) Procedures
Procedures are the detailed explanation on how these things should be
carried out in the workplace.
c) Different types of Policies and Procedure
There are various kinds of policies and procedures. It is usually
standardised, in other words, management agrees on a template to use
and the whole organisation then use the suggested format.
This is done to ensure that everybody knows how and when to do things.
Imagine if you were working for an organisation with a staff compliment
of 150 people and nobody in your organisation knew how to have their
suppliers paid. Therefore, policies and procedures need to be done.
Most departments have their own policies and procedures. These policies
and procedures relate to their departmental functions. These are often
rolled out to the people in other departments in the organisation to
ensure understanding.
An example of this is in finance there may be a certain way that we do
payments to suppliers e.g., a catering company. A member of the
department does a payment process policy and procedure and then this
is rolled out to the rest of the organisation, so they are aware of the step-
by-step procedure on how to ensure that their caterers get paid in time.
Policies and procedures help many employees in organisations to
understand where to go and what to do in specific situations.
3.8.6 FUNCTIONS
The Practice Manager will have to arrange various functions for the staff during
the year. With the budget in mind, you must arrange a year-end function as
well as team building sessions during the year. It is also a good idea to
remember important dates like Secretary and Admin Staff Day, Bosses Day,
Spring Day, Valentine’s Day, and most important staff’s Birthdays. A little gift
and special note on these days will improve the morale tremendously.
Make each function a day to remember and get ideas and input from your staff
but do something special as a surprise. They will appreciate it and next time go
the extra mile when you need it the most.
3.9 FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE CENTRE ACT (FICA)

Financial Intelligence Centre Act No. 38 of 2001, otherwise known as FICA was
created to establish and maintain an effective policy and compliance framework

and operational capacity to oversee compliance and to provide high quality, timeous
financial intelligence for use in the fight against crime, money laundering and terror
financing for South Africa to protect the integrity and stability of its financial
system, develop economically and be a responsible global citizen.
What that means is FICA aims to combat white-collar crime and money laundering
in South Africa by imposing a number of duties on accountable institutions (like
banks, Attorneys, public accountants, investment advisors, estate agents etc.),
where they have to verify certain aspects of their clients, record certain details and
notify the Financial Intelligence Centre if they suspect a client is involved in some
sort of financial underhandedness i.e., money laundering. The Financial Intelligence
Centre is there to accumulate the data, analyse it to verify if there is suspicious
activity and then hand it over to the relevant authority (like SARS or the SAPS) for
further investigation and, ultimately, prosecution.
If the accountable institutions contravene the Act or fail in their duties under the
Act, they can be liable for very stiff penalties. They can get a possible 15 years’
imprisonment and fines of up to R10 million.
So, therefore the banks, Attorneys, and other accountable institutions must ask for
very specific information and provide up-to-date proof of that information to legally
do business with that institution. They will be in big trouble if they don’t get the
right information.
3.9.1 WHICH CLIENTS DO LEGAL PRACTITIONERS HAVE TO FICA?

In terms of FICA’s Regulations, Legal Practitioners are only required to establish
and verify a client’s identity if the Legal Practitioner assists the client in: –
• Buying or selling immovable property;
• Buying or selling a business;
• Opening or managing a bank or investment account;
• Creating, operating, or managing a company or close corporation or
similar legal entity outside of South Africa;
• Creating, operating, or managing a trust outside South Africa unless the
trust is a testamentary trust or created because of a Court order;
• Managing an investment;
• Depositing, transferring, receiving, retaining, maintaining control of or in
any way managing a property;
• A financial or real estate transaction;
• Services entailing legal fees of R100 000 or more.
If the client is required to pay the legal practice an amount of R100 000 or more
in legal fees and disbursements incurred during litigation in a period of 12
months.

3.9.2 WHAT DO WE NEED TO BE FICA COMPLIANT?
The practice should have a FICA process clearly defined. See the discussion and
example provided in Module 1 notes of this course.
3.9.2.1 Individuals
• Individuals approaching an accountable institution, must supply the
following:
o A certified copy of green, bar-coded Identity Book (your ID) or a
valid passport if a foreign national, to prove identity.
o Proof of residence in the form of an original utility bill that is less
than 3 months old, in their name and with their residential
address clearly visible on the bill (an Eskom account, rates
account, water account or Telkom account is usually good enough
for these purposes. If one rents, your home, a signed lease
agreement is usually acceptable).
o They will also require an IRP5 Form or another document from
SARS to verify their tax number.
3.9.2.2 Trusts
• Trust Deed for South African registered trusts OR similar founding
statement for foreign registered trusts.
• Letter of Authority issued by the Master of the High Court.
• Green Bar-coded ID book for South African citizens OR valid passport
for foreign nationals who are founders, trustees or determined
beneficiaries of the trust and anyone who has the authority to act on
the account (e.g., under power of Attorney).
• Proof of authority to act on the account for individuals with this
authority.
• If a beneficiary, trustee, or founder is a legal entity, then proof of
registration details e.g.
o For a South African company, COR 15.1A/COR 15.1C COR 21 and
COR 39.
o For a foreign company, the official registration document from
the foreign country of Incorporation.
o For a CC, the CK1/CK2 with CK2A.
o For a Partnership, the partnership agreement.
o For another trust, the trust deed and Master’s Letter of Authority.
o For another legal entity, the constitution document COMPANIES
/ CC’S.
3.9.2.3 Companies
• COR 15.1A/COR 15.1C COR 21 and COR 39 OR if a foreign company,

the foreign document of incorporation.
• For CC’s: CK1/CK2 AND CK2A ONE of the following documents which
reflects the co/cc name and physical address or erf number and suburb:
o Utility bill (less than 3 months old).
o Bank statement (less than 3 months old).
o Lease or rental agreement (less than 12 months old).
o Telkom account (less than 3 months old).
o Official SARS document.
o Green bar-coded ID book for South African citizen.
o OR valid passport for foreign national who is the CEO/MD/Head
AND anyone having authority to transact.
o OR anyone holding 25% or more of the shareholding (plus a letter
from the company’s auditors proving shareholding).
o AND proof of authority to transact for individuals with this
authority.
o If another legal entity holds 25% of more shareholding, then
proof of registration details e.g.:
 For a South African company, COR 15.1A/COR 15.1C COR
21 and COR 39.
 For a foreign company, the official registration document
from the foreign country of incorporation.
 For a CC, the CK1/CK2 with CK2A.
 For a Partnership, the partnership agreement.
 For another trust, the trust deed and Master’s Letter of
Authority.
 For another legal entity, the constitution document.
3.9.2.4 Partnerships
• Partnership Agreement if any,
• Green bar-coded ID book for South African citizens,
• OR valid passport for foreign national who is the CEO/MD/Head AND
anyone having authority to transact,
• OR anyone holding 25% or more of the shareholding (plus a letter from
the company’s auditors proving shareholding),
• AND proof of authority to transact for individuals with this authority.
If partners are legal entities, then proof of registration details e.g.:

• For a South African company, COR 15.1A/COR 15.1C COR 21 and COR

39.
• For a foreign company, the official registration document from the
foreign country of incorporation.
• For a CC, the CK1/CK2 with CK2A.
• For a Partnership, the partnership agreement.
• For another trust, the trust deed and Master’s Letter of Authority.
3.9.2.5 Other legal entities (e.g., Clubs, Associations)

• Constitution or founding document if any;
• One of the following documents which reflects the entity name and
physical address or erf number and suburb:
o Utility bill (less than 3 months old);
o Bank Statements (less than 3 months old);
o Lease or rental agreement (less than 12 months old);
o Telkom account (less than 3 months old).
• IRP5 as supplied by employer or an official SARS document;
• Green bar-coded ID book for South African citizens;
• OR valid passport for foreign nationals who have authority to transact
AND proof of authority to act on the account for individuals with this
authority.
So, when an estate agent or a bank asks for your FICA documents, now you
know what they mean and why they have to ask. Keep in mind that this isn’t
about Big Brother watching your every move, it’s about a key preventative
measure in the continual fight against crime in South Africa, and every time we
comply, it makes our country a bit safer for all of us.
3.9.3 INFORMING CLIENTS OF FICA, CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVILEGE

Clients need to be informed of the legal practice’s obligation to comply with
FICA and the clients must know and understand when information provided by
them will be protected by legal professional privilege.
Legal professional privilege can generally be described as protecting the
communication between a Legal Practitioner and a client, which is made in
confidence for the purpose of the client obtaining legal advice or advice on
litigation, which is either pending or being contemplated, from disclosure. The
privilege does however not apply if the client obtains the legal advice with the
intention of committing a crime. A Legal Practitioner who knowingly advises the
client is not acting professionally and cannot claim the privilege. It is suggested
that even where a Legal Practitioner did not know the purpose of the client was
to commit a crime, no privilege will attach to that communication with the
client.

Clients need to understand that not all information communicated with the
Legal Practitioner may be regarded as confidential when, by virtue of the
provisions of FICA, the Practitioner is obliged to disclose such information.
Confidentiality is a wider concept than legal professional privilege. Information

may be confidential even though it is not protected by legal professional
privilege. The mere fact that communication was made in confidence, does not
mean that it is automatically regarded as being privileged. For legal professional
privilege to attach to confidential information, the communication of the
confidential information had to have been made for purpose of obtaining legal
advice. Accordingly, a communication of confidential information for purposes
other than obtaining legal advice, will not be regarded as privileged even if it
was made in confidence. Confidential information accordingly can be reported.
3.9.4 HOW TO REGISTER FOR FICA
Law firms should be registered on the goAML system of the FIC. More on this
aspect is available at:
https://www.lssa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/FIC-Attorney-updating-
of-registration-January-2017.pdf
Guideline on the electronic registration of accountable and reporting

institutions:
“RI” refers to a reporting institution referred to in Schedule 3 of the FIC Act;
“RO” refers to a person appointed to report, “Reporting Officer”, to the Centre
by a reporting institution; “S43CO” refers to a Compliance Officer appointed in
terms of Section 43 of the FIC Act; “The Centre” refers to the Financial
Intelligence Centre.
3.9.4.1 Registration selection on the Centre’s landing page

• Open the Centre’s website by going to www.fic.gov.za;
• Click on “Registration”;
• Select “Register”;
• The screen below will be displayed.
3.9.4.2 Registration: Select username

• Please note all fields in yellow are mandatory and must be completed.
• Select “Type of Accountable Institution...” or “Type of Reporting
Institution...” you are registering as from the dropdown menu.
Registration in terms of Section 43B is mandatory for accountable and
reporting institutions.
• The username and password that needs to be selected when registering
electronically will be linked to the name and personal details of the
person who submits the online application, as well as to the details of
the entity to be registered. This will allow the person and entity to
perform functions such as updating changes to details that have already

been submitted and for submission of intelligence reports to the Centre.
• Select “Continue” to proceed to the next screen.
• Registration: Entity.
• Provide the registered name at the tab labelled “Entity Name”. If the
individual institution’s registered name is not on the list, select “other”
and type the name in the free text box that will appear.
• If the institution has a holding company that is also an AI or RI, the
name must be provided in the tab labelled “Name of AI/RI Holding
Company”. [Note: The holding company must own 50% or more of the
shares of the AI or RI].
• Select “Type of Entity” from the drop-down list provided. A list of options
to select from will appear.
• The tab labelled “Registration Number” refers to the identification or
passport number of the owner of the institution (where the institution
is a sole proprietorship/partnership), alternatively it is the number that
the entity is registered under.
3.9.4.3 Registration: Partnership

• In the event that “Partnership” is selected as the “Type of Entity” you
will be required to provide the details of up to 5 of the partners.
• Select “continue” to move on to the next step in the registration
process.
3.9.4.4 Registration: Sole Proprietors

• In the event that “Sole Proprietor” is selected as the “Type of Entity”
you will be required to provide the sole proprietor’s South African
identification number where that person is a resident of South Africa,
or his passport number where that person is not a resident of South
Africa.
• Select “Continue” to move on to the next step in the registration
process.
3.9.4.5 Registration: Sole Proprietor Financial Services Provider
• If item 12 – financial advisors – is selected under “Type of accountable
institution...” in Step 1 and “Sole Proprietorship” is selected under “Type
of Entity”, a question “Are you a category 1 FSP only that does not
collect client funds and/or premiums and are not required to appoint an
auditor or accounting officer in terms of the FAIS Act?” will appear with
a “Yes” or “No” option;
• If the “Yes” option is selected, the rules will be amended to allow the
sole proprietor who submitted the information to also act as validator
of the information provided;
• The username will be pre-populated for the validator. The username
selected by the sole proprietor in his/her capacity as S43CO will be

used, but with the prefix “validator”;
• With the exception of these rules, all the information required will be
similar to that required for other types of entities.
3.9.4.6 Registration: Contact Information

The information to be provided in this section is the contact information of the
AI or RI that is registering and not the information of the individual completing
the registration form, or the validator required to authorise the registration.
In the event of the business being conducted from more than one business
premise, the contact information of the registered head office of the entity
should be provided, unless it is necessary to register each branch separately,
as explained in the public compliance communication on registration of
accountable and reporting institutions, available on the Centre’s website.
The following information is required:

• Provide the contact number at the tab labelled “Business Contact Tel
No.”;
• An institution may provide an alternate contact number in the next tab
labelled “Business Contact Tel No.”;
• An institution may provide a fax number in the tab labelled “Business
Fax Tel No.”;
• Provide the street address of the institution in the tabs provided;
• Provide the postal address of the institution in the tabs provided;
• If the postal address is the same as the street address select the “Same
as Physical” tab provided which will pre-populate the information.
3.9.4.7 Registration: Section 43 Compliance Officer

It is important to note that, although an entity could have a compliance officer
that has been appointed in terms of another Act (example the FAIS Act), the
person referred to in this Section is the compliance officer as envisaged in
Section 43 of the FIC Act who must ensure that the entity complies with the
provisions of the FIC Act.
A Reporting Institution, as defined in Schedule 3 of the FIC Act, is not subject

to all the obligations of the FIC Act and does not need to appoint a person (in
terms of Section 43 of the FIC Act) to oversee compliance with the FIC Act.
The person in a Reporting Institution whose details should be completed in
this Section is the individual who must ensure that reporting to the Centre is
done as envisaged in Sections 28, 28A, 29 and 31 of the FIC Act.
Provide the details of the person appointed to fulfil the role of the entity’s
S43CO or RO.

3.9.4.8 Registration: Section 43 Compliance Officer and Validator Contact
The information to be provided in this Section is the contact information of the
person that is registering the entity.
The system requires that all the information initially submitted as well as any
future amendments to the online information, be validated and confirmed by
a validator. It is suggested that the validator be a senior person within the AI
or RI. If the AI or RI does not have a person to validate the information, the
entity’s auditor or accountant can fulfil this requirement. An exception to the
validation requirement was made for certain sole proprietors that are
registered financial services providers. These sole proprietors will be able to
validate their own information, as explained above.
Upon completion of the registration process, the validator as well as the

S43CO will receive an e-mail wherein the validator will be requested to
validate the correctness of the information (which he/she will be able to access
through a hyperlink). If the validator confirms that the information is correct,
the S43CO will again receive a mail with the request to activate the
institution’s account, after which the registration process will be finalised.
Further e-mails will be sent to the validator to confirm that the entity is
registered and to the compliance officer to confirm that his/her account has
been activated.
3.9.4.9 Amendments to Registration Information

Login as a S43 Compliance Officer
Update institution records
The S43CO or RO supplies their username and password that was chosen
when registering electronically.
• Select “Quick LOGIN”, as indicated on the screen above;
• Click on “Registration”;
• Select “Update Institution Record”;
• The S43CO or RO will now be able to amend the information;
• All changes must be validated again.
3.9.4.10 Add particulars of Money Laundering Reporting Officer

• Select “Add particulars of Money Laundering Reporting Officer”;
• The screen below will be displayed.
3.9.4.11 Registration of Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO)

A MLRO is envisaged to be a person in the accountable or reporting institution
or in the group of an accountable or reporting institution that will be given the
authority to submit reports on behalf of the entity. Registration of an MLRO is
voluntarily.

All the contact details of the MLRO must be provided and must be validated
by the validator.
Exit Application.
3.9.5 FIC AMENDMENT ACT

The Act, as amended, requires accountable institutions (including practising
Attorneys) to develop, document, maintain and implement a Risk Management
and Compliance Programme.
Such programme should assist the accountable institution to:

• identify;
• assess;
• monitor;
• mitigate; and
• manage,
the risk of the rendering of services that may involve or facilitate money
laundering activities or the financing of terrorist and related activities.
The accountable institution must, amongst other, understand the risks posed
within the context of the services being rendered by the institution and through
monies deposited into the trust account.
The following table (available at https://www.lssa.org.za/wp-

content/uploads/2021/08/LSSA-guidance-matrix-on-level-of-compliance-to-
FICA-1.pdf ) illustrates various levels of compliance and clearly indicates the
approach of top compliant firms:

The following is an example of a basic defined process seeking to constantly
develop and update strategies to proactively address FICA compliance and
related risks:
“FICA processes reviewed, simplified, institutionalised and re-defined:

The content in this document should be applied with due regard to the realities
of the situation (For example, if it is a totally new and unknown client, much
more should be done to ensure proof of proper personal identification and
addresses).
1. Ask the question: How is client or its member or key persons known to
the firm?
1.1. Is client well known (e.g., known client, family or friend of staff);
1.2. Is client address well known due to:
1.2.1. Recent previous FICA process;
1.2.2. Site or home visit by one of the staff members of the
practice or by persons close to firm who can verify;
1.2.3. Do not assume knowledge.
2. Get full client information of identity backed by sufficient proof:
2.1. Client info sheet must be fully completed;
2.2. Client info should be fully captured in practice info system.

3. Get full client information of address backed by sufficient documentary
proof:
3.1. Affidavit by trusted person;
3.2. Utility bill;
3.3. Lease agreement;
3.4. Income and other tax reference numbers.
4. Update client info if:
4.1. Previous FICA process has been more than 6 months ago;
4.2. It is known or suspected that client has changed details;
4.3. Obtain info of clients former and future intended addresses
where applicable.
5. Responsible persons in firm to insure FICA compliance:
5.1. Receptionist as first point of information collecting where clients
physically attend;
5.2. Initial communicating staff member where (Particularly due to
pandemic or other reason for minimised contact);
5.3. Bookkeeper to monitor and internally audit each file opened;
5.4. FICA danger list or red flag files (due to any lack of or perceived
lack of sufficient info).
6. FICA process should be done at earliest possible time, as follows:
6.1. Just after first contact (physically or online);
6.2. Client details and date of first contact should be logged in FICA
log/index;
6.3. FICA should be treated as a diarised event as follows:
6.4. When first contact is made or file is opened,
6.5. Diarise date for checking that FICA is properly completed.
6.6. All new files/matters to be electronically diarised for FICA
compliance audit within one week and one month after first
contact.
7. FICA training monthly to consist of:
7.1. Communicating the revised/updated policy;
7.2. Asking for challenges faced by staff members;
7.3. Asking in which files FICA process is still in progress or
outstanding;
7.4. Self-assessment on FICA compliance;
7.5. Peer-assessment;
7.6. Displaying updated process list in prominent (staff) accessible

places;
7.7. Publishing updated process list online (in secured admin page)
for easy staff access from all locations;
7.8. Regular emails to staff on the issue which ;
7.9. Staff WhatsApp group to be used for updated process;
7.10. Both forms should serve to:
7.10.1. remind staff of the importance of FICA;
7.10.2. Provide a quick working link to the information on FICA
which should contain the latest FICA revised checklist or
other relevant list.
Updated condensed FICA COMPLIANCE PROGRAMME checklist: DATED

20221214”
3.9.6 FIC INSPECTIONS WARNING

The following that was communicated by the LPC during June 2021 regarding
the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) Legal Practitioner’s inspections:
“1. The Financial Intelligence Centre Act No. 38 of 2001 (FIC Act) directs the
Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) to combat money laundering and the
financing of terrorist and related activities. It does this by seeking to:
• Supervise and enforce compliance with the FIC Act
• Facilitate effective supervision and enforcement by supervisory
bodies
• Receive financial data from accountable and reporting institutions
• Share information with law enforcement authorities, intelligence
services, the South African Revenue Service, international
counterparts and supervisory bodies
• Formulate policy regarding money laundering and the financing of
terrorism
• Provide policy advice to the Minister of Finance
• Uphold the international obligations and commitments required by
the country in respect of anti-money laundering and combating
financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).
2. The FIC issued a report to the Legal Practice Council on the Inspections
and Compliance reviews conducted by the FIC in terms of a Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) signed between the FIC and LPC on 5 November
2019 where FIC is delegated the supervisory responsibilities of the LPC.
3. The FIC conducted 207 compliance Inspections and 9 compliance onsite

reviews covering the period 1 April 2020 – 31 March 2021 so as to assess

the level of compliance by Legal Practitioners supervised in terms of the
MOU and FIC Act.
4. In respect of the 207 Inspections approximately 80% of the Legal

Practitioners were found non-compliant, with the most common non-
compliance relating to:
• Failure to register with the FIC.
• Failure to have a Risk Management and Compliance Programme
• Failure to conduct Customer Due Diligence and
• Failure to report
4.1 The majority of reports submitted to the FIC by Legal Practitioners were
Cash Threshold Reports (2493 reports per year), which indicates that
cash is used to pay for legal services. This increases the money
laundering risks of the industry.
4.2 During the same period of Inspection, an average of 231 Suspicious

Transactions Reports (STRs) were filed by Legal Practitioners. No
Terrorist Property Reports (TPRs) were submitted during this time.
4.3 The volumes of reports received from Legal Practitioners were regarded
as low in comparison to the number of Legal Practitioners on the LPC
database.
5. The FIC will be referring matters to Council, where Legal Practitioners
have been found to be non-compliant with their FIC Act obligations, for
the imposition of administrative sanctions.
6. Legal Practitioners could potentially face disciplinary charges for
breaching the Code of Conduct in terms of Section 18.17:
‘Take all such steps as may be necessary from time to time to ensure
compliance at all times as an accountable institution with the
requirements of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 38 of 2001’
7. According to Section 45C(3) of the FIC Act, the Legal Practice Council as
a Supervisory Body may impose one or more of the following
administrative sanctions when a Legal Practitioner has failed to comply
with the provision of the FIC Act:
a) a caution not to repeat the conduct which led to the non-
compliance referred to in sub-section
b) a reprimand
c) a directive to take remedial action or to make specific
arrangements
d) the restriction or suspension of certain specified business
activities; or

e) a financial penalty not exceeding R10 million in respect of natural
persons and R50 million in respect of any legal person’
8. In terms of Section 45C (7) (a) ‘Any financial penalty imposed must be
paid into the National Revenue Fund within the period and in the manner
as may be specified in the relevant notice’.
9. As part of the methods to improve compliance, the LPC will be issuing a

series of advisories to raise awareness to Legal Practitioners in
addressing the findings of non-compliance issued by FIC, but Legal
Practitioners are advised to ensure as a matter of urgency that they are
aware of all their obligations under the FIC Act, and that they become
compliant before any further inspections are conducted.”
3.10 PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT (PAIA)

This Act and its requirements are also to be read and carried out with reference to
the Protection of Personal Information Act.
To give effect to the constitutional right of access to any information held by the
State and any information that is held by another person and that is required for
the exercise or protection of any rights; and to provide for matters connected
therewith.
PAIA gives the requester a right to lodge a request from the information officer of
a public or private body.
3.10.1 REQUIREMENTS FOR PRIVATE BODIES

The Act states that all private bodies must:
• compile a Section 51 manual which is a roadmap of the company;
• submit the manual to the South African Human Rights Commission;
• effect material changes if any each time these occur and resubmit to the
SAHRC;
• electronic submissions to the Commission are accepted, sent to
[email protected];
• hard copies of the manuals must be submitted / posted to SAHRC head
office at the following address:
South African Human Rights Commission;
Private Bag X2700
Houghton
2041;
• update any material changes on the manual on a regular basis;
• make the manual available as prescribed by the Act at the company offices

and on their website;
• must annex a request form to the manual and also make request form
available on the website and at the company premises access points;
• there are penalties for non-compliance – please see Section 90 of PAIA,
the SAHRC has not yet imposed any fines for non-compliance but reserves
the right to do so;
the manual must be signed by the head of the company / close corporation /
entity.
3.10.2 REQUIREMENTS FOR PAIA MANUAL

The requirement for private bodies is stated in Section 51 of the Act, which
states that the manual must contain the following information:
• postal and street address, phone, and fax number and if available the e-
mail address of the head of the private body;
• the description of the guide compiled by the SAHRC and how to access it
(refer to SAHRC guidelines under information);
• the latest notice regarding the categories of records of the body which
are available without a person having to request access in terms of PAIA;
• the description of available records generated by the company stating
those which are automatically available and those that are available on
request;
• outline the request procedure in terms of PAIA;
• a description of the subjects on which the private body holds records,
and the categories of records held on each subject;
• state who the head of the company is (CEO is usually the Information
Officer in terms of PAIA);
• stipulate the fees applicable as legislated by the Act which are chargeable
to requesters;
• remedies available to requesters if their request for information has been
refused;
• details facilitating request for access to a record etc.
3.11 THE BROAD-BASED BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT ACT NO. 53

OF 2003 (“BBBEE ACT)
3.11.1 INTRODUCTION
The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act No. 53 of 2003 (“BBBEE
Act”) provides legislative framework for BBBEE in South Africa. The primary
purpose of the BBBEE Act is to address the legacy or racist apartheid policies
and to enhance the economic participation of black people in South Africa.

Codes of Good Practice may be published from time to time under the BBBEE
Act. Such codes may be sector specific or generic of nature. The previous code
was published in 2007, but a new, generic code of good practice was published
on 11 October 2013 and its effective date was postponed to April 2015.
The amended BBBEE Act and Code of Good Practice fundamentally changes the
current BBBEE framework, and the way businesses are affected thereby. Legal
Practices would be well advised to consult an expert in the field to assist them
in drafting a BBBEE policy and plan to ensure that the practice attains the
ratings that may be required by some of their clients.
Prior to the amendment, the government’s policy had been based on a

“voluntarist” principle i.e., the way business wanted to apply BBBEE, was
decided by the business itself, having regard to their own needs and the BBBEE
Act simply provided a manner of measuring a particular business’ BBBEE rating.
The amended framework now introduces a more prescriptive approach with
penalties for non-compliance in certain circumstances.
Although the BBBEE Act and codes do not impose legal obligations on
businesses to comply with BBBEE targets, a business’ BBBEE status remains an
important factor, affecting its ability to tender for work with clients such as the
Government, local municipalities, banks, large producers, etc. Private sectors
clients are also increasingly requiring a minimum BBBEE rating of their service
providers to boost their own ratings. BBBEE is accordingly an important factor
which one cannot ignore.
3.11.2 AMENDMENTS TO THE BBBEE ACT

The BBBEE Act itself has been amended to now provide for the following:
a) A BBBEE Commission
Commission will play an oversight and advocacy role and investigate
complaints regarding BBBEE, BBBEE transactions and fronting practices.
b) Criminal Offences
Misrepresenting or providing false information regarding a business’
BBBEE status or engaging in fronting practices are now regarded as
criminal offices. Conviction may result in a fine of an amount up to 10%
of the business’ annual turnover and/or imprisonment of individuals and
the business may be banned from contracting with the Government and
public entities for a period up to 10 years.
c) Statutory Right to Cancel Contracts
Government and public entities have the statutory right to cancel any
contracts or “authorisation” awarded to service providers due to false
information provided by such a service provider on BBBEE status.
d) Obligation to Take Codes into Account in Procurement Policies

The BBBEE imposes an obligation on Government and public entities to
take the Codes of Good Practice into consideration in their procurement
policies and in issuing licences and authorities. Previously they were only
required to take it into account “as far as reasonably possible”.
e) Listed Entities to Report
South African entities that are listed on the stock exchange now have to
provide a report to the BBBEE Commission on their compliance with
BBBEE.
3.11.3 AMENDED SCORES IN THE CODES

The amended Code significantly changes the way a business’ status or level will
be calculated as the number of BBBEE points required to achieve a certain
BBBEE level, has been increased.
These changes may materially affect a business existing BBBEE rating and may
result in an automatic downgrade of its BBBWW status e.g., a business with 75
points may have had an “old rating” of level 3 but would now have a new BBBEE
level 5 rating. This could have major implications on business especially where
they are contractually required to maintain a certain minimum BBBEE status.
Legal practices are advised to review their current BBBEE status to assess the
impact of these amendments and where necessary employ the services of an
expert for advice and a plan to assist them in maintaining the existing BBBEE
rating.
The table below sets out the changes between the old and the new position:
BBBEE Level New Code Old Code
1 ≥100 points ≥100 points
2 ≥95 but <100 ≥85 but <100
3 ≥90 but <95 ≥75 but <85
4 ≥80 but <90 ≥65 but <75
5 ≥75 but <80 ≥55 but <65
6 ≥70 but <75 ≥45 but <55
7 ≥55 but <70 ≥40 but <45
8 ≥40 but <55 ≥30 but <40
Non-Compliant <40 points <30

3.11.4 REVISED BBBEE ELEMENTS
The previous Code provided for seven elements to be considered when
calculating a business’ BBBEE rating, these were ownership, management
control, employment equity, skills development, preferential procurement,
enterprise development and socio-economic development.
By combining the enterprise development/preferential procurement and

management control/employment equity elements, the amended Code only have
five elements. These elements with their amended weighting points are:

Element New Weighting Points Old Weighting Points
Ownership 25 20 plus 3 bonuses
Management Control 15 plus 4 bonuses Management Control – 10
plus 1 bonus
Employment Equity – 15 plus
3 bonus
Skills Development 20 plus 5 bonuses 15
New Enterprise and 40 plus 4 bonuses Preferential Procurement – 20
Supplier Development Enterprise Development – 15
Socio-Economic 5 5
Development
Total 118 107
3.11.5 SMALL, MEDIUM AND START-UP BUSINESSES

Under the previous Code Exempted Microenterprises (EME’s) were deemed to
have a level 4 BBBEE status and start-up enterprises (in the first year of
formation or incorporation) were also measures as EME’s.
This is not changing but the threshold for qualifying as an EME’s has been
increased from R5 million to R10 million of the annual income. This is naturally
a positive development which will assist small practices which would otherwise
note have benefitted from the deemed level 4 status.
The threshold for being a Qualifying Small Enterprise (QSE) has been increased
to having a total annual income of between R10 million to R50 million. QSE’s
BBBEE status will also be measured by reference to all five BBBEE elements
and are subject to an automatic down grade in BBBEE status if the minimum
requirements referred to below are not met.
EME’s and QSE’s that are 100% black-owned will be deemed to be a level 1
BBBEE status and EME’s and QSE’s with 51% black ownership will be deemed
to have a level 2 BBBEE status.
Lastly, EME’s and QSE’s will no longer require a certificate from a BBBEE
verification agent to confirm their BBBEE status. All that is required is an
affidavit certifying that their annual income and level of black ownership. This
will naturally result in a considerable cost saving for SEM’s and QSE’s.
3.11.6 COMPLETION OF FORM B-BBEE 1 AND THE COMPLIANCE MATRIX

Explanatory notice 02 of 2021 on the completion of Form B-BBEE 1 and The
Compliance Matrix For Submission Of A Compliance Report in terms of Section
13g (1) and (2) of the B-BBEE Act can be accessed at:
https://www.bbbeecommission.co.za/wp-

content/uploads/2021/09/Explanatory-Notice-2-of-2021-Guidelines-on-
Completion-of-Compliance-Matrix..pdf
For more information, see the brochure on BBBEE Act and Codes.
Explanation available online at:
https://www.werksmans.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/BBBEE-Codes-
Explained.pdf.
3.11.7 OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

In its report at the end of the first term of office of the elected LPC members,
the outgoing LPC Chairperson reported on 26 October 2021 with regards to
Black Economic Empowerment:
“To comply with its statutory mandate regarding transformation the Council in
May 2019 decided to initiate the facilitation and development of a B-BBEE Legal
Sector Code. A process to develop the Sector Code was embarked upon. A Legal
Sector Code Steering Committee, comprising of major stakeholders in the legal
profession was established to drive the process and conducted countrywide
consultations and drafted the Code. The Legal Sector Code will serve as the B-
BBEE measurement framework for the procurement of legal work by the public
sector (government departments and all its arms including public entities), as
well as the private sector.
The Code was approved by Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, the
Honourable Ronald Lamola and DTIC will publish the draft for public comment
for a period of 60 days. After consideration of contributions from the public it
will be gazetted in terms of the BBBEE Act.
Two key provisions in the Legal Sector Code worth highlighting are:
• Firstly the establishment of a Legal Sector Transformation Fund for the
purpose of receiving and administering contributions made by law firms
and Advocates. This Fund will provide financial assistance and support to
black Legal Practitioners especially Black women including financial
grants to start up law firms and financial support for Black junior
Advocates.
• The second is setting significant targets for the procurement of legal
services from Black Legal Practitioners by both the state and private
sector. The current levels of procurement by both the state and the
private sector are skewed and unfairly disadvantage Black Practitioners.
Once the Legal Sector Code is gazetted, these targets will assist in
ensuring Black firms and Advocates build sustainable practices.”
Legal Practitioners should be aware of the latest developments and provide

input on the content and implementation of the policies and endeavours in this
regard.

For further information, visit https://beeratings.co./B-BBEE and the Draft Legal
Sector Code – BEE Ratings-SA
3.12 PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION ACT NO. 4 OF 2013

(POPIA)
3.12.1 INTRODUCTION
Legal practices often have a great deal of personal information of their
employees, clients, and the opposing parties on record. This information often
includes the client’s full names, ID Number, home, and work address, contact
details, bank account numbers, lists of assets and investments, motor vehicle
description and registration number, their spouse, and dependents’ details, etc.
Along with Legal Practitioners’ professional duty of client confidentiality and
Attorney client privilege, the importance of properly protecting the personal
information entrusted to a Legal Practitioner cannot be underestimated. If this
information falls in the wrong hands and is abused, it could have dire
consequences for all concerned.
The right to privacy is enshrined in our Constitution which expressly states that
everyone has the right to privacy. POPIA is aimed at facilitating the protection
of this important human right. It will have a significant impact on a legal
practice’s processes and systems used in obtaining and storing personal
information of people and once fully implemented, will place a heavy burden on
all businesses.
3.12.2 HELPFUL RESOURCES

The LSSA has published useful guidelines on the Act, which guidelines can be
downloaded at:
https://www.lssa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Guidelines-for-
Lawyers-POPIA-25-June-2021.pdf Please read the Act, Regulations and the
guideline and apply it in your legal practice.
Also see the detailed updated discussion in the Module 1 notes of this course.
3.12.3 TERMINOLOGY
POPIA makes use of terminology which may take some time getting used to.
The terminology is explained in Section 1 (definition Section). Should a reader
not understand a term in the Act or such a terms scope, then the first step
would be look at Section 1 of POPI.
Some of the more pertinent terms are:

• Data Subject (almost always employee and customer): means the person
to whom personal information relates;
• Person means a natural or juristic person;
• Personal information means information relating to an identifiable, living,

natural person, and where it is applicable, an identifiable, existing juristic
person, including, but not limited to:
o information relating to the race, gender, sex, pregnancy;
o marital status, nationality, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual
orientation, age, physical or mental health, wellbeing, disability,
religion, conscience, belief, culture, language, and birth of the
person;
o information relating to the education or the medical, financial,
criminal or employment;
o history of the person;
o any identifying number, symbol, e-mail address, physical address,
telephone number, location;
o information, online identifier, or other particular assignment to the
person;
o the biometric information of the person;
o the personal opinions, views, or preferences of the person;
o correspondence sent by the person that is implicitly or explicitly of
a private or confidential nature or further correspondence that
would reveal the contents of the original correspondence;
o the views or opinions of another individual about the person; and
o the name of the person if it appears with other personal
information relating to the person or if the disclosure of the name
itself would reveal information about the person.
• Processing means any operation or activity or any set of operations,
whether by automatic means, concerning personal information,
including:
o the collection, receipt, recording, organisation, collation, storage,
updating or modification, retrieval, alteration, consultation, or use;
o dissemination by means of transmission, distribution or making
available in any other form; or
o merging, linking, as well as restriction, degradation, erasure, or
destruction of information.
• Record means any recorded information:
o regardless of form or medium, including any of the following
writing on any material, information produced, recorded or stored
by means of any tape-recorder, computer equipment or other
device, and any material subsequently derived from information
so produced, label, marking or other writing that identifies or
describes anything of which it forms part, or to which it is attached
by any means, book, map, plan, graph or drawing, photograph,
film, negative, tape or other device in which one or more visual

images are embodied so as to be capable, with or without the aid
of some other equipment, of being reproduced;
o in the possession or under the control of a responsible party;
o whether or not it was created by a responsible party; and
o regardless of when it came into existence.
• Responsible party means a public or private body or any other person
which, alone or in conjunction with others, determines the purpose of
and means for processing personal information.
3.12.4 APPLICABILITY OF POPIA

In terms of Section 3, POPI finds application once personal information as
defined is entered into a record by, or for a responsible party. POPI’s provisions
trump other legislation in cases of conflict and that should other Acts provide
greater protection to data subjects, such more protective measures should
prevail.
3.12.5 RIGHTS OF DATA SUBJECTS

Section 5 of POPIA provides for various rights of data subjects which includes
the right:
• That the 8 conditions of lawful processing be followed in relation to their
information;
• To be notified that personal information about them is being collected;
• To be notified promptly that their personal information has been
subjected to an unauthorised access;
• To enquire as to whether a responsible party holds their information and
to request access to said information;
• In certain circumstances to request the correction, deletion, or
destruction of their information;
• In certain circumstances to reject the processing of their personal
information;
• Not to be subjected, in certain instances t a decision which is based solely
on an automated process;
• To submit complaints to the Information Regulator and to institute civil
proceedings should the circumstances so permit.
From the above it is clear that the responsible party will have to play open cards
with the data subject should the personal information gathering process be
initiated.
3.12.6 LAWFUL PROCESSING OF INFORMATION

POPIA centres itself around the processing of personal information and the

conditions for lawful processing. It provides for the processing of both personal
information as well as “special” personal information. The general conditions
must be met for the processing of all information, and when special personal
information is processed, then in addition, special conditions must be met.
There are 8 general conditions for processing information, namely:

• Accountability
It is the responsible party who must ensure that they have complied with
POPI both before and during processing. Therefore, the onus falls
squarely on the legal practice in this regard.
• Processing limitation
o Personal information must be processed both lawfully and in a
reasonable manner, so as not to infringe the privacy of the data
subject;
o Personal information may only be processed, if considering the
purpose of the information, it is necessary, adequate, relevant,
and not excessive;
o Only information which is absolutely necessary for making a
decision should be gathered;
o The bottom line being that there must be a need to process such
information, a justified cause if you like to process personal
information, certain requirements must be met, including consent
of the data subject, or the responsible party must show that such
processing is needed to pursue a legitimate interest of the
responsible party;
o Consent can be withdrawn at any time in the processing stage.
Should such request be reasonable, then the responsible party
may no longer process such information;
o Consent should be obtained in advance and be confirmed in
writing;
o Should the party withdraw consent later, then all processes carried
out before withdrawal would be lawful;
o Data collection can be made directly from the data subject, but
that in certain instances collection can be made from other
sources. These certain instances include:
 where the data subject has consented;
 here the data subject has made the information public e.g.,
posted it on social media;
 where the information is part of a public record e.g., Court
Judgment or SARS information;
 where the collection would not prejudice the data subject;
 where the collection is necessary to maintain the legitimate

interests of the responsible party;
 where the integrity of the document is of vital importance
to the employers’ interests.
• Purpose specification
o Information may only be collected for a specific, explicitly defined,
and lawful purpose, which is related to a function or activity of a
responsible party. The focus is on the purpose of the gathering;
o Data subjects must be informed of the purpose of the collection;
o Personal information may not be retained for any period which is
longer than the required time to achieve the purpose unless certain
grounds exist. These certain grounds would include:
 where there is a contract between the parties;
 where the retention is for research purposes and the
responsible party can guarantee safeguards;
 a code of conduct requires the information to be kept in a
record for a certain period.
o The responsible party must delete/destroy/de-identify as soon as
the party may no longer hold such information (on the above
grounds i.e., the record of personal information may not be
reconstructed in an intelligible form. This will include shredding
physical documents and wiping information off the business’
information system.
• Further processing limitation
o processing must be in accordance with the purpose for which it
was collected;
o various factors are taken into account to determine if such
processing is allowable, such as:
 the relationship between the purpose of the intended further
processing and the purpose for which the information has
been collected;
 the nature of the information concerned;
 the consequences of the intended further processing for the
data subject;
 the manner in which the information has been collected;
 any contractual rights and obligations between the parties.
o the limitation shall not apply where:
 the data subject or a competent person where the data
subject is a child has consented to the further processing of
the information;


 the information is available in or derived from a public
record or has deliberately been made public by the data
subject;
 further processing is necessary for the maintenance of law
and order, interests of national security or for purposes of
Court proceedings;
 the further processing of the information is necessary to
prevent or mitigate a serious and imminent threat to public
health or public safety or the life or health of the data
subject or another individual.
• Information quality
o Section 16 deals with information quality and integrity and places
the onus on the responsible party to ensure that the personal
information is complete, accurate, not misleading and updated;
o should be put in place to ensure that information is constantly
checked and updated.
• Openness
o the responsible party must follow the requirements of Section 14
or 51 of the Promotion of Access of Information Act. This means
that the private body must make available such information, on
request, to all persons of whom it holds information of certain
contact details;
o the responsible party must take reasonable and practicable steps
to ensure that certain information is provided to the data subject;
o the responsible party must also communicate to the data subject
its intention to collect data before the information is collected, or
as soon as reasonably possible after the information is gathered;
o the responsible party need not comply with the communication if:
 they have obtained consent from the data subject;
 compliance would prejudice a lawful purpose;
 compliance is not reasonably practicable in the
circumstances;
 the information will be used for statistical purposes;
 the data subject will not be identified in the process.
• Security safeguards
o a responsible party must take all reasonable steps to ensure the
security of information in its possession or under its control and to
prevent loss, damage, and unlawful access to such information;
o responsible parties must identify internal and external risks to
information, establish and maintain appropriate safeguards
against the risks, verify the effective implementation of the

safeguards and ensure the safeguards are continuously updated;
o the LSSA has already provided some guidelines (and will probably
publish more in due course once POPI comes into operation) to
legal practices which they will have to consider when dealing with
security contingencies and procedures;
o this is a very important provision in POPI, it provides for a whole
security system to be initiated and maintained to ensure the
protection of information: Appropriate firewalls should be added to
online systems. Important and confidential documentation should
be housed in secure cabinets, which are preferably lockable. Legal
practices should have policies on removal of hardware (laptops,
tablets) which contain personal information. It should be made
clear to all employees that such information is extremely sensitive,
and they should lock such hardware away;
o an operator or person processing personal information;
o on behalf of the responsible party can only process that
information with the knowledge of the responsible party and has
to treat it as confidential;
o where there are reasonable grounds to believe that information
has been accessed or acquired by any unauthorised person, the
responsible party must as soon as possible and in writing, notify
the regulator and the data subject, if the violation can be
identified.
• Data subject participation
o data subject has the right request, free of charge whether a
responsible party possesses their personal information.
o data subject also has the right to request a record of the personal
information a responsible party has concerning that data subject
and all other parties who have had access to the information within
a reasonable time or at a prescribed fee.
o a responsible party need not disclose information if they are not
permitted to do so in terms of PAIA.
o a data subject may request a responsible party to correct or delete
personal information that is in its possession or under its control
that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date, incomplete,
misleading, or obtained unlawfully or to delete or destroy a record
in terms of Section 14.
3.12.7 PROCESSING OF SPECIAL PERSONAL INFORMATION

Unless certain grounds are present a responsible party may not process
information concerning:
• the religious or philosophical beliefs, race or ethnic origin, trade union

membership, political persuasion, health or sex life or biometric
information of a data subject;
• the criminal behaviour of a data subject to the extent that such
information relates to the alleged commission by a data subject of any
offence, or any proceedings in respect of any offence allegedly committed
by a data subject of any offence allegedly committed by a data subject
or the disposal of such proceedings;
• this limitation on processing does not apply in the following instances:
o processing is carried out with the consent of a data subject
referred;
o processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence
of a right or obligation in law;
o processing is necessary to comply with an obligation of
international public law;
o processing is for historical, statistical or research purposes to the
extent that the purpose serves a public interest, and the
processing is necessary for the purpose concerned or it appears to
be impossible or would involve a disproportionate effort to ask for
consent, and sufficient guarantees are provided for to ensure that
the processing does not adversely affect the individual privacy of
the data subject to a disproportionate extent;
o information has deliberately been made public by the data subject.
3.12.8 CIVIL REMEDIES

In addition to administrative fines being payable responsible parties may be
liable for civil damages to the data subject, or the Information Regulator. POPI
also makes provision for significant damages claims.
Legal practices are encouraged to approach insurance companies and discuss

various options concerning the insurance cover for the risks that POPI poses.
3.12.9 ENFORCEMENT, OFFENCES, REMEDIES AND PENALTIES

POPIA provides for serious consequences should compliance not be maintained.
Legal practices should make every effort to get their house in order.
a) Penalties
Individuals found guilty of violating POPI could either be fined or
imprisoned for prescribed periods between a maximum of 12 months in
certain situations and 10 years in other instances.
b) Administrative fines
A responsible party who has committed an offence, may be held liable to
pay an administrative fine of up to R10 million.

c) Enforcement
POPI provides for an extensive enforcement regime, from complaints all
the way through to enforcement notices and everything in between.
Complaints can be initiated against responsible parties and investigated
by the Information Regulator.
3.12.10 CONCLUSION
Legal practices are responsible parties in terms of POPIA, both in their
professional capacity as well as in their capacity as employer. The penalties for
violation or non-compliance of the provisions of POPIA are severe and could
ruin a legal practice. It is the practice manager’s duty to stay abreast of
developments in this regard and to have the necessary systems in place. In this
regard please register the information officer of the practice and study the
information available at https://www.inforegulator.org.za
4. CONCLUSION
One will constantly develop and learn new and interesting aspects as a Practice
Manager in a Law Firm. Read management books and material and keep seeking
sources of management skills.

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LEGAL PRACTICE

Training Guide The guide for 2024 has been

This training guide is intended as a supplementary Notes on Content

The content may not be a

Lifelong learning towards a just society

Training Guide Topics

Alternative Dispute Resolution High Court Practice Legal Practitioners Accounts

For more information

Tel: (012) 441-4600 | Fax: 086 550 7098 | e-mail: [email protected]

PMT MODULE 5 | LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT © LSSA

1. GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOMES ......................................................1

1.2 LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGER ............................................................. 1

2. THE MANAGER .................................................................................3

2.1 WHAT SKILLS DO A MANAGER NEED? .............................................. 3

2.1.1 Technical .......................................................................... 3

2.2 A MANAGER WEARS MANY DIFFERENT HATS ................................... 6

2.3 OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR VS PRACTICE MANAGER .......................... 6

2.3.1 Nature of work................................................................... 6

2.4 MANAGE WITH INTENT.................................................................... 8

2.4.1 Manage people .................................................................. 8

PMT MODULE 5 | LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT © LSSA

2.5.1 Planning ..........................................................................34

3. THE LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGER ....................................................35

3.1 LEGAL ETHICS ............................................................................... 35

3.1.1 Introduction .....................................................................35

3.2 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT ............................................................... 46

3.2.1 Practice Administration ......................................................46

3.3 COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT .......................................................... 65

3.3.1 Statutory Compliance ........................................................65

3.4 RISK MANAGEMENT ....................................................................... 67

3.4.1 Introduction .....................................................................67

PMT MODULE 5 | LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT © LSSA

3.5 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ............................................................. 76

3.5.1 Budgets ...........................................................................76

3.6 MARKETING MANAGEMENT............................................................ 89

3.6.1 Utilise mailing lists ............................................................90

3.7 IT MANAGEMENT ........................................................................... 90

3.8 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ................................................. 92

3.8.1 Recruitment of Employees ..................................................92

3.9 FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE CENTRE ACT (FICA) ............................ 94

3.9.1 Which Clients do Legal Practitioners have to FICA? .................95

3.10 PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT (PAIA) .............. 108

3.10.1 Requirements for private bodies ........................................ 108

3.11 THE BROAD-BASED BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT ACT NO. 53

3.11.1 Introduction ................................................................... 109

PMT MODULE 5 | LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT © LSSA

3.12 PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION ACT NO. 4 OF 2013

3.12.1 Introduction ................................................................... 115

4. CONCLUSION ............................................................................... 123

PMT MODULE 5 | LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT © LSSA

PMT MODULE 5 | LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT © LSSA

1.2 LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGER

PMT MODULE 5 | LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT © LSSA 1

PMT MODULE 5 | LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT © LSSA 2

2.1.2 HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS

2.1.4 IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE SKILLS, IT IS RECOMMENDED YOU ALSO

2.1.4.2 Emotional Intelligence

PMT MODULE 5 | LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT © LSSA 3

2.1.4.3 Critical Thinking