Many of you know that I have served my articles with Legal Aid South Africa. This institution provides free legal services to the indigent. To the Legislator the "Indigent" are those individuals with a monthly income of R 5 000.00 or less.
Having started working for the first private sector law firm in 2010 has taught me how big a gap there is between the indigent who get free legal assistance from the State and the wealthy (let's say those who earn R 30 000.00 per month or more) who actually appoint attorneys.
I have seen bills from a number of attorneys in my time and have noticed how much more than the party and party tariffs get charged. For those who don't know what the party and party tariffs are- they are tariffs set by the rules of our courts.
The deviation was justified under the old rules of the Law Society of South Africa in that upward or downward deviation was allowed as long as it has been agreed to between the attorney and client.
This is the main reason why you will not see any two law firms charging the same fees.
Members of the public may have been exposed to Magistrates' Court Litigation and High Court litigation and might know the difference in cost between these two forums. The irony in all this, however, is that the Bill of Rights in this country's Constitution has enshrined every person's right of access to the courts of law.
This is where I come in. The fee structure I have adopted apply to all clients. I have no such thing as a "special" tariff for Government clients or "wealthy" clients as opposed to those who have just entered the job market.
My fee agreement that I conclude with clients is also straightforward and easy to understand.
In the event of a bill becoming too high to be paid immediately arrangements can be made for payment in installments. Part of the preparation I do for this eventuality is finding out a client's monthly income at the beginning of my handling the matter.
So- if you need legal advice or assistance are regarded as being "too rich" for Legal Aid and "too poor" for the private firms- contact me and take a look at my fee structure. (No- I won't publish it here, but you are welcome to tell others once you have seen it.)
Having started working for the first private sector law firm in 2010 has taught me how big a gap there is between the indigent who get free legal assistance from the State and the wealthy (let's say those who earn R 30 000.00 per month or more) who actually appoint attorneys.
I have seen bills from a number of attorneys in my time and have noticed how much more than the party and party tariffs get charged. For those who don't know what the party and party tariffs are- they are tariffs set by the rules of our courts.
The deviation was justified under the old rules of the Law Society of South Africa in that upward or downward deviation was allowed as long as it has been agreed to between the attorney and client.
This is the main reason why you will not see any two law firms charging the same fees.
Members of the public may have been exposed to Magistrates' Court Litigation and High Court litigation and might know the difference in cost between these two forums. The irony in all this, however, is that the Bill of Rights in this country's Constitution has enshrined every person's right of access to the courts of law.
This is where I come in. The fee structure I have adopted apply to all clients. I have no such thing as a "special" tariff for Government clients or "wealthy" clients as opposed to those who have just entered the job market.
My fee agreement that I conclude with clients is also straightforward and easy to understand.
In the event of a bill becoming too high to be paid immediately arrangements can be made for payment in installments. Part of the preparation I do for this eventuality is finding out a client's monthly income at the beginning of my handling the matter.
So- if you need legal advice or assistance are regarded as being "too rich" for Legal Aid and "too poor" for the private firms- contact me and take a look at my fee structure. (No- I won't publish it here, but you are welcome to tell others once you have seen it.)
