Security for Costs vs. Standard Terms & Conditions

Our standard terms & conditions include a clause which basically says that if we institute legal proceedings the other party can’t ask for security for costs. When challenged on this in court the judge found in favour of the other party on the basis that it is “unlawful to include such a clause in the contract” WHAT DO YOU THINK – DOES IT MAKE SENSE?????

Legal Fees verus Performance

Legal Fees verus Performance
I went to see my attorney in Feb this year about a very urgent matter regarding my bond. I saw the attorney after which I received numerous calls asking for a deposit. I paid R3000 deposit. Since then I make weekly calls to find out what the progress is. Despite calls, faxes and emails the only response I get is that he is busy with the matter and waiting for feedback from an advocate. Some 6 months later still nothing. If I go to the attorney and ask him to close the file in the matter I can KISS the deposit goodbye. Unusual no everyday.

Trust Account - Who's money is it anyway???

We placed money in trust with a lawyer for a specific person. We reached an agreement with this person and agreed to pay the trust monies over to him. Our lawyer refused to transfer the money until we paid his legal fees. We agreed to pay on a taxed bill of account. The lawyer refused to provide a taxed bill. We complained to the Law Society. They were not prepared to get involved nor would they even comment on whether or not the attorney was entitled to withhold monies held in trust. Because of time constraints we had no choice but to pay the legal fees?? For a detailed discussion go to http://legal.coolforums.org

The High Court System ????

I want to canvass against the High Court System which enforces a defendant in a divorce to pay massive fees on Counsel. Senior Counsel demand to have Junior Counsel, and both must be instructed by a lawyer. All in all @ R50,000 a day. I have been forced to spend six weeks in court against my ex husband's meritless applications intended only to wear me down financially and emotionally. I am all but ruined financially and have almost lost the will to live. Why on God's good earth should a mother and small child endure this treatment by the Courts in South Africa against an onslaught by a wealthy family in London paying what for them is a fraction of what they would have to pay in London i.e. 300 pounds an hour just for the lawyer alone, when I have no income and am paying in Rands ? My child and I have been suffering the torments of hell for the past four years, since he was two years old, he is now six, trying to prevent the haemorrhage of my entire life savings. R2million has gone down the drain so far. We have a useless BEE Judge who no legal body takes responsibility for and there is no end in sight to our misery. I have had no choice but to sell my home of ten years, my car, my caravan. Bit by bit we are becoming destitute. I now face returning to court with no representation, to face a ruthless and unethical Senior Counsel and Senior Lawyer who have done everything in their power for four long years to drive me to suicide while I try my utmost to look after my child alone and with no family in South Africa. I have done nothing wrong. It was my husband who left for another woman. Yet he is burying me alive and wants to offload our son and myself after ten years of marriage. His lies about my 'abusive conduct' throughout our marriage were only designed to offload his guilt. Is there no justice in South Africa? I am British, but am being prevented from returning home as I cannot leave the jurisdiction of the Cape High Court with my child without my ex husband's permission which he refuses to give. It's insane. My ex husband lives in London full time with his new wife and baby, while we remain tied to a whipping post here in SA.

I am a crook.

Each time I speak to a lawyer he tells me this. Not in words. It is a narrowing of the yes, a slight shift away from me as he fights to find a reason why I might be wrong, a slight feeling that a mere mortal, unschooled in Latin even, might be meddling on his turf. My entire life has been about finding answers. That is the role of a person who wants to get rich in business. That means that the tougher the state of affairs, the harder I must look for more answers. My squint eyed lawyer, by contrast, simply has to say "Ah yes, but what about the income tax?" or "Ah yes, but what about capital gains tax?" or "Ah yes, but have you thought the estate duty issue?" When your lawyer says "Ah yes," what he really means is "No, I don't like that new idea." There is a reason for this. Your lawyer, like mine, and like lawyers all over the world, has been taught one core lesson: Never offer answers. Wait for the questions. Answer those. Do not answer more than you are asked. This lesson is crucial to survive a day in court where each answer offered is liable to cause a slew of new questions and it is not long before your lawyer finds himself in a tangled web. All of this can be simply solved by not giving answers other than to a direct question. So, if you go to your lawyer to detail an idea, and end with a "So what do you think..." you are not asking a direct question. This means that his answer will start with "Ah yes, ..." That is always a bad answer! We assume that all lawyers are equal. They are not. How do you know whether your one passed summa cum laude at the top of the class on his first try? Or whether he only scraped 50.1% after taking six years to finish that last term? I think we can agree that these two persons might not be in the same league, legally speaking. One is the star scrum half, while the other punches the tickets at the entrance to the field. When you're testing ideas, they are so frail that the smallest hint of a "No" is enough to kill them. If we do not review where that "No" comes from, then our dreams will keep on being stillborn. Only go to your lawyer if you have thought through the questions to want to ask, and you have clarified the idea in your own mind. I may have assumed that all lawyers are the same. I am sorry if it seems that way. The fellow at the turnstile will be the first to point out how wrong I am.

Peter Carruthers

Take control back from your lawyer

So many small business owners put there livelihoods and future in the hands of lawyers without questioning the ability or skills of that person. Generally success is this area is directly proportional to how much money you have. The only way to overcome this is through tried and tested strategies - dont expect your lawyer to help you with this. Knowledge is power so lets start talking.....

Need a lawyer in Randburg

Do you know of any good lawyers in the Randburg area. Please I am looking for someone reasonably priced. For more details see http://legal.coolforums.org