By Anthony Pillay

The board of the Attorneys Development Fund (ADF) has adopted revised application criteria in order to streamline the process for those attorneys’ firms in need of business support.

The ADF was established in 2011 as a joint venture between the Attorneys Fidelity Fund, the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) and its six constituent members. Its main aim is to provide business support loans to newly established and deserving attorneys’ firms in the form of infrastructure and mentorship.

The following application criteria for attorneys’ firms apply with immediate effect.

An applicant must –

• be an admitted attorney;
• be in need of growth, which includes growth in a new area or branch of emerging law;
• be in a position to conduct a sustainable practice with the business support;
• be willing to be monitored continually;
• be in need of infrastructural technology;
• be in need of infrastructural resources and equipment;
• recognise and accept his responsibility to repay the loan;
• have the capacity to become an efficient and proficient attorney;
• have the capacity to learn how to establish and run a successful business;
• provide a business plan, marketing plan and cash flow statement;
• be willing to be mentored and trained further;
• be within acceptable margins as a business risk – applicants with negative records with credit bureaus are considered a risk to the ADF;
• be without his own funds/assets to finance his new practice operational needs;
• have either registered, been exempted from, or undertaken to enrol for the mandatory practice management training course; and
• be in good standing with his statutory, provincial law society.

The ADF may request additional information and/or details about any information provided.

The ADF has sourced various reputable suppliers to provide infrastructural technology, resources and equipment. The ADF pays these suppliers direct for the required infrastructure. Therefore, the attorneys’ firm receives the infrastructure and does not receive any cash. Note that no direct cash requests will be considered.

The infrastructure to be allocated to each attorneys’ firm depends on the firm’s needs and could include computers/laptops, internet connectivity, accounting software, printers, desks and chairs. The cost of the infrastructure, including an interest rate of prime minus three, is repayable by the attorneys’ firm over a maximum period of three years. No interest is levied where the recipient repays the loan within the first 12 months.

Interested applicants should consult the ADF website on www.adf.za.net for further information and application forms.

Applications are considered by the ADF on a quarterly basis.

Anthony Pillay, finance director, Law Society of South Africa, tony@LSSA.org.za

This article was first published in De Rebus in 2012 (Oct) DR 18.