By Barbara Whittle
Attorneys, by the nature of their practices, typically process vast amounts of personal information. Along with their professional duties of client confidentiality and the more limited, but critically important attorney-and-client privilege requirements, the importance of properly protecting personal information entrusted to attorneys cannot be underestimated. At the time of this issue of De Rebus going to print, the Protection of Personal Information Act was still in Bill form, awaiting signature by the President. It had been passed by the House of Assembly and was being translated into Afrikaans.
Due to the impact of this legislation on attorneys’ firms and also the necessity for attorneys to advise their clients on the legislation, the LSSA’s Protection of Personal Information for South African Law Firms Guidelines have been updated by information law specialist attorney Mark Heyink, and are available on the LSSA website under ‘Legal Practitioners – Resource Documents’ or alternatively on request from contact@LSSA.org.za
Compiled by Barbara Whittle, communication manager, Law Society of South Africa, barbara@lssa.org.za
This article was first published in De Rebus in 2013 (Nov) DR 17.
