By Nomfundo Manyathi-Jele
No restraint of trade clauses in contracts of articles
The Council of the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) has resolved that the inclusion of a restraint of trade clause to apply to candidate attorneys in contracts of articles of clerkship by principal attorneys who engage the services of candidate attorneys, is unacceptable and that these type of contracts should not be registered by the provincial law societies.
LSSA thanks attorneys for participating in Wills Week
The LSSA would like to thank all the attorneys who participated in National Wills Week, which took place from 11 to 15 September. There was a total of 1 251 attorneys’ firms that participated this year, the number grows substantially year-on-year.
The National Wills Week has become a major campaign by the attorneys’ profession that is recognised and acknowledged by all major stakeholders, the media and the public.
LSSA information brochures: Small claims court
The LSSA’s Small Claims Court Committee has prepared an information brochure on the small claims courts. The brochure is available in multiple languages, namely, English, isiZulu, Afrikaans, Sesotho, Sepedi and isiXhosa.
The small claims court brochure is an addition to the other brochures available, which are –
All LSSA information brochures are available on the LSSA website and can be utilised by attorneys’ firms for information purposes. The brochure templates, which have a space for the firm’s own contact details, can be requested from the LSSA at: LSSA@LSSA.org.za or from (012) 366 8800.
LSSA comments on Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill
The LSSA submitted comments on the draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, 2017. In its submission the LSSA welcomed some of the amendments and also suggested different wording to some of the proposed amendments. In its conclusion it said: ‘[I]n our view, as a firm principle, the legislature should steer clear of retrospective legislation, as such creates additional uncertainty in an already uncertain tax system with the result that taxpayers are not able to properly plan their affairs for fear of retrospective amendments altering the anticipated tax position. An uncertain tax system is detrimental to investment in an economy.’ This submission and other LSSA submissions can be viewed at www.LSSA.org.za under the ‘Our initiatives – Advocacy – Comments on legislation’ tab.
Nomfundo Manyathi-Jele, Communications Officer, Law Society of South Africa, nomfundom@lssa.org.za
This article was first published in De Rebus in 2017 (Nov) DR 11.
