Blog

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“In the summertime, when the weather is high, you can stretch right up and touch the sky.” (Mungo Jerry) Summer’s here with its blue skies, happy holidaymakers from around the country and the world, and, as always, an upsurge in demand for houses. If you’re going to capitalise on...

Parental Leave: Out With the Old, in With the New

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“Raising kids is part joy and part guerilla warfare.” (Ed Asner, actor with a great sense of humour!) A game-changing judgment from our Constitutional Court sets out new rules for parental leave. The joy of becoming parents, and a father’s leave dilemma The birth of a couple’s...

Wedding Bells? You Can Both Choose Your Own Surnames Now

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“A family name holds the music of generations – it’s the first inheritance we receive.” (Attributed to Irish poet-philosopher John O’Donohue) The Constitutional Court has just confirmed (with some significant adjustments) last year’s High Court ruling that both partners in a...

As 1 December Looms, Here’s What AARTO Means for Motorists and Employers

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“Forewarned is forearmed.” (Wise old proverb) Government keeps assuring us that the long-delayed AARTO (Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences) system will finally begin its full national rollout on 1 December 2025. Is this another false start or the real thing this...

The Transfer Process in a Nutshell

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“Don’t wait to buy real estate. Buy real estate and wait.” (Will Rogers) Spring is in the air and, as the annual uptick in property sales kicks in, let’s address two questions commonly asked by both sellers and buyers who are unsure about exactly what happens after they sign...

When Liquidation is Inevitable: A Bad Faith Business Rescue Application Backfires

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“If you’re flogging a dead horse, make sure you’re not riding it.” (Josh Stern) Creditors and company directors alike need to know how best to deal with a company in financial distress. Both should learn to recognise the difference between an enterprise...

Divorce Lawfare: The Serial Litigant and his Stalingrad Strategy

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“This [the Stalingrad Strategy] is a strategy of wearing down the plaintiff by tenaciously fighting anything the plaintiff presents by whatever means possible and appealing every ruling favourable to the plaintiff. Here, the defendant does not present a meritorious case....

Don’t Let Cybercriminals Haunt You this Halloween — Verify, Verify, Verify!

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“If you suspect deceit, hit delete!” (Online cybersecurity slogan) October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a good time to note that as cybercrime continues to grow, more and more businesses and individuals are falling victim to the dreaded “BEC” or “Business Email Compromise”...

Excuses, Excuses: Why People Don’t Make Wills, And Why You Must

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“All that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity.” (William Shakespeare, in Hamlet) Master’s Office records suggest that less than a third of us leave behind a will when we die. That’s astonishing, given the fact that death is one of the few absolute certainties in...

Panhandle Access to Properties – The Mistakes to Avoid

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“You aren’t buying a house, you’re buying a lifestyle.” (Anon) As more and more residential properties are subdivided and developed, an increasing number of homes are effectively cut off from direct access to the nearest public street or road. That’s where the “panhandle” comes...

Neighbours’ Facebook Feud: Cats Pics, Karens & Keyboard Muppets

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“Dance like no one is watching, but text, post, and email like it will be read in court one day.” (Anon) When can the target of rude comments and insults on a community Facebook group sue? The High Court recently grappled with a community debate over free-roaming...

Honesty at Work: A 50c Coin Costs a Bank Teller Her Job

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“There’s no trust, no faith, no honesty in men.” (William Shakespeare, in Romeo and Juliet) A recent Labour Court decision is a stark reminder to employees that an employment relationship is founded on trust, and that any breach of that trust could justify dismissal....

Your House Burns to the Ground: Can You Hold the Seller Liable?

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“Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides.” (William Shakespeare, in King Lear) A recent High Court judgment confirms, yet again, that if a property seller knows about a hidden defect and keeps it quiet, no exemption clause will save them. A loud roar, rolling flames, and a...

Divorce 101: A Simple Guide to the Legal Side

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“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” (C.S. Lewis) Divorce is traumatic, to the extent that it’s widely considered to be the second most stressful life event (behind only the death of a spouse, and ahead of...

What Can You do When a Director Deadlock is Killing Your Company?

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“Diplomats operate through deadlock, which is the way by which two sides can test each other’s determination.” (Henry Kissinger) Running a business with a partner can work brilliantly – until it doesn’t. When co-directors or shareholders fall out and can no longer see eye...

Hamburger From Hell Takes a Bite out of Restaurant’s Profits & Reputation

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“You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour.” (Lord Atkin in the groundbreaking 1932 House of Lords decision that found a soft drink manufacturer liable for a consumer’s shock and illness...

A Bond Clause Deadline Whooshes by and a Sale Dies – Can You Revive it?

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“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” (Douglas Adams in The Salmon of Doubt) Contracts often contain suspensive conditions, a common example being the bond clause in a property sale agreement. The standard bond clause provides that the buyer must...

A Thought for Mandela Month – How Does Ubuntu Impact Your Legal Rights?

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“In Africa there is a concept known as ‘ubuntu’ – the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others.” (Nelson Mandela) International Nelson Mandela Day is celebrated worldwide on 18 July every year, but in South Africa the whole of July is Mandela Month....

What’s the Normal Retirement Age? It’s Complicated, as The Plumber’s Tale Proves

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“When cognitive capacities are the focus, the 70s are the new 50s.” (IMF) Fake news articles suggesting that South Africa was implementing a new standard retirement age policy, supposedly from 30 May this year, recently went viral on social media. Convincingly structured to look...

Private Prosecution: Neighbours at War