Corporate & Commercial Law
Our Corporate Commercial Department offers our business clients a wide range of legal services. Our advice and assistance includes, but is not limited to the following:
- Negotiation of transactions
- Drafting of legal documents
- Corporate Structuring, Restructuring or Reorganisations
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Black Economic Empowerment
- Business Rescue
- Commercial agreements including shareholders’ agreements, loan agreements, subscription agreements, sale of business agreements, sale of shares agreements, service agreements, settlement agreements, lease agreements and business trust deeds
- Corporate legislation including the Companies Act, 2008, the Close Corporations Act, 1984, the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 and the National Credit Act, 2005
- Financial legislation and anti-money laundering legislation including the Banks Act, 1990, Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (” FICA”), Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002 (“FAIS”), Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004, Promotion of Access to Information Act (“PAIA”) and the Security Service Act, 2004
- Corporate governance including company formation and registration, duties of directors, drafting Memoranda of Incorporation (“MOIs’), special resolutions, ordinary resolutions, directors’ resolutions, notices of meetings and minutes of meetings, reviewing board packs of large companies and filing prescribed forms with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (“CIPC”)
- Due diligence investigations
- Business Trusts
- Related tax advisory services
- Related commercial litigation
Property Law
- Negotiating and drafting agreements relating to the sale and lease of residential, commercial, industrial & agricultural properties
- Property transfers
- Registration and cancellation of all types of bonds
- Miscellaneous applications, consents and endorsements required in the conveyancing process
- Registration of all types of servitudes
- Subdivision and consolidation of properties
- Sectional Title and Share Block schemes
- Property development structures
- Land rights
- Property due diligence
- Deeds Office searches
- Township establishments
Personal Injury Claims
Expert legal services regarding personal injury include counsel, the processing of claims and handling of matters related to:
- Motor vehicle and/or road accident claims in accordance with the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996
- Medical malpractice claims, medical negligence claims, nursing home abuse
- Slip and fall claims, premises liability
- Metrorail, PRASA or train accident claims
- Dog bite and animal attack claims
- Lift and gate or door malfunction claims
- Police assault claims, police misconduct and wrongful arrest and detention claims
- Claims against municipalities, including City of Cape Town, State and/or Government
Arbitration And Mediation
Conflict and/or dispute resolution, civil and commercial mediation, as well as divorce mediation in all aspects related to family law and divorce, including:
- Patrimonial claims (assets and liabilities)
- Division of the joint estate
- Accrual claims
- Jointly owned assets
- Trusts
- Parental responsibilities and rights
- Care and contact (custody and access)
- Maintenance
- Guardianship
- Spousal maintenance
Family Law
Our experienced Family and Divorce Department is able to assist with any family law issues that arise, including:
- Antenuptial contracts, pre-nuptial contracts and prenups, change of matrimonial property regimes
- Civil Unions, gay rights / same sex rights
- Divorce Agreement Guidelines in accordance with the Divorce Act 70 of 1979: Uncontested Divorce, Mediated Divorce, Contested Divorce
- Maintenance payments to be made to a spouse or for children
- Guardianship, custody and access to children, parenting plans
- The division of assets including the home
- Arrangements regarding medical aid and retirement plans and other relevant matters
- Children’s rights, care and contact, custody including primary residence / shared residence regimes, contact rights of non-resident parents, guardianship and major decision-making
- Spousal maintenance, child maintenance in accordance with the Maintenance Act 99 of 1998 and the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, maintenance application, variations of maintenance agreements
- Applications regarding parental rights and responsibilities, applications for interim support and/or contact arrangements pending a divorce, Rule 43 applications in the High Court and Rule 58 of the Magistrate’s Court for interim relief
- Applications for the recognition of foreign divorce orders
- Child abduction
- Cohabitation agreements, domestic partnerships
- Domestic violence and harassment applications (protection orders)
- Enforcement of maintenance order and recovery of arrear maintenance
- Surrogacy agreements, surrogacy law
- Enforcement of orders relating to family law matters
- Rights of fathers of children born out of wedlock
General Litigation
Litigation refers to the act of enforcing one’s rights by means of the courts. The courts in South Africa are divided into lower courts and superior courts: Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Appeal, High Court, Regional Court, Magistrate’s Court, as well as support for other formal tribunals and forums. Services in this area include:
- Commercial litigation
- Settlement negotiations
- Urgent applications
- Legal opinions
- Contract litigation
- Constitutional, public and administrative law advice and litigation
- All aspects of defended litigation arising from debt collections
- Formulation of contractual claims
- Interdicts of various kinds
- Landlord and tenant disputes, damage to property claims
- Sale and purchase disputes
- Enforcement of monetary claims and specific performance
- Material damage to motor vehicles or other losses
- Insurance claims
Debt Collections
Services in this area include:
- Soft collections, collection of bad debt, tracing a debtor, letter of demand, Section 129 letter, acknowledgement of debt, recovering a debt, collect arrear rental
- Hard collection, collection of amounts owed by means of legal action, therefore by issuing either a summons/Section 58 or liquidation/ sequestration application
- Commercial collections
- Applying for Default Judgment
- Applying for Summary Judgment
- Litigation in Defended Actions all the way to trial
- Preparation of Warrant of Execution
- Section 65 (Debtors’ Court)
- Applications to declare immovable property executable
Estate Planning And Administration
- Estate planning
- Drafting, preparation, updating and advice of wills and trusts
- Administration of solvent and insolvent estates
- Act as executors / executrix of estates
- Reporting the estate to the Master of the High Court including letters of authority or letters of executorship and preparing the accounts for approval and final administration
- Open and managing of the estate bank account
- Placing of the required advertisements in the local newspaper and Government Gazette
- Drawing up the Liquidation and Distribution account and obtaining the Masters’ approval
- Calculation and arrangement of estate duty payments to SARS
- Interpretation of a will
- Assistance in the challenging or opposing the validity of a will
Insolvency Law
We provide the following services in relation to insolvency law:
- Liquidations of companies and close corporations
- Sequestrations of trusts and individuals
- Voluntary winding up of companies