Legal insights that matter
Stay informed with our practical insights on South Africa’s legal landscape – what to know, what to avoid, where the opportunities are
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Property
Cancelled Sale, Damaged Property. Who Pays?
When a sale falls through, most people assume restitution means simply giving back the money and the property. A recent High Court decision shows it is rarely that straightforward, particularly if the property itself has changed in the interim. The ruling explains how restoration costs should be worked out, and [...]
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Trusts
Can Family Conflict Kibosh a Trust?
When a trust's founder dies, families often assume that whatever they said they wanted will be honoured, even if the trust deed was never changed to reflect it. A recent Supreme Court of Appeal decision confirms that this is not how trusts work. What governs a trust after the founder's [...]
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Property
Does the Consumer Protection Act Protect Every Tenant?
Paying rent under a residential lease does not automatically make you a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act. A recent Supreme Court of Appeal decision shows that the real question is whether the landlord is letting property in the ordinary course of business. That said, even where the CPA does [...]
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Employment and Labour Law
Whistleblower Reinstated: Protected Disclosures Act to the Rescue
The “Whistleblower’s Act”, formally known as the Protected Disclosures Act, encourages employees to expose corruption, criminal activity and other wrongdoing in the workplace. But what protections does the Act actually give whistleblowers? And what steps should employers and employees take to ensure they comply with it? We’ll answer all of [...]
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Property
One Bad Letter and Your Eviction Falls Apart
A tenant may be in clear breach of a lease, but that does not guarantee a successful eviction. A recent High Court judgment shows how an unclear cancellation notice and a failure to follow the correct legal process can derail an otherwise strong case, leaving landlords with an expensive lesson [...]
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Family Law
Dementia in the Family? Here Are Your Legal Options
A dementia diagnosis affects far more than memory. As mental capacity declines, families are often confronted with difficult legal and financial decisions. Many are surprised to learn that a Power of Attorney may no longer be valid. Understanding the alternatives can help protect a loved one's affairs before a crisis [...]
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Employment and Labour Law Intellectual Property
How to Protect Your Company from Unlawful Springboarding
Your top employee resigns and immediately opens up a new business in direct opposition to you. Using your software, your client relationships and your business methods to springboard their new start-up and poach your clients. We discuss, in the context of a recent High Court case, how our law can [...]
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Tax Trusts
Your Dormant Trust Is Not Invisible to SARS
Trusts remain a valuable estate planning and asset protection tool, but they also carry ongoing compliance obligations. Many trustees assume that a dormant trust with no income, assets, or activity can simply be left alone. SARS has made it clear that inactivity does not remove a trust's compliance obligations. With [...]
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Property
Dodgy Deck: When a Property Defect is Your Problem, Not the Seller’s
“The buyer needs a hundred eyes, the seller not one.” (George Herbert) A Marina Da Gama property. A collapsed wooden deck. A purchase price of R1.55 million and repair costs claimed of just over R100 000. The facts are not complicated. But the legal battle that followed lasted more than [...]
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