“All is fair in love and war…and business is war.” (Jasmine Kundra) When company directors are locked in dispute, one of them may be tempted to cut off the other’s access to emails and to the business server – a tactic likely to have immediate and serious consequences for the director thus cut off. Its...Read More

“It would thus be prudent that a commercial lease agreement includes a clause dealing with the risk associated with vis maior, casus fortuitus and the impossibility of performance.” (Extract from judgment below) The Covid-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns and restrictions have impacted negatively on many businesses, and there has been much uncertainty as to...Read More

Tell us a bit about yourself… My family is originally from Pietermaritzburg, and I was born and schooled here. My wife and I have been married for 23 years and we have two teenage daughters. My wife is also an attorney however we have a rule to never discuss work at home! What inspired you...Read More

“A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.” (Hunter S. Thompson)          Since 2005 businesses have been repeatedly told “get your PAIA (Promotion of Access to Information Act) manual sorted now, the deadline is approaching”. And every 5 years since then, those (mostly...Read More

“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago” (Warren Buffett) Whilst the first and most important step in your estate planning is always to have in place a professionally drawn and regularly updated will (“Last Will and Testament”), there is another aspect which demands your urgent attention, particularly...Read More

“… it is by now long established in our law that the owner or other person or entity in control of a shopping mall has a legal duty to take reasonable steps to ensure that its premises are ‘reasonably safe’ for those members of the public who might frequent them … What such steps may...Read More

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” (Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger, Roman philosopher) History has not recorded whether Seneca himself was “lucky” in the property market of his time (Rome’s land registration records from two millennia ago have unfortunately not survived the ravages of time and Imperial collapse) but his wise words are...Read More

Becoming a new homeowner can be very exciting, but before you can decide on the furniture structure or the colour of the bedroom walls, there is one more hurdle to cross, TRANSFER COSTS!!! Scary, isn’t it? However, it is very important to understand what exactly it is you are paying for, so you need to...Read More

Should you own a house (immovable property) PRIOR to being married in community of property; you may want to consider a few points with your Estate plan. Benjamin Franklin very wisely stated: “By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail.” How will you know if you are married in or out of Community of...Read More

“Whilst the Act no longer uses the term “illegitimate child” this is implied by the reference to so-called children “born out of wedlock” which continues to perpetuate the common law distinction between so-called “legitimate” and “illegitimate” children. This reference is a stark reminder that we, as a nation, are still grappling with outmoded legal terminology...Read More