Last Monday I once again set foot on familiar ground, the High Court in Pretoria, after an absence of more than two years. Due to Covid restrictions, almost all court appearances were done through what is known as Teams Meetings, which have become a familiar alternative to appearing in open court.

To some extent, certain judges still prefer to conduct hearings on Teams despite the fact that the courts have been cleared to operate normally again.

We were set down for a hearing on a Third-Party case and I found myself secretly looking forward to finding out whom of my old colleagues I would see at court.

Before Covid, the hustle and bustle of running around in the forum at court trying to get matters settled or keeping clients and witnesses calm was feeding the adrenaline rush. That was long gone with Teams and its un-personal consequences.

I was almost denied my reunion with the court in its physical state when we heard over the news that the building adjacent to the court was on fire. The building being the offices of the Legal Professions Council (LPC) made me wonder if any malice was involved.

Was there maybe some legal practitioner who was practising without a Fidelity Fund Certificate, wanting his disciplinary hearing to be cancelled?

The Legal Practice Act 2014 (LPA) provides inter alia for all conditions upon which a practitioner may practise. One of these conditions is that such a practitioner has to hold a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate(FFC). A FFC is issued once a year and is valid for a year unless it is revoked by the LPC.

To qualify for a FFC, your yearly compulsory audit of the trust account must be in order. The auditor has an extensive list of regulations that he has to investigate and to which the practitioner has to comply before the report is submitted to the satisfaction of the LPC.

Only then is a FFC issued.

My advice to clients remains to ensure that their lawyer is in possession of a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate

I found myself rethinking all the years of having to comply with this rigorous scrutiny of a Council that does not only have the interest of lawyers at heart, but also that of their clients. There is simply no place for crooked lawyers, even if one might attempt to burn down a building.

The outcome of the investigation into the fire was not yet available when I wrote this. I am, however, not really concerned that my far-fetched version of the fire might be a reality.

My advice to clients remains to ensure that their lawyer is in possession of a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate before employing said lawyer. (You can view our Fidelity Fund Certificates HERE)

In the meanwhile, I met up with a couple of old colleagues in court 4B and had a chat about court life after Covid, while waiting for the judge who was delayed because of the fire engines blocking the street.

It is good to be back and have your matters settled and make the settlement an order of the court.