• As a pupil member at the FSA you will be introduced to a number of practices, conventions, courtesies and procedures with which it is important that you quickly become familiar. In this regard your pupil mentor will guide you. In addition, the various members of the Bar Council who discharge particular duties in regard to professional matters, pupillage matters, housing of new members, the charging of fees, and so on, are available to you at all reasonable hours in regard to any enquiries that you may have.

• At the commencement of pupillage, you will be furnished with a Pupillage File which will contain all the relevant information and documentation concerning the pupillage programme. It is important that you study the information and documentation carefully and adhere to the requirements which are set out therein.

• It is required from each pupil to keep record of their activities and work performed during pupillage. This record should contain meaningful entries in regard to when, where and what work was done, and whether it was performed with the pupil mentor or with another member of the Bar. In particular, where a pupil attended court proceedings, all relevant information relating to the proceedings should be recorded, for example, the case number, the names of the parties involved, the type of proceedings, the date(s) the pupil attended the proceedings, and where possible, the particulars of the legal representatives who represented the parties.

• From the commencement of your pupillage you are immediately entitled to the full use of the Bar Library. As most pupils do not possess libraries of their own, it is important for you to become familiar with the layout and content of the library so that it may be used by you when you begin practice quickly and efficiently.

• An important matter that will require your attention when you commence practice is access to legal resources. Nowadays many resources are available electronically, but much of that is by subscription. It is advisable for you to make prudent decisions regarding building up your own library of electronic resources and physical volumes. It is advisable to become familiar with what textbooks and other resources exist on the various legal subjects, and to become familiar with the most recent editions available in respect of textbooks, before you commit to buying them or subscribing to electronic resources.

• We do not use “Adv”, “Mr” or “Mrs” or any other titles in addressing each other as colleagues. The custom is to address one another by surname or first name without regard to seniority. It is a tradition of the Bar that new members should make themselves known to existing members by calling at their chambers and introducing themselves. At the commencement of pupillage, a list of the current members of the FSA (in seniority) will be provided by the office manager to each pupil. It is in your own interests to avoid anonymity whilst at the Bar and the importance of observing this tradition cannot be overstated.

• An important advantage that you can gain for yourself during pupillage is to build up a set of precedents, that is to say examples of well-drawn pleadings, affidavits, opinions, advices on evidence, notices of motion, petitions, heads of argument, etc.

• It should always be remembered that the benefit to be obtained from the period of pupillage is the body of knowledge that you have at the end of it. It will also be a golden period in your career at the Bar, a time during which you are not expected to know much or even anything, and therefore cannot be embarrassed by asking simple questions. You are encouraged to question, to seek confirmation and to persist in doing so until you are quite satisfied that you fully understand any matter of concern to you. The more you ask during pupillage, the less anxiety you will experience when you write the examinations or commence practice. It is important not to spend your pupillage year as a spectator. You must experience what goes into producing pleadings, opinions, advices on evidence and the like. You will find out more about what you do not know by attempting the job yourself than by watching it done well by someone else. When you know what you are uncertain of, you will know what you need to learn.

• During the course of the work that you will be requested to perform alongside your pupil mentor or another member of the Bar, opportunities will arise to stand up and speak in Court. You are encouraged to take every possible advantage of these opportunities. An important objective of pupillage is to introduce new members not only to the art of Court craft, but to put them at ease when practising it. Any reticence which you might have about speaking in public, or addressing a Judge, or articulating unfamiliar thoughts, can be overcome incrementally by taking every opportunity to address the Court.

• You should remember that one of the objectives of pupillage is to assist you to form a systematic approach to the practice of law. Every practitioner has their own approach and you should, from the earliest time, begin to consciously think about developing your own approach. A very important aspect of efficient legal practice is the ability to organise and access information quickly and efficiently. You should have a full understanding of this requirement and develop clear thinking to suit your own style in regard to how it is to be done.

• Throughout the period of your pupillage you are free to contact the Pupillage Convenor or any member of the Pupillage Committee to discuss any matter of concern to yourself. The Pupillage Convenor and members of the Pupillage Committee will expect you to call on them from time to time and you are encouraged to make full use of the opportunity to discuss your pupillage with them.

 

• Immediately after you successfully completed pupillage and after you complied with all the Statutory requirements to practice as an advocate, it will be necessary for you to take up approved chambers.

• Your relationship with your pupil mentor does not terminate at the end of your pupillage and it is traditional that a collegial relationship continues indefinitely thereafter. Notwithstanding having successfully passed through pupillage, you will doubtless come upon many questions to which you may be uncertain of answers, and it is the convention that you may approach your mentor or any other member of the Bar with whom you are acquainted for assistance with difficulties. You should, however, bear in mind that it is not considered good form to approach either your pupil mentor or another member of the Bar with a problem before having made some earnest effort to solve the problem yourself and at least to have some ideas upon how the problem should be solved.

• As you will now be in a position to start charging fees for the work you have done, it is important that you have a proper understanding of how to charge a reasonable fee. If you are in doubt as to how to approach the matter, you are encouraged to approach any one or more of the members of the Bar Council for guidance in this regard.

• From time to time you may be faced with uncertainty as to how to conduct yourself in a particular situation. Should you need guidance in regard to whether or not conduct which you are contemplating is considered as ethical or professional, the members of the Bar Council are available to you for guidance in this regard.

• The FSA is a collegial society which welcomes and encourages participation. You are encouraged to make use of the facilities of the Bar and to make yourself at home and to be comfortable with colleagues. You will find that the more you participate in the affairs of the Bar and contribute to its well-being, the more rewarding the membership of the Bar will be to you.

 

• During pupillage, you will be expected to ensure that you are admitted as a legal practitioner and enrolled as an advocate as soon as you are eligible to do so. Pupillage does not automatically lead to admission and enrolment as an advocate, but you will not be able to become a full member of the FSA unless you are admitted and enrolled as an advocate.

• Because of recent changes in the law, the procedure you are required to follow to become admitted and enrolled as an advocate depends on your status at the point when you commence pupillage. There are at least four categories of pupils.

• Pupils who are already admitted under the Admission of Advocates Act 74 of 1964 (“Admission of Advocates Act”). Some applicants for pupillage will already have been admitted as advocates under the (now repealed) Admission of Advocates Act. These applicants are deemed to be admitted as legal practitioners and enrolled as advocates in terms of section 114 of the LPA. They need take no further steps to gain admission. Once they complete all the requirements of pupillage, they will become full members of the FSA.

• Pupils who qualified, in principle, to be admitted in terms of the Admission of Advocates Act as at 31 October 2018. These applicants for pupillage are entitled to be admitted as advocates in terms of sections 24 and 115 of the LPA, read with section 3 of the Admission of Advocates Act. As a general rule, if, on 31 October 2018, you met all of the requirements to become an advocate set out in section 3 of the Admission of Advocates Act, then you may apply to the High Court to be admitted and enrolled as an advocate as if the Admission of Advocates Act were still in force. The requirements for admission under section 3 of the Admission of Advocates Act are set out in this document.

Pupils who are attorneys.

• Applicants for pupillage who were attorneys on 31 October 2018 and who qualified, in principle, to be admitted as advocates on 31 October 2018, but who subsequently became attorneys, also qualify to be admitted as advocates in terms of the transitional provisions of the LPA. They must bring an application to the High Court for an order removing them from the roll of attorneys, admitting them as legal practitioners, and directing the Legal Practice Council (“LPC”) to enrol them as advocates.

• Applicants who did not qualify, in principle, to become advocates on 31 October 2018, and who were subsequently admitted as legal practitioners under the LPA, and enrolled as attorneys, must apply to the LPC to convert their enrolment to that of an advocate in terms of section 32 of the LPA, read with Rule 30 of the South African LPC Rules. The requirements for such an application are set out in Rule 30 of the LPC Rules. The FSA’s pupillage programme, in conjunction with the General Council of Bar, is structured so as to enable these pupils to comply with the advanced advocacy requirements for conversion.

• Pupils who did not meet the requirements of section 3 of the Admission of Advocates Act on 31 October 2018, and who are not attorneys.

• These applicants for pupillage must comply with all of the operative requirements of sections 24, 26 and 29 of the LPA. They must sign and lodge a practical vocational training contract with the LPC. They will only be able to apply for admission and enrolment as an advocate at the end of pupillage – i.e. once the 12-month period stipulated in their contract has expired – and once they can demonstrate that they have met all of the other requirements set out in the LPA.

• Once they are admitted as advocates, and provided that they have met all of the requirements for admission to the FSA, they will become full members of the FSA as well. The FSA’s pupillage programme is structured so as to enable these pupils to comply with all the requirements of the LPA.

• The FSA will, at the end of pupillage, support the admission and enrolment of all pupils who have met all of the requirements of pupillage, and who are otherwise fit and proper to be admitted to the FSA.

Applications in Terms of Section 115 of the Legal Practice Act

Pursuant to a directive issued by the Legal Practice Council (“LPC”) on 29 April 2019, all applications for admission as an advocate under section 115 of the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 (“LPA”) must be considered by the Free State Bar Council (“FSBC”).

Section 115 applies only to individuals who were entitled to be admitted as advocates prior to 1 November 2018.

Applications not brought under section 115 — for example, where the LLB degree was obtained after 31 October 2018 — will not be considered by the FSBC. These must be filed directly with the LPC. All related queries should be addressed to the LPC.

Attorneys currently admitted and wishing to be admitted as advocates under section 115 must also serve their applications on the FSBC in accordance with the process below. Templates for this process are available in the list of downloadable documents.

General Requirements

All applications must be filed at the Registrar of the Free State High Court, Bloemfontein.

Physical service on the Free State Society of Advocates (“FSSA”) remains mandatory.

Application Procedure

1.  Issuing and Filing

File and issue the application at least six clear weeks before the hearing date.

Prepare an original for the Free State High Court and three copies for the applicant, the LPC, and the FSBC.

2. Service Steps:

Have all copies stamped by the LPC and file one copy with them.

The LPC will assess compliance with section 115.

If compliant, you will be required to pay the prescribed fee (Confirm the fee with the LPC).

Upon payment, the LPC will issue a receipt.

Serve a copy of the application, together with proof of LPC payment, on the FSBC.  (Note:  The FSBC will not accept applications without proof of LPC payment.)

Provide the LPC with a copy showing proof of service on the FSBC.

File the original application in the Court file.

Retain the final copy for your own records.

Recommendation:  The FSBC strongly advises applicants to engage an attorney for assistance.

3. Reference Check Requirements:

For the FSBC to properly consider and comment on applications, the following must be submitted together with the application (but not as annexures to the court papers):

Fingerprint Clearance Certificate – obtainable from [Afiswitch.com].

Important:

All reference documents (e.g., fingerprint clearances, police clearances) must be issued within three months prior to submission.

Applications will not be considered without these documents when served on the FSBC.

Templates Available for Download

• Guidelines for drafting the application.
• Notice of Motion.
• Notice of Motion (Current admitted attorneys).
• Founding Affidavit.
• Founding Affidavit (Current admitted attorneys).
• Affidavit confirming identity.

Governing Rules and Regulations

• Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014.
• LPC Notice dated 29 April 2019.
• Uniform Rules of Court – Rule 3A, Rule 6, and Form 2.

Additional Notes for Applicants

The onus rests on the applicant to ensure compliance with all requirements of the LPA.

Applications will only be considered once all documents — including reference checks — have been received.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome via the email address provided in the Notice of Motion.

Applicants must personally collect the original FSSA letter to Court from the FSSA’s offices and place it in the Court file.

A few days before the hearing, it is the applicant’s responsibility to confirm that all documents are in the Court file.