People standing outside the Western Cape High Court in Keerom Street, Cape Town, South Africa

Trust Account Advocate in South Africa – How does Advocate Muhammad Abduroaf’s Practice?

A relatively recent concept in South Africa is Trust Account Advocates, which came into existence in 2018. The referral advocate profession remains the prevalent type of Advocate to this day. To understand what a Trust Account Advocate is, one needs to understand what a referral advocate is. The Legal Practice Act provides a distinction between Trust Account Advocates and Referral Advocates.

What is a referral advocate in South Africa?

Prior to 2018, all advocates were referred to as only “Advocates”. Advocates were instructed by an attorney. What this meant was that a client would approach an attorney, who would, in turn, instruct and advocate to do work. The work the Advocate would be instructed to do predominantly relates to matters connecting to Court or litigation. Therefore, should a client want to claim money from someone, the attorney would instruct the Advocate to assist in the litigation process. This would include drafting court documents and appearing in Court. The attorney would attend to the administrative matters regarding the case. For example, writing letters, copying documents, filing at Court, and ensuring that everything is in order. The Advocate would then invoice the attorney for work done.

How does a Trust Account Advocate operate in South Africa?

A Trust Account Advocate would be a hybrid between an attorney and a Referral Advocate. The Trust Account advocate would generally do work that referral advocates do; however, they also do work that an attorney would do. The client would, however, pay fees directly to the Trust Account Advocate into his or her Trust Account. This is not possible for Referral Advocates, where fees must be paid into the Attorneys Trust Account. It can only be paid to the Advocate after the work is done.

How does Advocate Muhammad Abduroaf operate as a Trust Account Advocate?

Advocate Muhammad Abduroaf’s practice is a general litigation practice. The client would approach his firm directly for an impending legal matter. After a consultation with Adv. Muhammad Abduroaf and it is resolved that the matter requires his attention, he would take on the matter. If fees are paid in advance, they will be paid into his Trust Account. The same as an attorney would do. The main difference between his practice and that of an attorney working with a Referral Advocate is that the client would deal directly with him as the Advocate in the matter. Not via the attorney.

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