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Attorneys Act, 1979 (Act No. 53 of 1979)

Chapter I : Practitioners: Qualifications, Admission and Removal from Roll

3. By whom candidate attorneys may be engaged

 

(1) A candidate attorney shall only be engaged or retained by a person practicing the profession of attorney
(a) on his or her own account; or
(b) as a partner in a firm of attorneys; or
(c) as a member of a professional company; or
(d) as State Attorney; or
(e) as Deputy State Attorney, Senior Assistant State Attorney or Assistant State Attorney in the office of the State Attorney or any branch thereof; or
(f) in the full-time employment of a law clinic, and if the council of the society having jurisdiction in the area in which that law clinic is operated, certifies that the law clinic concerned complies with the requirements prescribed by the council for the operation of the clinic;

[Section 3(1)(f) amended by section 3(a) of Act No. 40 of 2014]

(fA) as an employee of the Legal Aid South Africa at an office of the Legal Aid South Africa;

[Section 3(1)(fA) amended by section 25(1) of Act No. 39 of 2014]

(g) [Deleted]
(h) [Deleted]
(i) who has, save where he or she has already qualified to engage or retain a candidate attorney as contemplated in paragraph (j)—

[Words preceding section 3(1)(i)(i) substituted by section 14 of Act No. 8 of 2017]

(i) if he or she is an attorney so practising on his or her own account or as a partner in a firm of attorneys or as a member of a professional company, or is employed full-time at a law clinic, or is employed full-time at an office of Legal Aid South Africa, so practised or been so employed for a period of three years or periods of three years in the aggregate during the preceding four years;

[Section 3(1)(i)(i) amended by section 25(1) of Act No. 39 of 2014]

(ii) if he is the State Attorney or any Deputy State Attorney, Senior Assistant State Attorney or Assistant State Attorney as aforesaid, practised the profession in the office of the State Attorney or any branch thereof continuously for a period of four years immediately prior to taking such candidate attorney under articles; and

[Sectuib 3(1)(i)(ii) amended by section 3(b) of Act No. 40 of 2014

(j) if he or she is an attorney who has practised as a professional assistant in a firm of attorneys or at a professional company for a period of five years within the preceding six years.

[Section 3(1)(j) inserted by section 3(c) of Act No. 40 of 2014]

 

(2) Service by any candidate attorney to any attorney while such attorney is not practising the profession as referred to in subsection (1), shall not be deemed to be good or sufficient service for the purposes of this Act.

 

(3) An attorney shall at no time have more than three candidate attorneys under articles: Provided that—
(a) on the death or retirement from practice of any attorney, any of his or her surviving or remaining partners, any member of the professional company of which he or she was a member or any other person who as an attorney is employed full-time at the law clinic concerned;
(b) where an attorney has been debarred under section 72(1)(a)(iii) from continuing with a contract of articles, any of his or her partners, any other member of the professional company of which he is a member or any other person who as an attorney is employed full-time at the law clinic concerned,

[Section 3(3)(b) amended by section 2(d) of Act  No. 102 of 1991]

may take cession of the articles of any candidate attorney articled to such attorney, although the cessionary will then have more than three candidate attorneys in his or her employment.

[Section 3(3) amended by section 2 of Act No. 87 of 1989]