Conveyancing, property, divorce and deceased estate lawyers in Cape Town
"An Attorney near me" - Cape Town legal directory
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Free Lawyer Services in Cape Town

There are some services most lawyers will offer for "free", for example the drafting of wills (they do this as they want to be appointed executors and they make their money as executor after you die). However, for most legal services, lawyers understandably want to be paid. So, what do those who can't afford to pay do? Thankfully, there are some avenues out there to obtain free assistance from lawyers (but only if you're poor enough!); they will likely carry out a so-called "means test" to make sure that you are not earning too much or have too high assets:

Western Cape High Court Pro Bono Desk

An advice office providing free early-stage legal help to members of the public in urgent need:

Pro bono lawyers

Pro bono lawyers are free consultation lawyers. Most private lawyers try to provide a small amount of pro bono work (free legal services) every year, which is organised by an entity called "Pro Bono". You can find pro bono lawyers who specialise in all fields of the law, from medical malpractice, criminal law and labour (employment) law to divorces, custody and other aspects of family law. However, this is not a service for the wealthy; a "means test" (basically a check to see whether you can afford it on your own) is carried out to see whether you qualify for the service.

Westminister House building on Adderley Street, Cape Town

University law clinics

Both UCT as well as UWC offer law clinics.

UCT Law Clinic

To qualify for legal assistance from the University of Cape Town's Law Clinic you need to fall into one of the following categories: Contact details are as follows:

UWC Law Clinic

The University of the Western Cape's Law Faculty runs a  Law Clinic which provides a "free legal services to indigent and marginalised communities in the surrounding Cape Metro Region". The have a focus on "gender, human rights abuses and socio-economic rights issues";

Contact details for the UWC law clinic's office administrator are:

Stellenbosch University Law Clinic

A means test is used to assess who qualifies for receiving legal aid.

Assistance for:

Contact details

Women's Legal Centre

Led by an advocate and 2 paralegals; they provide free legal advice to ensure that women have access to justice; they also offer a candidate attorney program to aspiring female attorneys in Cape Town.

SA Society for Labour Law

If you can't afford to hire a labour lawyer do not despair; the South African Society for Labour Law may be able to assist; their SASLAW PRO BONO NPC offer limited legal help to those who cannot access paid legal advice.

Contact details are as follows:

Lawyers for Human Rights

If your constitutional rights have been violated then approach the Lawyers for Human Rights.

Contact details are as follows:

Legal Aid

Legal Aid South Africa is an entity established to accomplish the goals of the Legal Aid South Africa Act and the South African Constitution. The aim is to provide free legal services at the expense of the South African Government; to those who cannot afford to obtain their own legal representation (to apply for Legal Aid you'll need to complete a form setting out what you own and what you earn, to see whether you qualify); they'll look at:

The value of what you own :

any property

your belongings

Your Income

What you earn

Any government grants you are receiving

Note that if you are elderly and receiving a state grant or pension, you don't have to do the above means test. Children also don't need to do the means test, they automatically qualify for assistance (unless it's a civil case, in which event the family of the child need to take the means test).

Legal Aid contact number: +27-800-110-110 (phone it to find legal aid services near you)

"Please Call Me" Number: 079 835 7179 (You send a "please call me," and they will call you back)  

Legal Aid legal services cover both civil cases as well as criminal cases; from deceased estates to consumer legal issues, employment claims, legal help for divorce and custody issues (family law), housing and domestic violence.

Lawyer refusing to accept cash from a lady

Free online attorney advice

Whilst most attorneys don't offer free online advice services (just like they don't offer free offline legal services), you may be able to negotiate a discounted fee for online consultations, and it will definitely save in travel costs to the lawyer's offices. The other advantage of being open to online legal consultation is that it allows you to shop around amongst a larger universe of potential lawyers to help you (rather than just focusing on those in a specific area).

 

Family Law Clinic

They offer assistance with divorces, maintenance, adoption, guardianship, child abuse and domestic violence.

Contact details are as follows:

Phone: +27-21 851 5504

Email: capetown@familylawclinic.org.za

Address: 3 Griselda Close, Somerset West

Centre for Child Law

This is not based in Cape Town.

The Centre for Child Law is a child rights strategic litigation organisation which is registered as a law clinic with the Legal Practice Council and housed in the University of Pretoria’s Law Faculty, where they concurrently conduct research and teaching activities. The CCL utilises strategic litigation, extensive empirical research, and advocacy to advance children’s rights in South Africa. Over the last 25 years, CCL has developed a renowned reputation for ensuring that children’s voices are heard and included in all matters affecting them and serves as the first port of call for judges, lawyers, activists, caregivers, and children themselves when seeking to uphold and fulfil the rights of a child.

Contact details are as follows:

Free or nearly free Divorces

You would also be surprised at how much one can achieve on one's own, for instance more and more people are tackling do-it-yourself divorces; and here's a free antenuptial contract with accrual spreadsheet template for the division of assets at divorce (try populate it yourself to save costs; and then only involve a family lawyer after you've filled it in to review it which we recommend - this is far cheaper than involving an attorney from the start).

Antenuptial contract Excel template

Maintenance orders

Most people appear at maintenance courts unassisted by lawyers. Whilst a maintenance attorney is a great help, if you are willing to do the legwork, a lot can be accomplished on your own. Navigate to this list of forms to apply for maintenance orders, and find the appropriate one to get you started. If you absolutely have to have legal counsel, remember that you have the right to legal counsel, and you can inform the court that you would like legal counsel but can't afford it. There is also a Facebook Group where Child Maintenance Difficulties in SA are discussed (you'll need to discern for yourself whether it's reliable, as anybody can comment who is a member of the Group).

 

Notarial services/Notary Public for free

Notarial services are 99% of the time charged for by lawyers who are notaries (not all lawyers are notaries), but this is one which they'll sometimes do for their friends for free. But all is not lost if you have no uncle in the notarial business; the SA Police will often certify (not notarise) documents intended for legal use in South Africa free of charge. The United States Embassy & Consulate in South Africa generally charges for notarial services it provides; but there are a couple of freebies related to getting passports for minors (see their website for details).  

Notary public near us in Cape Town - in the sky - symbolising the couple's search for a notary so they can finalise their antenuptials

Pro bono advocates

Advocates in South Africa have to provide a certain number of hours of community service; as set out in Government Gazette notice number R 1183 of 29 Oct 2018 (read with Section 29 of the Legal Practice Act).

The catch is that you must have an attorney on record before you can even apply for pro bono assistance from the Cape Bar's Pro Bono Committee. And usually if the advocate is going to act pro bono, the attorney on record would also be pro bono. Click here to find a pro bono application form for the Cape Bar, which should be emailed to cbc@capebar.co.za

Deceased estates

Deceased estate lawyers rarely work for free, but they often do not charge upfront fees, and are willing to be compensated by receiving up to 3.5% of the value of the estate for their services as executors or administrator, or conveyancers of property in the deceased estate.

Newspaper with heading - Deceased Estate Lawyer - Cape Town

Another way of keeping estate fees down; is if you think you can handle most of the executorship work yourself, and you expect the legal work to be minimal, then hire the estate lawyer on an hourly basis at hourly rates, instead of paying away a percentage of the value of the assets. Be sure to hire an estate lawyer who is near you and near where the deceased passed away (and thus near the Master's Office which is managing the estate - this will also help keep travelling and related costs down. These days you can report a deceased estate online for free.

Couple searching for an estate lawyer near me in Cape Town

Trust funds

An area where you'll very seldom find free legal resources is anything to do with trust funds; as by their nature there is some money involved. Trust fund lawyers are usually very expensive unfortunately.

Trust lawyer being searched for on a computer whilst couple are on Table Mountain

Free conveyancing / property lawyer consultation

If you are appointing a property lawyer to act as your conveyancer, you can usually get a free consultation with them when you appoint them as your conveyancers, as they'll get paid in the form of attorney transfer fees when the sale of the proeprty goes through.

Otherwise, if you're not wanting to appoint the attorney as conveyancer, you'll struggle to get a free consultation. As for trust funds and deceased estates; when it comes to property usually it involves a substantial asset, and it's not easy to find pro bono conveyancing attorneys in Cape Town; but not as hard as it is to find a trust fund attorney!

Debt-related issues

If you can afford a lawyer or access free legal aid that's first prize, but there are some things you can do without the assistance of a lawyer"

Document Everything

Research and understand your rights under the National Credit Act.

If the lender didn't properly assess your ability to repay the loan, it could be considered reckless lending.

The NCA regulates permissible fees and charges for loans.

The in duplum rule says that interest on a debt stops accruing once the total amount of unpaid interest equals the original principal debt.

Regulatory bodies:

You can report issues, such as unregistered lenders, to the National Credit Regulator. They have the power to investigate and take action against them.

The Credit Ombud is an independent body that helps resolve issues between consumers and registered credit providers (but may be able to offer guidance for unregistered providers).

Consider Debt Counselling