Law society ‘financially strained’

RACISM allegations have rocked the “financially strained”, 120-year-old Pretoria Society of Advocates (PSA).

The PSA has been accused that the mooted plans to liquidate are aimed at ridding itself of black practitioners.

The PSA, which has almost 700 members, 18 of whom sit on its bar council, took a decision late last month to explore liquidation of the society – ostensibly because it had run into financial trouble.

However, the Advocates for Transformation (AFT) grouping, which represents more than 100 black practitioners within the PSA, asserted that the liquidation process was being used “as a ruse” to deal with black members, who went against a failed February constitutional amendment to reduce the influence of black advocates in the decision-making of the 18-member bar council. The Daily News’ sister paper The Star reported in March that a motion, tabled by MC Maritz, NGD Maritz and E Furstenburg, failed to end the 50/50 vote split which the AFT enjoyed with its nine members in the 18-member bar council. In a statement sent this week, following The Star’s enquiry about last month’s liquidation reports in its sister publication, Pretoria News, the AFT charged that this liquidation was intended to eliminate black practitioners, who were heavily reliant on two PSA chambers, of seven, to practise their trade.

“AFT believes that the financial position of the society is being used as a ruse to achieve what our white colleagues wanted to achieve in February, which was to get rid of the AFT and black advocates within the Pretoria bar.

“Importantly, two chambers (High Court and New Court in the Pretoria CBD) are occupied by a large number of black advocates, mostly juniors, who were required to pay costs that were created by a group of white advocates that moved to the Club Chambers (in the affluent Pretoria East) – leaving the burden with those who remained in town,” read the AFT statement, which was signed by its Pretoria branch chairperson, Hlalele Molotsi SC.

His views that the PSA liquidation is “a ruse” are echoed in a Tuesday letter to PSA chairperson Jannet Gildenhuys SC from the society’s landlord Arrowgem Properties, which claims that liquidation “is clearly not in the interest of either the PSA or a significant number of previously disadvantaged advocates…” .

This followed negotiations between the PSA and Arrowgem, which stated in the letter that Gildenhuys rejected the “extremely generous offer” to “drastically reduce” the PSA’S liabilities.

Yesterday in a statement to The Star, Gildenhuys said the PSA had suffered financial trouble “in recent years”, that negotiations were still ongoing with the landlord, which she would not comment on.

She further said that the contributions from members did not meet the society’s needs due to a large number of defaulting practitioners and escalated costs caused by empty offices.

Gildenhuys dismissed the racism allegations, saying the liquidation, should it be finalised, would be brought by financial troubles that were exacerbated by the Covid-19 economic crisis. “When the 2020 bar council took office in April, it immediately recognised that the society was in financial trouble and that urgent action was required. The situation was exacerbated by the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown, which took a toll on members’ practices and their ability to meet their financial obligations towards the society.

“The Society’s financial position was assessed and it was found to be unable to meet its financial obligations beyond the end of May within its last remaining available reserves, while continuing with the existing model” Gildenhuys wrote.