Our Legal Service

We had extensive experience in commercial litigation in the Magistrates Court, Regional Court, High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeals and successful judgements in the Supreme Court of Appeals.

We have acted over the years for large corporate clients, as well as small and medium businesses, in a range of disputes, which includes disputes arising out of:

• Commercial agreements
• Claims arising out of goods sold and delivered
• Services rendered
• Breach of restraints of trade
• Employment contracts
• Claims for personal injury and patrimonial loss
• Claims for Estate Agents Commission.

Offering advice and assistance for legal prosecution and challenges allows us to offer our clients a prosperous legal footing. We represent our clients in trials, arbitrations and mediations in which case clients will be seeking for money damages or specific performance instead of criminal sanctions.

We also handle civil correspondent instruction on behalf of our clients and ensure they know what these instructions mean.

Our civil litigation covers:

• Contractual disputes
• Collections
• Damages claims
• Monies claimed for services rendered
• National Credit Act
• Consumer Protection related litigation

• Drafting employment contracts
• Drafting recognition agreements
• Drafting collective agreements
• Initiating disciplinary hearings
• Chairing disciplinary hearings
• Mediating and arbitrating labour disputes at all forums
• Legal representation at CCMA Nationwide
• Legal representation at the Labour Courts Nationwide
• Legal opinions on any aspect of the Labour Laws

• Mergers, Acquisitions and Takeovers
• Structuring of Corporate Transactions
• Company Formations
• Shareholders Agreements

Our experienced attorneys can assist with navigating the complex field of construction and engineering law.

Our offering includes:

• Customised contracts
• Interpretation of complex agreements
• Project documentation
• Tender and bid drafting
• Mediation and arbitration
• Dispute resolution
• Project finance
• Procurement
• Compliance
• Partnerships
• Governance and ethics

Drafting of policies to resolution of disputes, it is important to find an experienced insurance lawyer.

Our Insurance Services include:

• Advising on policies
• Drafting agreements
• Advice on estate planning
• Risk management
• Legal opinions
• Alternative dispute resolution

Our firm has had extensive experience in the area of Insolvency Law, including:

• The Sequestration of individuals
• The liquidation of Companies and Close Corporations
• As well as Applications for the rehabilitation of individuals that have been previously sequestrated.

We have extensive experience offering advisory services on all parts of the process involved in an invitation for tenders, including call for tenders and bids.

We also offer assistance to public authorities, companies and private customers in connection with all kinds of public/private collaboration and concessions.

We offer assistance with the following:

• Tender and bid material
• Review of tender procedures
• Preparation of contracts
• Control of the selection phase
• Review of bids made
• Access to documents in connection with evaluation of complaints
• Negotiations and possible conflicts

• Competition authorities
• Prohibited practices
• Dawn raids, including running “mock” dawn raids and dawn raid training
• Competition compliance training
• Corporate leniency applications
• Competition Commission requests for information and investigations
• Competition Tribunal hearings
• Preparing competition compliance policies
• Submissions to economic regulators (including Nersa and ICASA and ITAC) on pricing, licencing and other issues

Our team has extensive experience in advising public and private sector clients on the various requirements in respect of public finances, including:

• The appropriation of public funds
• The fiduciary duties of accounting officers and accounting authorities
• The obligations of government and public-sector employees in respect of financial management
• The process for public procurement and provisioning as well as public-private partnerships
• Unauthorised, irregular and wasteful expenditure
• The requisite approvals for various transactions, including the formation of companies, asset transfers and the issuing of government guarantees, indemnities and securities.

This aspect of law regulates the activities of bodies that perform public functions or exercise public powers. It allows administrative officials to implement policies or programs, and limits the exercise of power by requiring all administrative action meet the minimum requirements of fairness, lawfulness and reasonableness.

The country’s constitutional and administrative case law is growing exponentially and our diverse experience in public sector law matters means that we are regularly called upon to draft expert opinions for our clients on points of law.

Our offering includes:

• Drafting of legislation and regulations
• Reviewing and advising on policy documents applicable to organs of state
• Drafting internal policy documents on various aspects that govern an institution
• Litigation arising out of the exercise of administrative powers by an organ of state
• Drafting of legal opinions on constitutional and administrative powers of organs of state.

We understand that in an increasingly complex and ever-changing world it often becomes both onerous and daunting when individuals and companies consider compliance with the broad range of international and local legislation and regulations.

we appreciate that each company requires tailor-made guidance and advisory services ensuring that they are compliant with their obligations within their respective industries.

Our experts provide advisory services within the following areas:

• National Credit Act (NCA)
• Consumer Protection Act (CPA)
• Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI)
• Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA)
• Corporate Governance

Road Traffic legislation

• Transfer of Immovable Property
• Foreclosures
• Notarial Leases and Notarial Bonds
• Tenant and Landlord Disputes
• Commercial and Residential Evictions

Our firm has highly experienced conveyancers with many years of experience, that have attended to:

• property transfers including sectional title, commercial and residential properties
• the registration and cancellation of mortgage bonds
• we are able to assist clients with the registration of Notarial Bonds

The BBBEE legal framework has become increasingly sectorised. There are now many industries with sector-specific codes of good practice or charters issued in terms of the Act. The purpose of the Codes of Good Practice is to assist and advise both the public and private sectors in their implementation of BBBEE in terms of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act (the Act).

The Codes of Good Practice provide principles and guidelines in order to facilitate the implementation of BBBEE in a sustainable manner.

Our offering across sectors includes:

• Advice on the legal framework relating to BBBEE
• Formulating BBBEE strategy in order to align commercial outcomes
• Advising on and drafting transformation charters and sector codes
• Advising on and devising BBBEE-compliant transaction structures
• Preparing submissions to rating agencies and regulators
• Scorecard compliance
• BBBEE due diligence investigations

Assisting with:

• Direct empowerment through ownership and control of enterprises and assets
• Management at senior level
• Human resource development and employment equity

• • Indirect empowerment through:

• preferential procurement;
• enterprise development; and
• corporate social investment.

• Public private partnerships
• Empowerment mergers and acquisitions
• Local government and administration
• Government procurement
• Employment equity
• Skills development
• Employee share ownership schemes and broad-based (community) ownership schemes
• Tax advice

We advise on all aspects of infrastructure procurement and the drafting and administering of contracts.

Our offering includes:

• Drafting and/or vetting Requests for Proposals and/or Quotations.
• Drafting and negotiating key clauses and advising on the allocation of risk in relation to the NEC ECC, FIDIC, JBCC, and bespoke contracts.
• Enforcing performance guarantees.
• Representing clients in adjudication, arbitration and High Court proceedings.
• Conducting construction update workshops for clients.
• Drafting an SCM policy in accordance with the provisions of the Standard for Infrastructure Procurement and Delivery Management (“the SIPDM”) issued in terms of section 76 of the Public Finance Management Act 1 of 1999.

Complex working relationships among individuals, companies and other organisations means that disagreements are inevitable. This is particularly true when people from diverse cultures work together in a competitive marketplace.

• We have a wealth of experience ranging from high-profile disputes to major business rescue cases
• We have extensive experience representing public sector bodies and parastatals.

The application of forensic investigation methodology and discovery process can help both legal and technical professionals meet the goals of preserving and collecting evidence in a manner that is legally defensible and forensically sound.

We analyse and deliver information for use in legal proceedings in order to support your legal team through:

• Interviewing witnesses
• Collecting and reviewing documentary evidence

Our team provides an independent, proactive and responsive service with credible forensic results.

We are able to advise you on matters related to:

• Maritime
• Aviation
• Logistics
• Off-shore
• Customs
• International Trade

People making use of public places such as shops, roads, and train services have the right to be reasonably protected by the owner, occupier or transport authority. In general, business owners and authorities have a duty of care that binds them to take reasonable measures to ensure the safety of the persons with whom they interact, whether they are customers or any other member of the public.

In the unfortunate event that you, as a customer or member of the public, is injured in a public place, the business owner or authorities may be liable for a public liability claim for any injuries and/or emotional shock being suffered as a result of the incident. Examples of common claims include slipping, tripping, falling, train accidents and vehicle accidents caused by potholes.

In order to make a claim, you will be required to prove interalia:

 The personal injuries suffered by you are as a direct result of the incident and are directly due to the negligence or action of the accused party.

• that the negligence or failure of action on the part of the accused party, could have been prevented or foreseen.
• that the compensation will place you in the same financial situation as if the incident did not occur.

We assist you by evaluating the merits of your case closely to ensure that you are not exposed to a possible counter action.

Your matter will be analysed very carefully to align the compensation value claimed with the extent of the actual physical and psychological damages suffered.

• Training on legislation

We provide training to clients, organisations and institutions that require our expertise on the following statues and Acts of Parliament that govern the Labour Laws in South Africa:

1. Labour Relations Act
2. Basic Conditions of Employment Act
3. Employment Equity Act
4. The Constitution as it relates to the Labour Laws

• The rules and practice directives for conducting disputes

All the main forums of litigation and dispute resolution have particular rules that govern them and in terms of which parties and litigants should conduct their matters. This is important as it provides our trainees with a practical side to the labour law. For this reason, we also provide training on:

1. The Labour Court Rules
2. Practice directives of the Labour Court
3. How to conduct trials, reviews and applications at the Labour Court
4. The Labour Appeal Court and how it functions
5. The CCMA Rules
6. How to conduct conciliations
7. How to conduct mediations
8. How to conduct arbitrations

Our training is designed in such a way that it provides a working knowledge of Labour Law and how it applies in practice. At Mamatela Attorneys Incorporated we recognise that judicial precedent not only creates law but is also important in displaying the practical side of labour law.

For this reason, we also provide insight of labour law through the cases. We select specific cases that traverse different aspects of labour law and demonstrate to our trainees how our Courts and dispute resolution forums have applied the law.

Collection of all Unsecured Debts such as:

• Credit Cards, Overdraft and Short-Term Loans
• Levy Collections for Home Owners Associations and Body Corporates
• Municipal Rates, Taxes, Water and Electricity Collections
• Corporate Rent Collections

In the field of collection of debt secured by an asset, for example an instalment agreement where ownership over goods sold is retained such as furniture, home appliances or motor vehicles the consumer has the statutory right in terms of section 127 of the National Credit Act to terminate the agreement and voluntarily hand the goods back to the credit grantor.

The goods thereafter have to be sold, the proceeds credited to the consumer’s account, and the consumer remains liable for the outstanding balance. This creates an opportunity to optimise the debt collection process and to recover the asset sold through a voluntary surrender process, especially where other avenues have proven unsuccessful.

Our voluntary surrender asset recovery process entails that a certain category of consumers in particular those who are in such financial distress that they are unable to make any payment may be requested to make use of this process in order to reduce the indebtedness.

Compliance with the law and ethics are paramount in this process, as the emphasis is on the consumer surrendering the goods on a voluntary basis and the required documentation being correctly completed and signed by the consumer according to the law. Strict management and quality control over the whole process is performed in order to ensure compliance.

Our offering includes:

• Tracing
• Collection
• Recoveries

• Repossessions
• Insolvency
• Credit Agreements
• Business Rescue
• Insolvency Interrogations

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is increasingly used to resolve complex disputes, outside or in addition to formal court proceedings. Arbitration and mediation are the most common forms of ADR. ADR methods are used outside, or in addition to, formal court proceedings.

There are many benefits for parties in resolving disputes through ADR methods rather than through traditional court structures. These benefits are considerations of cost, flexibility, confidentiality, expediency and expertise. we have an established track record of representing parties in using arbitration and mediation proceedings to resolve disputes.

We advise on every phase of the dispute process:

• Negotiating the arbitration clause
• Managing the conflict at a project level
• Declaring and prosecuting or defending the claims
• Seeing the matter through to enforcement

Our offering includes:

• Advice relating to, choice of governing law
• Advice relating to appropriateness of institutional or ad hoc arbitration
• Advice relating to the rules published by various arbitration institutions
• Advice on the choice of arbitrator and challenges to the appointment of arbitrators
• Advice relating to procedural aspects of arbitrations
• Advice relating to challenging arbitral awards and enforcement of arbitral awards
• Drafting of arbitration clauses and agreements
• Advice relating to international investment arbitrations and investment law aspects of treaty-based arbitrations
• Risk advisory services relating to bilateral and multilateral investment treaties

We specialize in handling all kinds of queries and disputes relating to all aspects of the relationship of a municipality and in some cases the principal or national government, or other state-owned organizations like City Power or Eskom to its consumers, residents, and businesses within its jurisdiction.

Typical examples include:

• Billing disputes
• Rates and taxes issues
• Valuation issues
• Town planning and building plan disputes
• Heritage issues
• UDZ and IDZ issues
• By law enforcement including signage
• Buying/leasing of state land
• Approvals for changes of land use including subdivision, consolidation, township establishment and sectional title scheme establishment
• Disputes relating to the imposition and payment of engineering contributions and exactions
• Expropriation
• Disputes relating to rates clearance figures
• The calculation thereof and all aspects of the operation of s 118 of the Systems Act
• Evictions and the voluntary disconnection of service supply
• Generally anything relating to municipalities.