MAP DIRECTIONS

Terms Of Engagement

Our Terms Of Engagement

Our terms of engagement (also known as our standard terms) consist of, inter alia, the following

  • We will perform our services with skill and care.
  • Clients are required to provide us with complete and accurate instructions and information and, when requested by us, to promptly provide us with documents and/or information.
  • Clients are responsible for all commercial decisions in respect of their matter.
  • We are not responsible for any delays caused or additional fees incurred because a client does not promptly provide us with complete and accurate information and/or instructions.
  • We may communicate with you by way of email. By engaging us, you accept the risk associated with such communication (including but not limited to interception or unauthorised access to emails or data contamination in any way, such as by way of viruses). We, via our email hosting service provider, use virus protection software but do not give any guarantee that it is effective.
  • Our fees are based on the amount of time devoted to the matter, the seniority of the person or people who work on the matter and the nature and extent of other resources devoted to it, its urgency, complexity, the value involved, the importance to the client and the level of responsibility and skill required in performing the work
  • If any fee estimate is given, it is merely an estimate and not an agreement by us to do the work for the estimated amount or within a fixed time.
  • Our fee for professional services rendered is charged at an hourly rate. A fee will therefore be raised for time spent by our attorney in drafting and perusing documents and letters, consulting, inspecting, travelling, waiting at and appearing at court (or any other forum or place), preparing for appearances, researching opinions, attending telephone conversations and generally all other attendances.
  • Our charges are calculated in terms of units and/or hours, as the case may be, which is calculated as follows:-
    1. One (1) unit is equal to six (6) minutes (i.e. 60 min divided by 10 equal 6. Accordingly, one (1) hour equals ten (10) units).
    2. The relevant rate per hour is also divided by ten (10) which will give you the rate of charge per unit (e.g. R3500.00 per hour divided by 10 equals R175. Therefore, one unit is equal to R350).
    3. The minimum charge to peruse one page or make/receive a telephone call is half (1/2) unit and the minimum charge to draft any correspondence (ie. letter, email etc.) is one (1) unit
    4. The minimum consultation charge is fifteen (15) minutes.
  • We reserve the right to amend our usual fees for professional services rendered from time to time.
  • We reserve the right to charge a rate lower than our usual rate when this is warranted by special circumstances. We do this, however, without prejudice to our right recommence our usual charge.
  • In addition to our fees you are also liable for the payment of our disbursements. Our disbursements include, but shall not be restricted to, court fees, sheriff’s fees, correspondent attorney’s fees, tracing agent’s fees, counsel’s fees, witnesses’ fees, fax charges, photocopy charges, travelling expenses, postage costs, courier costs, advertising costs and the cost of printing etc.
  • Notwithstanding the aforegoing, we reserve our right to secure payment of our fees and disbursements by requiring you to pay a deposit or to bring your outstanding account up to date before commencing or recommencing work as the case may be.
  • If we are invoiced for disbursements in foreign currencies, we may require you to pay those disbursements in the currency in which they are invoiced to us.
  • Where monies are collected by us on your behalf we are entitled to charge a collection commission at the maximum permissible rate per payment plus VAT.
  • A certificate of balance signed by Ryan Dukhi or any other director of the firm shall be prima facie proof of your indebtedness to Dukhi Attorneys Inc. and the sum thereof as at the date of the certificate.
  • Should you require our fees and disbursements charged to be made subject to taxation/assessment, we will draw an itemised bill of costs which shall be taxed on a time basis on an attorney and own client scale in accordance with the relevant attorney’s rate of charge at the time that the work was done, and not in terms of a legal tariff of charges. Our fees for drawing the bill and attending the taxation shall, however, be charged in accordance with the legal tariff. We reserve our right to charge you the taxed/assessed amount, which may be substantially greater than the amount charged.
  • We will add Value-Added Tax (VAT) to our fees and disbursements unless VAT is not applicable.
  • And deposit or money received by us on behalf of a client shall be set off against fees and disbursements as a first charge before any monies are paid to you.
  • We will account on a regular basis. Our invoices are payable on presentation. If payment is not made within thirty (30) days of the date of our invoice, then, until the outstanding amount is paid, we reserve the right to:-
    1. charge compound interest on the outstanding amount at the prime overdraft lending rate of the Standard Bank of South Africa Limited, from time to time;
    2. in addition to our common law retention rights, retain any documents which belong to the client and/or which are in our possession, and
    3. terminate our services/mandate.
  • Anything which we create or develop belongs to us, is subject to our copyright and may not be copied without our prior written consent.
  • Within six (6) months of completing any work, the client undertakes not to employ any of our employees with whom they have had dealings, without our prior written consent.
  • Our liability, whether arising in contract or delict or whether caused by our negligence in any degree, including consequential and indirect damages, is limited to the upper limit of our professional indemnity or public liability insurance, as the case may be from time to time.
  • Notwithstanding the date of signature of these terms and conditions of engagement and unless otherwise agreed, in writing, these above terms and conditions will apply to any services rendered by us, whether past, current or in the future.
  • These terms of engagement are governed by South African Law.