A letter of demand, a contract review, or a legal question that needs a straight answer.
Not every legal matter is a court case. Most are resolved with the right letter, the right advice, or the right agreement — before they escalate.
Start your matterLetter of demand
We draft formal letters of demand that are correctly worded, properly addressed, and create the paper trail needed if the matter escalates. A well-drafted letter is often the fastest path to resolution.
Contract review
Before you sign, we review the key terms and flag any provisions that create risk, ambiguity, or open-ended obligations. We explain what the contract requires in plain language.
Contract drafting
We draft service agreements, loan agreements, lease addenda, and other commercial documents tailored to the specific obligations of the parties.
Legal opinions
If you need a clear answer on a point of law — what your rights are, whether something is lawful, what a statutory provision requires — we provide a written opinion in plain language.
Dispute management
Before a dispute reaches litigation, there is often an opportunity to resolve it through correspondence, negotiation, or mediation. We manage this process on your behalf.
Cease and desist
Where a party is infringing your rights — using your intellectual property, breaching a restraint, or making defamatory statements — we draft and serve formal cease and desist notices.
Common questions
Straight answers to the questions we hear most.
A letter of demand is a formal written notice from an attorney requiring the other party to meet an obligation — pay a debt, remedy a breach, or cease a particular conduct — within a specified period. It signals that you are serious, creates a formal paper trail, and is often a prerequisite before litigation. In many cases, a properly drafted letter resolves the dispute without going to court.
Generally yes — a verbal contract is binding in South African law if the essential elements of a contract are present (offer, acceptance, intention, capacity, and lawfulness). However, certain contracts must be in writing to be valid (including contracts for the sale of land), and proving the terms of a verbal agreement in dispute is significantly more difficult than proving a written one.
Key areas include: the obligations of each party and whether they are clear and measurable; termination provisions and notice periods; penalty and indemnity clauses; dispute resolution (arbitration vs court); applicable law and jurisdiction; and any terms that create open-ended obligations or unlimited liability. If a clause is unclear, it should be clarified before signature.
You need an attorney when the matter involves legal rights or obligations that could affect you significantly if handled incorrectly — before signing a material contract, when you receive a formal demand or summons, when a dispute is escalating, or when a counterparty has legal representation. Getting advice early is almost always cheaper than dealing with the consequences later.