Clear, Transparent Legal Fees

The consultation fee of R750 is paid online before your appointment. We accept payment via PayFast or bank transfer. Once payment is received, your slot is confirmed. You'll receive confirmation and payment details when you book through our contact form.

Before work commences on your matter, we require a deposit of R8,600 paid into our trust account. That money is your money — not ours. It sits in a regulated, separate trust account (FNB Hatfield) governed by the Legal Practice Act and subject to annual audit by the Legal Practice Council.

Nothing is transferred from the trust account to our business account until fees have been properly written up and a fee note has been raised. Only once work has been done and formally recorded do we transfer the corresponding amount. If you have a balance remaining in trust when your matter concludes, every cent is refunded to you. You will receive a trust statement at any time on request.

In short: the deposit is a working fund held in your name. It exists to ensure work can proceed without payment disputes, and it is protected at every step by the rules governing legal practitioners.

All legal work is billed on a time basis at R2,500 per hour (excl. VAT), broken into 6-minute units at R250 per unit. Every activity on your matter is timed and recorded: a phone call, reading and responding to correspondence, drafting a document, preparing for court, attending court — all of it. A 12-minute call is R500. A 2-hour court appearance is R5,000. There is no rounding up to the nearest hour. You receive an itemised statement showing every time entry, the date, and what was done.

Yes — and we will always provide one at your initial consultation. Raymond will walk you through what the matter typically involves and give you a realistic sense of likely fees. However, it is important to understand that any estimate is exactly that. The final cost of legal proceedings is frequently not within our control. How the other side instructs their attorneys, whether they oppose or defend, how many court appearances are required, delays caused by the court system, the complexity that emerges as the matter develops — all of these affect the total cost. We will keep you informed throughout and flag it immediately if costs are likely to exceed what was discussed.

No. The only charges you will see are our time-based fees in 6-minute units, and actual out-of-pocket disbursements (sheriff fees, couriers, travel, expert costs) which are always disclosed and approved upfront. There are no admin fees, no file-opening charges, no small-print costs. If a disbursement is needed, we tell you what it is and get your go-ahead before spending it.

Raymond will give you an honest answer. If your financial situation is tight, he may advise you to explore alternatives first — mediation, CCMA self-representation, debt review, or other cost-effective routes. Sometimes engaging an attorney is not the right first step, and Raymond won't push you into a fee arrangement that doesn't serve your interests. His goal is to give you the right solution for your situation.