Personal information and gated estates
South Africa - Garlicke & Bousfield Inc
The collection and use of personal information in private estates and gated communities in South Africa is common. Visitors are often required to provide personal information to security companies like full names, contact number, vehicle registration and, with the development of technology, vehicle licence and ID or driving licence details are also required.
Collecting this information makes it easier for security companies to deal with offenders where damage might be caused, or crime committed on the estate.
In a ruling by the SCA last year on enforcing lower speed limits on private roads in the Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate (Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate Management Association II (RF) NPC v Singh and others [2019]) the court confirmed the principle that the relationship between the parties was regulated by contract. In this case, it was held that there was no conflict between the National Road Traffic Act and the private rules of the association. The contractually binding regulations were “enforceable by the parties to the contract, and against them only”.
It remains to be seen how this might fare under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI), which is yet to come into force fully.
Personal Information and Gated Estates
Where to now for the legal profession in South Africa?
South Africa - Tech4Law
Three years ago I began speaking about the tough times that lay ahead for the South African legal profession. “Alarmist! We’re doing just fine,” was the feedback I got to my talks. But some firms listened, and they are now doing well. Most simply carried on as usual. And now here we are three years later, and guess what?
For those who missed my talks back then, there are a number of reasons why law firms are going through a tough time right now. Firstly, clients can’t afford their services any longer. Secondly, clients won’t accept an “open chequebook” bill anymore – they want a firm quote. Thirdly, the Internet has made legal services available at a much lower cost – and clients can now find basic templates cheaply, or even for free on the Internet. Of course, there are many other reasons why life has become a challenge for the legal profession in South Africa, but I won’t go into those here – except to say that the recession in South Africa makes this situation a double whammy.
So now what? What can law firms do to survive? It’s not easy. And for many firms it is too late. (Oh, by the way, this isn’t simply affecting small firms, it is affecting firms of every size.)
Tech4Law
Conveyancing 2025 & Beyond
UK - TodaysConveyancerLaw
Our recent Conference was titled, ‘Conveyancing 2025 & Beyond’, and one of the principal reasons for this is our belief that the next five or 10 years are going to bring a large amount of change to the conveyancing sector.
So much so, that the ways in which many conveyancing firms work now may be simply unsustainable beyond a very short-term horizon.
Let’s take a look at where we currently are – approximately 4,000 firms each year conduct conveyancing business however a large number of those are just a handful of cases. Indeed, as Eddie Goldsmith pointed out in his presentation to the Conference, there are many within the industry who think that number will fall dramatically over the next decade. Rob Hailstone of the Bold Group recently suggested that number might be cut by as many as 3,000 which led Eddie to ask whether members who attended Conference would be part of the 25% left or the 75% who might be gone?
TodaysConveyancer
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