In these rules, unless the context otherwise indicates:
| 1.1 | "accounting records" means the records which a firm is required to keep in terms of section 87(3) of the Act; |
| 1.2 | "the Act" means the Legal Practice Act, 28 of 2014; |
| 1.3 | "advocate" means a legal practitioner who is admitted and enrolled as such under the Act; |
| 1.4 | "attorney" means a legal practitioner who is admitted and enrolled as such under the Act; |
| 1.5 | "auditor" means a person who is registered as an auditor in terms of the Auditing Profession Act, 26 of 2005 and who engages in public practice as an auditor registered in terms of that Act; |
| 1.6 | "bank" means a bank as defined in section 1 of the Banks Act, 94 of 1990; |
| 1.7 | "Board" means the Legal Practitioners' Fidelity Fund Board established in terms of section 61 of the Act; |
| 1.8 | "branch office" means an office at or from which the firm practises, but which is not its main office; |
| 1.9 | "business account transactions" means transactions in regard to which records are required to be kept in terms of accounting rule 54.6 other than trust account transactions, and where such transactions relate to the business affairs of the firm; |
| 1.10 | "candidate attorney" means a person undergoing practical vocational training with a view to being admitted and enrolled as an attorney; |
| 1.11 | "candidate legal practitioner" means a person undergoing practical vocational training, either as a candidate attorney or as a pupil; |
| 1.12 | "code of conduct" means the code of conduct setting out rules and standards relating to ethics, conduct and practice for legal practitioners, candidate legal practitioners and juristic entities and its enforcement through the Council and its structures, as published in Government Gazette no. 40610 dated 10 February 2017; |
| 1.13 | "conveyancer" means any practising attorney who is admitted and enrolled to practise as a conveyancer in terms of the Act; |
| 1.14 | "Council" means the South African Legal Practice Council established in terms of section 4 of the Act; |
| 1.15 | "court" means any court in the Republic as defined in section 166 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 108 of 1996; |
| 1.16 | "disciplinary body" means— |
| 1.16.1 | an investigating committee; |
| 1.16.2 | a disciplinary committee; or |
| 1.16.3 | an appeal tribunal, |
as the case may be, established under the Act and the rules;
| 1.17 | "Fidelity Fund certificate" means the certificate referred to in sections 84 and 85 of the Act; |
| 1.18.1 | a partnership of attorneys; |
| 1.18.2 | an attorney practising for his or her own account; or |
who or which in each case conducts the practice of an attorney, and for purposes of Part XII (accounting rules) of these rules only, includes an advocate referred to in section 34(2)(b) of the Act;
| 1.19 | "Fund" means the Legal Practitioners' Fidelity Fund referred to in section 53 of the Act; |
| 1.20 | "Good standing" means, in relation to a legal practitioner— |
| 1.20.1 | that the name of the legal practitioner is on the roll of legal practitioners and that he or she has not been suspended from practice; |
| 1.20.2 | that there are no proceedings pending or contemplated to remove the name of the legal practitioner from the roll of legal practitioners or to suspend him or her from practice; |
| 1.20.3 | that where the legal practitioner is required to be in possession of a Fidelity Fund certificate, he or she is in possession of a valid Fidelity Fund certificate; and |
| 1.20.4 | that the legal practitioner is up to date with all amounts owed by him or her to the Council. |
| 1.21 | "High Court" means the High Court of South Africa established by section 6 of the Superior Courts Act, 10 of 2013 or, if the context indicates otherwise, the Division thereof having jurisdiction; |
| 1.22 | "juristic entity" means a commercial juristic entity established to conduct a legal practice of an attorney, as contemplated in section 34(7) of the Act and a limited liability legal practice as contemplated in section 34(9) of the Act; |
| 1.23 | "legal practitioner" means an advocate or attorney admitted and enrolled as such in terms of sections 24 and 30 respectively of the Act; |
| 1.24 | "main office" means the premises at and from which the practice of a firm is as a whole administered and controlled, including such premises in two or more buildings situate in sufficiently close proximity to one another to allow the administration of that practice as a single composite entity, and includes premises declared or determined as such in terms of accounting rules 54.2 or 54.5 as the case may be; |
| 1.25 | "Minister" means the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development; |
| 1.26 | "notary" means any practising attorney who is admitted and enrolled to practise as a notary in terms of this Act; |
| 1.27 | "practical vocational training” means training required in terms of the Act to qualify a candidate attorney or pupil to be admitted and enrolled as an attorney or advocate, as the case may be; |
| 1.28 | "principal place of practice" means the place at which the main office of a firm is situated, notwithstanding that any member of the firm (being a sole practitioner, or a partner in a partnership, or a director of a juristic entity) may habitually or temporarily practise at or from a branch office; provided that the principal place of practice of a member of the firm who is a member of more than one firm, or who is the proprietor of one firm and a member of another firm or other firms shall be deemed to be the place of the main office of that firm which has its main office closest to his residential address; |
| 1.29 | "pupil" means a person undergoing practical vocational training with a view to being admitted and enrolled as an advocate; |
| 1.30 | "Republic" means the Republic of South Africa; |
| 1.31 | "Roll" means the Roll of Legal Practitioners referred to in section 30(3) of the Act; |
| 1.33 | "training supervisor" means an individual who is authorised in terms of the Act, or in terms of any rule or regulation issued under the Act, to enter into a practical vocational training contract with a pupil, and includes a duly qualified employee of an entity which is accredited by the Council to provide practical vocational training to pupils; |
| 1.34 | "trust account advocate" means an advocate referred to in section 34(2)(b) of the Act who is, in terms of the Act, required to hold a Fidelity Fund certificate; |
| 1.35 | "trust account practice" means a practice conducted by— |
| 1.35.1 | one or more attorneys who are; or |
| 1.35.2 | an advocate referred to in section 34(2)(b) of the Act who is |
in terms of the Act, required to hold a Fidelity Fund certificate;
| 1.36 | "trust account transactions" means transactions in regard to which records are required to be kept in terms of rule 54.6, where such transactions relate to the trust bank account, trust cash, trust creditors, trust investment accounts and trust money, as the case may be, of a trust account practice; |
| 1.37 | "trust banking account" means an account kept in terms of section 86 of the Act on bank account products at a bank in South Africa as arranged by the Fund in terms of section 63(1)(g) of the Act; |
| 1.38 | "trust cash" means any cash held in trust by a trust account practice otherwise than in a trust banking account or a trust investment account; |
| 1.39 | "trust creditor" means a person on whose account money is held or received as contemplated by section 86(2), or invested as contemplated by section 86(3) or section 86(4), of the Act; |
| 1.40 | "trust investment account" means and includes all banking accounts kept by a firm in terms of section 86(3) or section 86(4) of the Act; |
| 1.41 | "trust money" means money held or received on account of any person as contemplated by section 86(2), or invested as contemplated by section 86(3) or section 86(4), of the Act. |
Words or expressions referred to in these rules which are not defined herein shall bear the respective meanings assigned to them by section 1 of the Act.
