De Freitas v Society of Advocates of Natal and Others

Mr Joaquim Augusto de Freitas, an advocate practising in KwaZulu-Natal and a member of the Independent Association of Advocates of South Africa (IAASA), accepted instructions directly from members of the public without the intervention of an attorney and performed functions ordinarily undertaken by attorneys. This conduct was contrary to the long‑standing referral practice and the rules of the constituent Bars of the General Council of the Bar of South Africa. The Society of Advocates of Natal applied to have him struck from the roll. IAASA and the Natal Law Society intervened. The Natal Provincial Division found Mr De Freitas guilty of unprofessional conduct, suspended him from practice for six months, and dismissed IAASA’s counter‑application seeking a declaratory order that advocates (or IAASA members) were entitled to accept direct instructions. The applicants sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The application for leave to appeal was dismissed with costs, including the costs of two counsel for the first respondent. The suspension of Mr De Freitas for six months and the refusal of the declaratory relief sought by IAASA were upheld.

The case is a leading authority affirming the referral nature of the South African Bar and confirming that advocates who accept direct instructions without an attorney act unprofessionally. It clarifies the scope of courts’ supervisory jurisdiction over legal practitioners, the relationship between constitutional rights and professional regulation, and the public‑interest rationale underlying the divided legal profession.