The Community Advice Office Support Project (CAOSP)
Venue: Gauteng and Limpopo Provinces
The project aims to support, upgrade and improve the legal services provided by community legal advice offices located in the abovementioned provinces. This is achieved by linking the advice offices to attorneys practising in their geographical locations, who then provide legal support.
The support provided by the attorneys includes: taking on cases referred by the advice offices, running workshops for the benefit of the paralegals and/or community members, or providing legal advice on more complex matters.
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THE WILLS PROJECT AND MASTERS’ OFFICES LEGAL CLINICS
ProBono.Org provides a free legal service to impoverished and vulnerable individuals and communities by accessing the pro bono services of the private legal profession. High quality professional legal assistance is rendered, extending access to justice to those without the resources to pay.
ProBono.Org provides many avenues for its clients to receive legal assistance, including opportunities to see lawyers at our Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban offices and to attend over 20 legal clinics operating from these offices and from other outlying venues such as courts.
ProBono.Org runs two projects that specifically deal with succession issues.
These are:
- The Wills Project; and
- The Masters’ Offices Legal Clinics
The Wills Project
The Wills Project provides education on wills and intestate succession to grass roots communities, non-governmental organisations and community based organisations. The education is aimed at empowering people to make choices that will assist their relatives in the event of their deaths. In particular, minor children are protected if there is only one parent and that parent stipulates in a will how the children should be cared for in the event of that parent dying. Having proper wills drawn up helps to avoid later family conflicts.
Workshop sessions are provided by volunteer attorneys on matters such as the reasons for having wills, what should be included in wills, the steps to be taken when someone passes away, including the procedures to follow around the guardianship of minors and reporting estates to the relevant authority. The attorneys draft wills for attendees who may require this service, pro bono.
The Masters’ Office Legal Clinics
ProBono.Org also facilitates weekly legal clinics at the Masters’ Offices in Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg to assist individuals or families with legal issues related to estates valued at less than R250 000. The clinics are staffed by volunteer attorneys who attend to clients on a rotational basis. The types of matters seen include: advising on the procedure to follow when winding up deceased estates, the validity of wills, invalid letters of authority, invalid transfers of immovable property, incorrect or fraudulent estate transfers, evictions, maintenance, and removal of executors. If a matter requires further work, the attorney at the clinic takes the matter back to his or her firm, or refers the matter back to ProBono.Org to identify a law firm to take it on.
- The Johannesburg Master’s Office Legal Clinic runs every Wednesday from 09h00 – 12h00 at 66 Marshall Street, Johannesburg.
- The Durban Master’s Office Legal Clinic runs every Thursday from 10h00 – 12h30 at 2nd Floor, 2 Devonshire Place, Durban.
- The Pretoria Master’s Office Legal Clinic runs on Tuesdays from 09h00 -13h00 at Thabo Sehume Street (cnr. Schoeman St), Pretoria.
You can register a will for free at the S A Registry of Wills and Testaments. See http://www.sarwt.org/ for more information.
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One-Child-A-Year Campaign (OCAY)
The One Child A Year campaign calls on lawyers to take on at least one case involving a child per year on a pro bono basis.
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Ubumbano Street Traders Alliance Project
ProBono.Org is working with StreetNet and the Ubumbano Street Traders’ Alliance (“Ubumbano”) on various matters concerning the rights of informal street traders in Durban. StreetNet is an international federation of street traders, hawkers and itinerant traders aimed at empowering membership-based organisations in the informal economy to improve the lives of members through collective action, negotiations and “litigation activism”. Ubumbano is an umbrella body comprising various street trader organisations throughout Durban. Ubumbano was formed in order to coordinate the representation of informal traders and provides a channel through which different organisations and representative structures can collectively represent the interest of informal traders in Durban. In total, its membership is estimated to be over 40, 000 traders. Ubumbano has instructed ProBono.Org to secure legal representative to assist in a range of issues including the 10 % tariff increase of 2012 and the 2014 / 5 Ethekwini Municipality Street Trading By Laws. ProBono.Org has accordingly referred same to Mr Donnelly from Shepstone & Wylie. Currently, Mr Donnelly is assisting traders in the Loco Plaza Markets who are in rental arrears with the Ethekwini Municipality.
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Micro Traders Support Project
Venue: 303 Anton Lembede Street (Entrance on Durban Club Place), Suite 9001, 9th Floor, Nedbank Building, Durban
ProBono.Org, in partnership with Etafuleni, a non-profit organisation which works closely with urban informal workers, offers the following assistance to street traders:
- Assistance with tracing goods confiscated by Metro Police
- Enquiring about permit applications made to the Business Support Unit
- Referrals to appropriate support organisations
- Unjustified or unconstitutional limitations on the right to trade
For more information on this project contact: shamika@probono.org.za
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Wills Project
Various
Volunteer attorneys hold seminars at hospices and old age homes catering ot indigent persons to educate the public on the importance of having a valid will.
The workshops provide information, practical guidance and assistance to participants who want to draw up a will.
Contact person: shamika@probono.org.za
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NGO / NPO Project
We provide legal support / advice and assistance to NGO’s / NPO’s. Attorneys assist with incorporation and compliance with legal issues. We have also commenced with legal seminars and workshops for beneficiaries of some NGO’s / NPO’s.
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