A company which claims to have a business model to deal with the day to day administrative aspects of property transfers has run up against the legal fraternity, which says transfers in law are the preserve of conveyancers or legal practitioners, notes Legalbrief.

Newly-established company Proxi Smart Services turned to the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) yesterday to get the go-ahead to implement a business model for performing the administrative and related services pertaining to property transfers, says a Pretoria News report.

They want to take over the portion of the work that is not in law reserved for conveyancers or legal practitioners. The company said it understood there were some aspects of transfers which required legal skill and it did not plan to venture into this terrain. It argues there are ordinary day to day processes associated with property transfers which are done by either secretaries or clerks working for law firms, which it (Proxi) could handle.

Various legal bodies, including the Law Society (LSSA) and law societies across the country, as well Justice Minister Michael Masutha, are opposing the application.

Proxi has asked a full Bench to declare its business model does not contravene the Attorneys Act and the Deed Registries Act. The LSSA in turn launched a counter application for an order declaring Proxi’s model to be in contravention of, among others, the code of conduct for estate agents and the Consolidated Rules for the Attorneys Profession.

The view of the LSSA, the provincial law societies and the Attorneys Fidelity Fund, is that the proposal by Proxi cannot be supported as the full conveyancing process is regarded as professional work, and should remain so in the interest of the public since the public is protected through the Fidelity Fund. The case will proceed today.

Full Pretoria News report