Legal Practice Areas at Berklaw
Our firm here at Berklaw boasts a team of highly professional attorneys who obtain Master degrees in all legal practice areas such as Road Accident Fund Claims (RAF), Medical Negligence Claims, Personal Injury Litigation, Corporate and Commercial Law Services, Debt Collections, and Administrative Law and Local Government. Our legal services go even further than the above mentioned and can be viewed under “Other Litigation”
ROAD ACCIDENT FUND CLAIMS (RAF)
If you have sustained injures and losses as a result of a motor vehicle accident you may well have a viable claim against the Road Accident Fund (RAF) for compensation. Such compensation generally consists of hospital and medical expenses (past and future), loss of income (past and future), loss of support in the case of a breadwinner dying and so called general damages. Our team can assist you in: gathering all the necessary information and documentation to formulate and lodge a claim with the RAF; lodging a claim on your behalf; having the injured party assessed by medical experts to determine the nature and extent of the injuries and the consequences thereof, which helps to establish the amount of the damages; instituting legal proceedings and prosecuting same to finality. Given positive merits in a matter, our firm is able to act in such matters on a “no win, no fee” basis.
MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS
Our firm boasts professional staff at Masters degree level in Medical Law who handle claims in this complex area of the Law. Each potential claim is thoroughly researched, hospital and medical records are obtained using the Promotion of Access to Information Act, and we source suitable medical experts and obtain medico-legal reports from them on the merits of any particular claim.
We deal with potential claims across the entire spectrum of medical mishaps and across all fields of medical science. Depending on the positive merits of a matter and the financial viability thereof, we are able to act in medical negligence/malpractice claims on a “no win, no fee” basis.
OTHER PERSONAL INJURY LITIGATION
Services offered include the following:
- Professional malpractice actions eg. attorney’s negligence
- Public liability insurance claims eg. dog bite claims, slipping claims
- Product liability claims where personal injury has resulted
- Assaults
- Injury through shooting or other forms of violence where some form of weapon is used
- Injury through an industrial accident
CORPORATE & COMMERCIAL
We offer a comprehensive range of corporate and commercial law services including, but not confined to, the following:
- Drafting of Commercial Agreements
- Formation and Registration of Legal Entities
- Companies and Close Corporations
- Commercial Litigation
- Insolvencies and Liquidations
- – Joint Ventures
- – Share Transfers
- – Formation of Partnerships
- Franchising, Licensing and Agency Agreements
- Lease Agreements
- Sale of Business Agreements
- Suretyships and Cessions
- Credit Agreements
DEBT COLLECTIONS
Obtaining a judgment against another party without taking any steps to recover thereon is a fruitless exercise. The judgment is just a first step in the Debt Collection procedure.
We undertake ITC and CIPC (formerly CIPRO) searches as well as searches at the Deeds and the Master Offices. We also have well established relationships with a wide number of tracing agents and investigators who are prepared to conduct traces on a no trace, no fee basis.
To assist a client in the recovery of a judgment, in terms of the legal processes that we undertake, we offer (inter alia) the following services:
- Judgment letters
- Writs of execution against movable property
- Applications to declare immovable property executable
- Writs of execution against immovable property
- Warrants of delivery to re-possess goods sold on credit
- Sales in execution
- Interpleader proceedings (where a third party lays claim to property under attachment)
- Liens
- Notices to Show Cause (requiring a judgment debtor to appear at Court for an enquiry into his/her financial position with a view to obtaining a court order of monthly or lump sum payments)
- Garnishee Orders
- Emoluments Attachment Orders.
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
We are able to offer, within these areas of specialty, a wide range of services, including:
- Local government litigation
- Eviction proceedings
- Rates and debt recovery
- Judicial review and appealing of administrative decisions
- The interpretation of bylaws / regulations and ordinances
- Tender processes
- Expropriation claims and disputes
- Valuation appeals
OTHER LITIGATIONS
Other litigation services offered are wide ranging and include the following:
- The representation of clients in all recognized courts of law
- Landlord and tenant disputes
- Motor vehicle accident claims to recover the damages to vehicles
- Long term and short term insurance litigation
- Commercial litigation
- Debt collection
- Mortgage bond foreclosure
- Insolvency or liquidation proceedings
- Asset recovery litigation
- Defamation actions
- Repossessions in terms of installment sale transaction
- Will disputes
- Building / Construction
- Family law litigation
- Wrongful arrest and imprisonment