Pretoria - While Malesela Teffo has remained tight-lipped about the fact that his name was struck from the roll of advocates on Friday, the Legal Practice Council said it never takes pleasure in a legal practitioner being struck off or suspended, as many have worked hard to qualify and to be admitted.
However, it was important to protect the public from individuals who do not act in line with the rules and regulations of the profession, the legal watchdog said.
It is not clear at this stage what Teffo’s next move will be, but a former chairman of the Pretoria Society of Advocates, Francois Botes, SC, said the only avenue now open to Teffo was to try to appeal against the judgment by two judges of the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.
But Botes warned that it will be an uphill battle for Teffo, as he will first have to convince the judges who ruled against him, that another court could possibly come to another finding.
“They (the judges) made it very clear that he is not a fit and proper person to serve the profession, and thus the community. It is in my view highly improbable that the court will grant him leave to appeal.”
Botes said Teffo will remain suspended from returning to the legal profession even if he did receive leave to appeal because in matters such as this, orders weren’t automatically suspended once a person noted an intention to apply for leave to appeal.
Teffo has 15 days in which to note his intention to ask for leave to appeal.
LPC, a statutory body regulating the affairs of the legal industry, earlier applied for Teffo’s name to be struck from the roll, after it had received 22 complaints from the public and bodies such as the SAPS.
The 22 complaints emanating from 2019 to 2022 include accusations of assault; misleading the court; being contemptuous of the court; breaching court orders; consulting with clients without a brief from an attorney; and, misappropriating funds received directly from clients.
“The ruling means he is not able to practise, cannot offer advice or appear in court as a legal practitioner or offer these services to the public,“ Janine Myburgh, chairperson of the LPC said. The LPC’s role was always to safeguard the public and to maintain the required legal standards in the profession, she said.
“We encourage the public to check our website to ensure that their legal practitioner is duly registered on the Legal Practice Council list,” Myburgh said, because the LPC regularly received complaints of individuals who misrepresent themselves as legal practitioners, but aren’t authorised to practise.
The LPC confirmed it hadn’t yet received a notice to appeal from Teffo.
Pretoria News