LJU4802 PORTFOLIO MEMO - OCT./NOV. 2025 - SEMESTER 2 - UNISA - DUE DATE :- 24 OCTOBER 2025 - (DETAILED ANSWERS WITH FOOTNOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED!)

LJU4802 PORTFOLIO MEMO - OCT./NOV. 2025 - SEMESTER 2 - UNISA - DUE DATE :- 24 OCTOBER 2025 - (DETAILED ANSWERS WITH FOOTNOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED!) QUESTION 1: THE LEGAL PROFESSION 1.1 Read the following scenario and answer the question that follows: Sipho completed his LLB degree, and he is currently undergoing vocational training at a law firm in Pretoria. Sipho tells his friends that his conduct as a legal professional will only be regulated once he has been admitted as an attorney. Critically discuss this statement by Sipho with specific reference to the relevant provisions of the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014. (10) [10] QUESTION 2: PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACHES TO ETHICS 2.1 Consider the following statement and answer the questions that follow: The rightness or wrongness of an action depends on the consequences it produces. 2.1.1 Identify the philosophical approach associated with this statement and name its two key characteristics. (3) 2.1.2 Briefly explain the two main problems associated with the approach to ethics identified in 2.1.1 above. (2) 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 Briefly discuss virtue ethics with specific reference to: Kronman’s virtue-based approach to the ethical conduct of lawyers. (2) the arguments by virtue ethicists whether virtue is inherent and consistent in all people. (3) [10] 7 QUESTION 3: THE SOUTH AFRICAN LEGAL PROFESSION 3.1 Explain the difficulties with the application of the fit-and-proper-person standard with specific reference to the different criticisms in relation to the form of regulation of legal professionals. (8) 3.2 Briefly describe the two approaches that the courts followed in deciding whether to have lawyers, who participated in the Apartheid struggle, struck off the roll. (2) 3.3 Read the following scenario and answer the question that follows: In 2021 John Smith was struck off the roll of legal practitioners for misappropriating trust funds. He now wants to apply to the High Court to be reinstated as an attorney. With specific reference to Swartzberg v Law Society, Northern Provinces 2008 All SA 438 (SCA) and Kaplan v Incorporated Society, Transvaal 1981 All SA 15 (T), explain whether John can be reinstated as a legal practitioner. (5) [15] QUESTION 4: ROLE MORALITY 4.1 Consider the following statement and answer the question that follows: Lawyers are expected to respond differently to moral problems in their role as lawyers than they would as private individuals outside their professional capacity. Briefly explain Wasserstrom’s criticism against such role-differentiated behaviour. (5) 4.2 Explain the “qualified privilege” of legal practitioners to conduct a case in court. (5) [10] 8 QUESTION 5: EXAMPLES OF SITUATIONS OPEN FOR UNETHICAL CONDUCT 5.1 Read the following scenario and answer the questions that follow: Mrs Moyo approaches Advocate Mnisi to represent her in a matter relating to spousal maintenance and child custody that she is pursuing against her ex-husband. Advocate Mnisi however informs Mrs Moyo that he cannot consult with her without a referral from an attorney since he is not a trust account advocate. 5.1.1 Explain Advocate Mnisi’s statement with specific reference to the distinction between different types of advocates and the meaning of the referral rule. (10) Mrs Moyo tells one of her friends, who is a paralegal in the community, that she cannot really afford to pay the fees of a legal practitioner in her case against her ex-husband. Her friend advises her to conclude a contingency fees agreement with her lawyer. 5.1.2 Briefly explain the nature of a contingency fees agreement, with specific reference to case law. (5) [15] Sub-total: [60] NOTE: You will be awarded a mark out of 5 for proper footnote referencing of sources (see paragraph 13 of the Instructions here above). Sub-total: [5] TOTAL: [65]