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Free access to SA legislation for small law firms


Centurion, Pretoria, 21 Nov 2016

Via its South African National Legislation service (NetLaw), Sabinet provides users with instant online access to SA legislation. This service is free to small law firms with three or fewer practising attorneys, enabling them to stay up to date with the national legislation currently in force.

"For smaller firms with limited resources, one of the biggest financial commitments they face is for information, moreover, keeping up to date with frequent changes to legislation," says Rosalind Hattingh, managing director at Sabinet.

These small law firms face the challenges of managing cash flow, retaining and growing a client base, navigating the economic climate and staying up to date with their profession. In addition, they have to spend more on technology and access to information to enable them to stay abreast of ever-changing legislation in order to continue being able to competently represent their clients.

Challenges felt particularly by small law firms include being under increasing pressure to do more for less and facing greater fee negotiation from clients than ever before. Furthermore, their service offering is being eroded as non-legal practitioners are able to provide certain legal services, such as drafting wills.

While staying on top of technology, two-thirds of small law firms already carry out their legal research online. Free and easy access to all the information they need is a piece of good fortune in the current economic situation.

Sabinet provides free access for over 300 small law firms nationally, via its free NetLaw offering - an online system that covers updated and consolidated South African Principal Acts from 1910 to date, and delivers timely and accurate updates on new legislation or amendments to existing Acts.

Easy to navigate, quick to access and containing all the legal information any lawyer could need, NetLaw levels the playing field for many legal practitioners.

"We believe that we can make a difference with this free offering to the legal profession and assist small law firms to meet the demands of the legal landscape - allowing them to spend less time collecting information and more time providing insight and analysis," concludes Sanet Vos, manager, Information Services.

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Editorial contacts

Jeanine Liebenberg
Sabinet
jeanine@sabinet.co.za