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Welcome to Ashersons Attorneys

Celebrating 100 years of practicing law in South Africa.

Established in 1920 by Raphael Asherson, Ashersons has become well known as a general practice offering its clients integrity and loyalty. Ashersons is a boutique practice catering for an exclusive range of both corporate and high nett worth individual clients throughout South Africa, Africa, Europe, America and Australia.

Our Law Firm in Cape Town specialises in civil litigation in the High Court, the Regional Court and the Magistrate’s Courts. Additionally, we provide comprehensive legal services including commercial property, conveyancing, franchising, aviation, outdoor advertising, matrimonial and family law matters as well as trusts and estates - to name a few.

Ashersons’ attorneys and staff pride themselves on delivering a comprehensive, personal and tailor made service to its clients. With fast turn around time, focus and attention to detail, Ashersons has maintained its reputation as a leading South African law firm.

One of our partners, Selwyn Zackon, gives a brief introduction into Ashersons Attorneys.

Ashersons Attorneys Video Introduction by Selwyn

Meet our professional team Contact Us

Our professional team of lawyers are ...

Proud to be part of a 100 year old firm

Ashersons was established in 1920 by Raphael Asherson. Since then, Ashersons has grown into a full service boutique legal practice. All of our professional team commenced articles at the firm. Our faithful receptionist, Fatima, has been at the firm for over 40 years and Golda, our conveyancing specialist who has since retired, worked at the firm for just less than 50 years!

Passionate about the law

In the same way that our bookkeepers are passionate about bookkeeping, our receptionist is passionate about communicating with people, and our tea lady is passionate about tea - all of our staff (professional and our amazing support team) are passionate about the law and about providing the best legal service possible to clients.

More than happy to go the extra mile

Going the extra mile is defined as doing more without being asked. We believe that going the extra mile for clients is important and sets us apart from the average law firm. We understand that people who are happy in their career are not only more productive, but they are more likely to go the extra mile - even when it is not asked or expected of them.

Aware that time is money and people are cost sensitive

According to the old proverb, “time is a valuable resource, therefore it's better to do things as quickly as possible.” We believe that being able to deliver a quality product at a reasonable fee is of utmost importance in ensuring a long-term relationship with clients. Doing something properly the first time saves not only time, but also money and patience.

Recent articles by our team

Every week we post an article which we think may be of interest to clients on a wide range of topics, including property law, estate planning, recent High Court cases, damages claims, liability claims, etc.

Can You Change Your Marital Regime After Marriage?

June 7, 2021

One of the most important decisions you must make before you marry is what “marital regime” (“matrimonial property system”) you want to apply to your marriage. The different marital regimes Marry in community of property: This is the default in South Africa if you don’t sign an antenuptial contract (“ANC”) before you marry. All your assets and liabilities (with a few specific exceptions) are po...

The Butcher Who Went to Work With COVID-19

June 7, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed both employers and their employees to a whole new slew of risks. One of the more serious is the danger of infected employees coming to work and by doing so endangering the lives of not just their colleagues, but also customers and anyone else unfortunate enough to come into contact with them. A new Labour Court decision confirms that our courts will not hesitat...

When Bond Clauses Sink Sales

June 7, 2021

Selling or buying a house is a time of excitement and the culmination of a lot of time and effort on your part, so as soon as the ink dries on your signed sale agreement you will want the transfer process to get underway, and you will want it to keep going without a hitch. The best way to achieve that of course is to be aware of what can go wrong and to proactively take steps to avoid any problems...

11 POPIA Questions to Ask Yourself Before 30 June 2021

June 7, 2021

By midnight on 30 June 2021 you must be fully compliant with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) if you in any way process any personal information relating to a “data subject”. Very few businesses and organisations will fall outside that net, and even fewer will fall into any of the exemptions. The risks of non-compliance are substantial. By way of a last-minute recap we suggest...

Extended: The Rights of Grieving Parents to Choose Burial After Pregnancy Loss

May 13, 2021

Expectant parents who lose a pregnancy before 26 weeks (the age set by the Births and Deaths Registration Act (BADRA) in its definition of “still-born”) have until now had no right to bury their foetus, which had to be incinerated as “medical waste”. That has changed with a recent High Court order of Voice of the Unborn Baby NPC and Another v Minister of Home Affairs and Others (16402/17) [2021...

Companies: Are Restraints of Trade Valid in a Time of Covid?

May 13, 2021

Consider this unhappy (but not unlikely) scenario: For whatever reason, you part ways with your fellow director/shareholder (or perhaps a key employee), who goes off immediately to join (or found) the opposition. Now you have a major problem – he/she was privy to all your trade secrets and confidential information and they are now being used to compete against you. Your business could be crippl...

Employers: Beware the “Casual Worker” Myth!

May 13, 2021

Employees in South Africa enjoy strong protections under a raft of laws such as the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and the Employment Equity Act (EEA). Failure to comply with these Acts, whilst perhaps tempting to many employers struggling financially in these hard times, is not only unfair to employees (many of whom are in equally dire straits), but a...

Landlord Liable for a Tragic “Freak” Flood Drowning

May 13, 2021

A recent High Court decision of D Black & 3 Others v T G Erasmus, NWD Case no. 718/11 dealing with the tragic drowning of a toddler highlights once again the legal dangers faced by property owners who let out accommodation to the public. This particular case related specifically to a Holiday Let on a guest farm and a natural disaster in the form of a flood, but of course any loss however ca...

When Company Directors and Shareholders Come to Blows

April 1, 2021

In companies both large and small, relationships between shareholders and directors can and do run into difficulty occasionally. When that happens, you have several remedies to choose from in the Companies Act. One of them, “relief from oppressive or prejudicial conduct” is particularly versatile, with courts empowered to order a wide range of remedial action ranging from share transfers to remova...

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