Ashersons Attorneys | celebrating 100 years of practicing law in South Africa

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.

Fired for Off-Duty CBD Oil Use and Cannabis Smoking

August 2, 2022

The Constitutional Court’s limited legalisation of personal cannabis use in private seems to have lulled some employees into a false sense of security when it comes to their employer’s right to restrict their cannabis use. A recent Labour Court decision of Enever v Barloworld Equipment, a division of Barloworld South Africa (PTY) Ltd (JS 633/20;JS926/20) [2022] ZALCJHB 161 illustrates. Not st...

The Trouble with Family Loans: A R540,000 Lesson

August 2, 2022

“Family helps family in times of need” - that’s been part of human culture since long before the dawn of history but be sure to observe all legal formalities. A recent High Court decision of Herclass and Another v Herclass (2322/2021) [2022] ZAFSHC 157 provides an excellent example of the risks of not doing so. Parents lose R540,000 A daughter in the middle of a divorce borrowed R540,000 from he...

Directors – When Are They Personally Liable?

August 2, 2022

Particularly in hard times, it is not at all uncommon to find yourself unable to recover a debt from a company in financial straits whilst at the same time you know that its directors hold assets in their own names. Can you attack them personally? The answer is founded in the centuries-old concept of companies as separate legal entities or “juristic persons”. They trade in their own names and h...

12 Questions to Ask Before You Sign That Deed of Sale

August 2, 2022

Whether you are buying or selling property, remember that it is too late to ask questions after you sign the Deed of Sale (often called a “Sale Agreement” or “Offer to Purchase”). “Knowledge is power” rings particularly true when it comes to any form of process with significant legal consequences, so here are some of the important questions you should ask upfront, before you commit to anything ...

Verbal agreements – not much good, but lots of bad and ugly

July 4, 2022

A common myth – one that can get you into a whole lot of trouble if you aren’t alive to it - is that verbal contracts are not legally enforceable in South Africa. The opposite is true. With very few exceptions, our law will hold you to all your agreements, whether oral or written. What verbal agreements aren’t binding? Not many. Only a few types of agreement must be in writing to be fully val...

Rights of admission reserved and the latest mask polices

July 4, 2022

President Ramaphosa announced the termination of the National State of Disaster on 4 April 2022. The two-year long regulatory scheme came to an end as all regulations established under S27(2) of the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002 were repealed. However, the repeal persevered certain transitional provisions which were to be terminated 30 days after the President’s announcement. On 4 May 2...

Bodies Corporate: forcing access to units, and round robin resolutions

July 3, 2022

Owning your own property comes with a raft of benefits, including a general right to privacy and control over who can access your property and who can’t. But of course there are exceptions. And apart from the obvious ones, a recent High Court judgment of The Body Corporate of the Sorronto Sectional Title Scheme, Parow v Koordom and Another (5439/2021) [2022] ZAWCHC 99 highlights one that is par...

Trusts on divorce: Are you stuck with an ex-spouse as a trustee?

July 2, 2022

Trusts may be formed for a variety of reasons, and the purpose and structure of each trust will inform the choice of trustees. When it comes to families aiming to preserve and protect family assets for future generations, often both spouses are appointed not only as beneficiaries, but also as trustees. That’s a great scenario whilst the marriage prospers, but what happens on divorce? A recent H...

Buying and Selling Property: Who Pays What Costs?

July 2, 2022

Don’t risk not knowing what you’re doing when you either sell or buy property. Avoid nasty shocks by budgeting properly for the costs you will incur – some of them can be substantial, and some are less obvious than others. The checklists below are of necessity not exhaustive and you would do well to take specific professional advice and to get cost quotes before you finalise your financial plan...

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