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.

One Bad Letter and Your Eviction Falls Apart

June 25, 2026

A tenant may be in clear breach of a lease, but that does not guarantee a successful eviction. A recent High Court judgment shows how an unclear cancellation notice and a failure to follow the correct legal process can derail an otherwise strong case, leaving landlords with an expensive lesson in the importance of getting the basics right.

Dementia in the Family? Here Are Your Legal Options

June 25, 2026

A dementia diagnosis affects far more than memory. As mental capacity declines, families are often confronted with difficult legal and financial decisions. Many are surprised to learn that a Power of Attorney may no longer be valid. Understanding the alternatives can help protect a loved one's affairs before a crisis develops. Read on for the low-down.

How to Protect Your Company from Unlawful Springboarding

June 25, 2026

Your top employee resigns and immediately opens up a new business in direct opposition to you. Using your software, your client relationships and your business methods to springboard their new start-up and poach your clients. We discuss, in the context of a recent High Court case, how our law can help you put a stop to that sort of unfair competition. And we share some tips on how to protect yourself from it in the future.

Your Dormant Trust Is Not Invisible to SARS

June 25, 2026

Trusts remain a valuable estate planning and asset protection tool, but they also carry ongoing compliance obligations. Many trustees assume that a dormant trust with no income, assets, or activity can simply be left alone. SARS has made it clear that inactivity does not remove a trust's compliance obligations. With penalties now being imposed for outstanding trust returns, dormant trusts may be attracting more attention than their trustees realise.

Dodgy Deck: When a Property Defect is Your Problem, Not the Seller’s

May 26, 2026

“The buyer needs a hundred eyes, the seller not one.” (George Herbert) A Marina Da Gama property. A collapsed wooden deck. A purchase price of R1.55 million and repair costs claimed of just over R100 000. The facts are not complicated. But the legal battle that followed lasted more than a decade. What happened The buyers purchased a residential property in October 2013 afte...

Estate Planning: The Ambush Tax Lurking in the Wings

May 26, 2026

“I can’t afford to die; I’d lose too much money.” (George Burns, comedian) At the heart of any estate plan lies your will. Pair it with a file containing all the information and documents that your executor and heirs will need to wind up your estate, and you’ve laid a solid foundation for protecting your loved ones when you’re no longer around to do so. Hopefully, most of us h...

Your Property Purchase Collapses: Can You Get Your Deposit Back?

May 26, 2026

“A creature with a big enough head to make a contract should have the sense to make one it can keep.” (Barbara Kingsolver) A R1.725 million deposit. A bank guarantee that never arrived. A property that ultimately sold for significantly less than the original price. What happens to the deposit money? A sale that fell apart The seller agreed to sell an agricultural property in Kyalami fo...

Married Out of Community of Property? You May Still Be Entitled to a Share

May 26, 2026

Couples who sign antenuptial contracts often believe they have permanently settled the question of money in their marriage. What is mine stays mine. What is yours stays yours. Not so fast. The Constitutional Court recently expanded access to redistribution orders for spouses married out of community of property without accrual, particularly where strict enforcement of an antenuptial contract would produce unfair financial consequences at divorce. A 2025 KwaZulu-Natal High Court judgment shows what the redistribution remedy can deliver in practice.

Bodies Corporate and HOAs: Apply Your Rules With Common Sense, or Else

April 28, 2026

The administrators of residential complexes tread a fine line. They must implement and enforce conduct rules for the good of the complex as a whole, but without unjustly impinging on the constitutional rights of individuals. A recent Supreme Court of Appeal decision, granting a sight-impaired owner a limited right to exclusive use of a section of common area for his washing machine, has brought this balancing act into sharp focus. We discuss the reasoning behind that outcome, with some suggestions on how bodies corporate and homeowners’ associations should approach this sort of situation in future.

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