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PCO / Legal Practice Protection
Legal · Practice Protection · South Africa

Legal Practice protection when the principal cannot give instructions.

For legal practices where matter responsibility, deadlines, trust money, client instructions and professional access cannot simply be handed to an administrative employee.

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The practical problem

Trusted people are not the same as tested authority.

PCO looks at what must keep working when the normal decision-maker is unexpectedly unavailable and unable to give instructions — who steps in, what they may do, which systems they can use, what limits apply and what still depends on a professional, provider or formal approval.

Practice structures

The Diagnostic changes with the way the practice is structured.

01 · Structure

Sole attorney

One attorney carries most matters, client mandates and firm-level decisions.

02 · Structure

Partnership / directors

Several attorneys share ownership and matter responsibility.

03 · Structure

Incorporated / multi-practitioner firm

Multiple practitioners, candidate attorneys and practice staff create wider controls.

Profession-specific focus

What PCO would examine in a legal practice.

Matter custody
Court & prescription dates
Client mandates
Trust controls
File access
Counsel / correspondent instructions
FFC / practice requirements
Client communication
Questions that matter

The Diagnostic tests the operating reality, not just whether a document exists.

Examples from the Legal pathway:

01If the principal attorney becomes unexpectedly unavailable and cannot give instructions on the day a court or prescription deadline falls due, who is responsible for seeing and acting on it?
02Who may give a trust-payment instruction and what maker-checker or banking controls still apply?
03Can the fallback attorney access the full electronic and physical matter file without using the principal’s credentials?
04Who may instruct counsel or correspondents under existing mandates, and when is fresh client authority needed?
05What happens to candidate attorneys or staff whose work was being supervised by the principal?
Practice Protection Diagnostic fees

Three structures. A defined entry price for each.

The Diagnostic price reflects the amount of work normally created by the profession and structure. Guided Protection Review and Practice Protection Plan fees are scoped only after the Diagnostic.

Sole attorney
R7,500
excl. VAT · standard published scope

Profession-specific Practice Protection Diagnostic for this structure.

Partnership / directors
R10,500
excl. VAT · standard published scope

Profession-specific Practice Protection Diagnostic for this structure.

Incorporated / multi-practitioner firm
R12,500
excl. VAT · standard published scope

Profession-specific Practice Protection Diagnostic for this structure.

Standard published scope: one legal entity and an ordinary small-to-medium professional practice. Multi-entity groups, more than 10 professionals, or more than two operating locations / branches are confirmed by PCO before payment.
The full Diagnostic

Twelve protection areas have to work together.

01Decision responsibilityWho normally decides, who can step in, and where decisions must escalate.
02Professional eligibilityRegistration, scope, competence, supervision or other eligibility required for regulated work.
03Client / patient / matter handoverWhat is live, urgent, incomplete or at risk if the principal stops giving instructions.
04Records & information custodyWho may see records, what must stay confidential, and how access is controlled.
05Systems & authenticationNamed-user access, portals, MFA, recovery routes and single-person credential dependencies.
06Money & payment limitsBanking, payroll, suppliers, refunds, client money where relevant, approval limits and backups.
07Contracts, mandates & approvalsWho may instruct, approve, sign, vary, renew or escalate commitments.
08Providers & third partiesBanks, SARS, regulators, laboratories, insurers, vendors and other external dependencies.
09Deadlines & renewalsFilings, court dates, project milestones, licence renewals, audits and client promises.
10Staff & operating coordinationWhat managers and staff may do, where their limits sit, and what cannot be casually delegated.
11Escalation & prohibited actionsWhat must not be done without the principal or required professional/provider approval.
12Evidence, testing & reviewWhat proves the arrangement exists, who accepted the role, and whether access and fallbacks were tested.
How it works

From free indication to a controlled plan.

01Free AssessmentFive profession-specific questions and a mini report.
02Practice Protection DiagnosticPCO tests the full 12-area pathway and produces findings.
03Guided Protection ReviewResponsibilities, limits, evidence and fallbacks are worked through.
04PPP + NEXUSApproved arrangements become a managed Practice Protection Plan.
Important boundary: neither the free assessment nor the Diagnostic verifies that a POA, bank mandate, professional registration, provider permission, system entitlement or other arrangement is legally or operationally effective merely because the client says it exists. PCO identifies and tests the dependency; the relevant adviser, institution, regulator or provider confirms what only they can confirm.
Two useful starting questions

Would the practice know what to do tomorrow?

01If the principal attorney becomes unexpectedly unavailable and cannot give instructions on the day a court or prescription deadline falls due, who is responsible for seeing and acting on it?
02Who may give a trust-payment instruction and what maker-checker or banking controls still apply?
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