How to Prepare a Draft Order for Admission as an Attorney

A draft order for admission as an attorney is the proposed order attached to the application bundle under Uniform Rule 17 of the High Court, and it is the document the admissions court registrar settles and the presiding judge makes on the day of the hearing. It must identify the applicant, the court, the date, and the exact relief sought (admission as an attorney in terms of section 24 of the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014), and it must reflect the contents of the founding and supporting affidavits so the court can sign it without amendment. Errors at draft-order level are common — wrong case number, missing party descriptions, relief sought that doesn’t match the founding affidavit, or unsigned blocks — and they routinely cause the file to be stood down or returned by the registrar for correction before the order can be issued.

What the Draft Order Is and Where It Fits in the Application

The draft order is the proposed order that the candidate’s attorney attaches to the application papers; it is not a separate application but a component of the bundle. It sits alongside the founding affidavit, the principal’s affidavit, the candidate’s practical vocational training (PVT) affidavit, the annexures, and the Legal Practice Council (LPC) response as part of one motion-court file. Once the file is set down on the admissions court roll, the registrar settles the draft on the day of the hearing; once settled and signed by the judge, it becomes the court’s order.

The legal basis for the relief is section 24 of the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 read with the Uniform Rules of Court and the relevant division’s Consolidated Practice Directive. In the Gauteng Division, the controlling procedural instrument is the Revised Consolidated Practice Directive 1 of 2024 (dated 26 February 2024, as amended on 12 June 2024), which governs both the Pretoria and Johannesburg seats of that division.

Anatomy of a Correct Draft Order

Why this layout matters

Every element above is there because the registrar compares the draft against the underlying court file before settling it. A consistent party description ties the order to the founding affidavit; a correctly captioned heading ties it to the case file; the operative paragraph ties the relief to section 24 of the Act. Where any of those ties is broken, the registrar is entitled to refuse to settle the draft on the day.

Step-by-Step: Preparing the Draft Order

1. Confirm the exact relief sought — admission as an attorney under section 24 of the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014, and, where applicable, the right to practise.
2. Match the case number, court seat and date to the notice of set down. The order cannot reference a different date or division from the one on the roll.
3. Use the same party description (full names, ID number, residential address) as in the founding affidavit so the order ties to the bundle without inconsistency.
4. Draft the body as a single operative paragraph stating the relief in clear, declarative language. Do not recite the evidence in the body of the order.
5. Annex any ancillary relief sought (for example condonation, or leave to apply out of time) to the same draft order, or to a separately-numbered draft, so the registrar sees all relief in one place.
6. Circulate the draft to counsel (the advocate briefed for the admissions court appearance) and to the instructing attorney for approval before filing.
7. File the draft with the application bundle; carry the working draft to the hearing so the registrar can settle it on the day.
8. After the order is made and signed, lodge the original with the registrar, retain a certified copy for the LPC, and keep a further copy for the candidate’s practising file.

Common Errors That Cause the Registrar to Return the Draft

• Wrong or missing case number — the registrar cannot settle an order that does not match the court file.
• Applicant name or ID number that does not match the founding affidavit exactly.
• Relief sought that goes beyond what the founding affidavit supports (for example seeking admission without an annexed LLB certificate).
• Missing or unsigned counsel or instructing-attorney signature blocks.
• Date that conflicts with the Notice of Set Down or the admissions court roll.
• Including findings of fact in the body of the order — the order states the relief, not the evidence.

Each of these defects is the kind of error a candidate’s attorney should catch on a pre-filing checklist. Where the registrar does catch one instead, the cost is a stood-down appearance and a later return date — the most common avoidable delay in admission applications.

How the Registrar Settles the Draft on the Day

The candidate’s counsel and attorney attend the admissions court appearance with the working draft. The registrar reviews the draft against the bundle before the matter is called. Where the draft is in order, the registrar settles it and the judge signs it; the candidate is admitted and the order is issued. Where the registrar identifies a defect, the draft is returned for correction — typically with a written query sheet — and the matter is stood down to a later roll.

After the Order Is Granted

1. Lodge the signed order with the registrar; obtain a certified copy.
2. Apply to the Legal Practice Council for the admission endorsement and the practising ID card.
3. Where the candidate intends to enrol with the Fidelity Fund, lodge the order with the Fidelity Fund certificate application.
4. File the original admission certificate with the candidate’s professional records.

Burger Huyser Attorneys’ general litigation practice is set up to run a candidate-attorney file from the post-PVT stage through to the order being granted and the LPC practising ID card being issued — which means the same instructing attorney carries the file from the first draft through to the LPC endorsement.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a draft order and a founding affidavit?

The draft order is the proposed order that the court is asked to make — a short, declarative document stating the relief sought. The founding affidavit is the evidentiary backbone of the application: it sets out the facts the candidate relies on, annexes the supporting documents, and is the document the court reads to decide whether to grant the order. The two are filed together but do different jobs — the affidavit proves the case, the order gives the court the wording of its decision.

Does the draft order have to be signed by counsel?

In practice, yes — counsel briefed for the admissions court appearance is expected to sign the draft as the attorney appearing on the matter, and the instructing attorney’s signature block is also carried. Where the candidate is unrepresented (which is uncommon for admission matters) the registrar may accept an unsigned draft but will usually raise a query about it.

Can a candidate prepare the draft order without an attorney?

A candidate may file personally, but the draft order must match the rest of the bundle to the letter, must reflect the exact relief under section 24 of the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014, and must conform to the relevant division’s Consolidated Practice Directive — most candidates instruct an attorney because the cost of a returned draft is a delayed admissions court appearance.

What happens if the draft order is wrong on the day?

The registrar will not settle it. The matter is stood down, the candidate’s attorney is given a query sheet (typically with corrections to make and a date to return on), and the file goes back onto a later admissions court roll. This is the most common avoidable delay in admission applications and is the reason firms run the draft through a checklist before filing.

Is the draft order the same in every High Court division?

The substance is the same nationwide because the relief is set by section 24 of the Legal Practice Act, but the format and the supporting procedural layer (e.g. the confirming-affidavit requirement under paragraph 31.2 of the Gauteng Division’s Consolidated Practice Directive 1 of 2024) vary by division. Always check the local Practice Directive before finalising the draft.

If you are working through your own admission application and need a Centurion- or Randburg-based attorney to draft the application bundle (including the draft order) and run the file through the Gauteng Division, contact Burger Huyser Attorneys on 012 644 4990 (Centurion) or 011 888 0246 (Randburg head office). The firm handles admission applications through its general litigation practice and can take instructions from the post-PVT stage through to the order being granted and the LPC practising ID card being issued.