A correspondent attorney in South Africa is a local attorney who acts on behalf of another attorney — the “instructing attorney” — in a different town, city, or High Court division, handling the procedural steps the instructing attorney cannot perform in person because they are not admitted to practise in that specific court or jurisdiction. The role is most commonly used in High Court litigation where the matter is filed in a division seat remote from the instructing firm’s offices: the instructing attorney drafts the pleadings and runs the strategy, while the correspondent attorney handles the local court appearance, files the motion, sets the matter down, and collects the order. The relationship is governed by the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 and the rules of professional conduct issued by the Legal Practice Council, and the correspondent’s fees are normally charged in addition to the instructing attorney’s fees, either on a per-appearance or per-instruction basis.

What a Correspondent Attorney Is and Is Not

A correspondent attorney is a fellow attorney admitted to practise in the jurisdiction where the court sitting is taking place, who is temporarily instructed to handle a procedural step on behalf of an instructing attorney from outside that jurisdiction. The instruction is short-term and task-specific; once the local procedural step is complete, the correspondent’s role on that matter normally ends.

It is equally important to be clear about what a correspondent attorney is not:

• Not the attorney of record. The instructing attorney remains the attorney of record on the matter in the instructing attorney’s place and continues to bear professional responsibility for the conduct of the case. The correspondent does not “take over” the matter.
• Not the same as briefing an advocate. An advocate (formerly “counsel”) is briefed on questions of law and argument — typically for trials, opposed motions, and appeals. A correspondent is briefed on procedural and administrative acts in a remote jurisdiction. The two roles are often used together on the same matter, but they are not interchangeable.
• Not a back-office function. The correspondent owes the same professional duties to the client as any attorney. The client is entitled to the same standard of care regardless of which attorney performs the local step.

Practical note: The instructing–correspondent relationship should always be confirmed in writing before any court appearance is undertaken, with the fee arrangement disclosed to the client in advance. A correspondent who is unsure whether the fee disclosure has been made should not proceed without confirmation.

When a Correspondent Attorney Is Used

The correspondent role is most commonly used in High Court matters in a division remote from the instructing attorney’s offices, but it has several everyday applications across South African civil litigation:

• High Court matters in a different division. The most common scenario: an attorney based in Johannesburg needs a matter heard in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, or Eastern Cape High Court, and retains a correspondent in that division.
• Inter-divisional filings. Matters that must be filed in more than one division of the High Court — interdicts, applications affecting parties across provinces — routinely use a correspondent in each division.
• Unopposed matters and default judgments. Applications where no opposing party is present and the instructing attorney does not need to attend personally.
• Motion court appearances. Short, procedural appearances where the instructing attorney’s travel is disproportionate to the time the appearance takes.
• Collection of orders and court records. A correspondent is often used to uplift a granted order, file a certified extract, or collect a court file on the instructing attorney’s behalf.

For attorneys running cross-jurisdictional matters from any of the Gauteng seats — particularly the Johannesburg seat, where corporate and commercial litigation is concentrated — the correspondent relationship is a routine part of conducting a national practice.

The Instructing–Correspondent Relationship

The relationship is a professional one and follows a clear workflow:

1. The instructing attorney sets the brief. This includes the draft pleadings, supporting affidavits, a clear written mandate, and confirmation of the fee arrangement with the client.
2. The correspondent reviews the papers for local procedural compliance. Each High Court division has its own practice directives and local conventions, and the correspondent checks the bundle against those local requirements before filing.
3. The correspondent files the application and attends the court appearance. This is the procedural step for which the correspondent was instructed.
4. The correspondent reports back to the instructing attorney. Once the matter is finalised in the local jurisdiction — order granted, uplift completed, file collected — the correspondent’s role typically ends, and the matter reverts to the instructing attorney for ongoing conduct.

Throughout this exchange, the correspondent owes the client the same standard of professional care as the attorney of record. The mandate defines the scope; the correspondent does not expand it without further written authority.

Correspondent vs. Advocate vs. Attorney of Record

Three roles are frequently confused in correspondence and pleadings. The table below clarifies the difference:

Role	Function	Who instructs them	Typical use
Correspondent attorney	Local procedural acts in a remote jurisdiction	Another attorney (the instructing attorney)	High Court appearances in a different division
Advocate (counsel)	Specialist argument and advice on questions of law	An attorney, on behalf of a client	Trials, opposed motions, appeals
Attorney of record	The attorney formally responsible for the conduct of the matter on the client’s behalf	The client	The entire matter, from intake to finalisation

The Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 governs the right of appearance and scope of practice for each role; the Uniform Rules of Court and the relevant High Court’s practice directives set out the procedural steps the correspondent performs.

Where Correspondent Attorneys Commonly Work

Each division of the High Court is a self-contained jurisdiction, and an attorney admitted in one division is not automatically entitled to practise in another without satisfying that division’s admission and right-of-appearance requirements. That is why correspondent attorneys exist across the country, and why certain venues are busier than others:

• Gauteng Division (Johannesburg and Pretoria seats). The busiest correspondent venue in the country, given the concentration of corporate and commercial litigation in Gauteng.
• Western Cape High Court (Cape Town). A regular correspondent destination for matters touching the Cape commercial and property markets.
• KwaZulu-Natal High Court (Durban and Pietermaritzburg). Regular correspondent work for matters in the KZN region.
• Free State High Court (Bloemfontein). A typical correspondent venue for Free State and central-South-Africa matters.
• Eastern Cape High Court (Grahamstown/Makhanda, Gqeberha, Bhisho). Each seat has its own practice directives and local procedural conventions that a correspondent based in the division will know from daily practice.

In lower-court matters, the use of a correspondent is less common, because attorneys are generally admitted to practise in any magistrate’s court in the country under the Legal Practice Act — but the same principle applies if local logistics make a correspondent more practical.

How Correspondent Fees Typically Work

Correspondent fees are charged separately from the instructing attorney’s fees and are usually disclosed to the client as a disbursement or third-party cost. The fee basis varies by firm and by matter:

• Per-appearance fee — for short, defined appearances such as a motion court mention or an unopposed default judgment.
• Per-instruction fee — for filing-only mandates where no live appearance is required (filing an application, lodging an affidavit, setting a matter down).
• Hourly fee — for more involved work where the time cannot be estimated in advance (reviewing an unusually complex bundle, coordinating with multiple parties, or attending an opposed hearing).

The instructing attorney is responsible for obtaining the client’s agreement to the correspondent fee structure before the work is done, and the fee should be confirmed in the written instruction to the correspondent. Where the matter is being run on a contingency or no-success-no-fee basis, the correspondent’s fees are normally still payable as a disbursement; this should be clarified before the instruction is issued.

When to Brief a Correspondent in Practice

A correspondent should be briefed whenever the procedural step requires physical presence in a division where the instructing attorney is not admitted to appear, or where attendance would be disproportionate to the value of the step. Common triggers include:

• A High Court application filed in a division outside the instructing attorney’s province.
• An unopposed default judgment or consent order that can be handled locally.
• An uplift of a granted order, collection of a court file, or filing of a certified extract.
• An opposed motion in a remote division where the instructing attorney’s travel and accommodation costs exceed the value of the appearance.

Burger Huyser Attorneys handles correspondent work through its Johannesburg office, with director-level oversight from the firm’s general litigation practice (under Director Nadine Roesch-Prinsloo in Roodepoort) and across the Gauteng branch network where a matter benefits from a different seat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a correspondent attorney the same as an advocate?

No — a correspondent attorney is a fellow attorney who handles procedural steps in a court where the instructing attorney is not local. An advocate (formerly “counsel”) is a specialist briefed on questions of law and argument, typically for trials, opposed motions, and appeals. The two roles are often used together on the same matter, but they are not interchangeable.

Does a correspondent attorney take over the matter from the instructing attorney?

No — the instructing attorney remains the attorney of record and continues to bear professional conduct responsibility for the matter. The correspondent performs the specific procedural steps set out in the written mandate and reports back to the instructing attorney.

When would an attorney need a correspondent?

Most commonly when a High Court matter is filed in a division remote from the attorney’s offices — for example, a Johannesburg attorney needing a matter heard in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, or Eastern Cape divisions. Inter-divisional filings, unopposed motions, default judgments, and the collection of orders also use correspondents.

What laws govern the correspondent–instructing relationship in South Africa?

The relationship is governed by the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 and the rules of professional conduct issued by the Legal Practice Council, which apply to all attorneys in the country. The Uniform Rules of Court and the relevant High Court’s practice directives govern the procedural steps the correspondent performs.

How much does a correspondent attorney cost?

Correspondent fees are typically charged on a per-appearance, per-instruction, or hourly basis, and are passed to the client as a separate cost in addition to the instructing attorney’s fees. Fee levels vary by jurisdiction and by the complexity of the work; the instructing attorney should confirm the fee structure with the client in writing before the correspondent is instructed.

Can a correspondent attorney give the client legal advice directly?

Only if the attorney of record has authorised them to do so in writing. Otherwise, the correspondent’s role is limited to the procedural steps set out in the mandate, and any substantive advice on the matter should come from the instructing attorney.

If you need a correspondent attorney in the Gauteng Division of the High Court or have a matter that needs to be filed in a different division, Burger Huyser Attorneys handles correspondent work through its general litigation practice, with the Johannesburg office as the primary contact point (49 First Avenue, Linden, Randburg, tel 011 888 0246, after-hours 061 516 6878). The firm takes instructions from attorneys nationwide as well as from clients whose matters cross jurisdictions, and its track record is reflected in a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex-verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”). Initial scope and fee discussions are confirmed in writing before any court appearance is undertaken.