THE Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) yesterday announced a new fee structure for its members that will see couples intending to divorce paying as much as US$2 000 or its equivalent — $170 000 in local currency for “uncontested divorces”.
According to the new schedule contained in a circular
issued yesterday to its members, the LSZ said lawyers should stick to the set
fees, adding that in case they need to adjust the fees, they should consult the
council.
The US$2 000 figure for divorce is beyond the reach of many
workers, particularly civil servants who are getting far less.
The fees apply only for uncontested divorces and more will
be paid for contested divorces according to legal experts.
The person who initiates the divorce, the plaintiff, will
need to fork out $102 000 in legal fees while the other party will need to fork
out $68 000 for uncontested divorce. An uncontested divorce is one where there
are minimal, if any, disputes.
“Legal practitioners are professionally and legally obliged
to charge fees for legal work which are fair and reasonable in all the
circumstances,” LSZ said in a circular.
For general professional services, LSZ said charges will
vary depending on experience and time spent on the matter.
“The ranges of hourly fees recommended in this tariff are
designed to take into account both the varying levels of experience of
practitioners and their varying costs of practice,” the circular read in part.
“Legal practitioners are entitled to charge rates which are
at the lower or upper margins or anywhere in between these charges.
“The charges will take into consideration time reasonably and
actually spent in personal attendance by a legal practitioner in performing his
or her mandate, including taking instructions, telephone calls, attendances in
court, offices of record and the like, research, preparation, drafting,
dictation and perusals of letters and documents.”
For a will, clients will pay US$400 ($34 000) while for
lease agreement for residential properties or farms, clients will part with
US$300 or one month’s rent while for businesses, clients will pay US$600 or one
month’s rent.
General professional fees will be US$30 to $60 for an
unregistered law graduate whose name is recorded by the LSZ and US$310 to
US$350 for lawyers with over 30 years’ experience.
For an agreement of sale, clients will part with US$500 or
a percentage of the selling price for residential properties or farms, while
they will be expected to pay US$600 or a month’s rent for businesses.
For company formation, lawyers will charge US$500 while an
initial application for liquor licence will now cost US$450. Newsday
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