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Booking a Legal Consultation in Zimbabwe

Booking a legal consultation in Zimbabwe as an individual or corporate body is simple. In these times of advance communication technology, persons or parties can consult in a variety of ways. In Zimbabwe a legal consultation may be held physically or virtually. Circumstances may dictate the form a legal consultation should take. In some instances, a legal consultation in Zimbabwe may be conducted both virtually and physically i.e., hybrid.

What is a legal consultation?

The Legal Practitioners Act [Chapter 27:07] does not define the term consultation. However, the right to legal counsel is firmly entrenched in the Constitution of Zimbabwe. For instance, section 69(4) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act, 2013 recognises the following right:

“Every person has a right, at their own expense, to choose and be represented by a legal practitioner before any court, tribunal or forum.”

In addition, section 70(1)(d) as read with (e) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act, 2013 enshrines the following rights:

• The right to choose a legal practitioner and, at their own expense, to be represented by that legal practitioner; and

• The right to be represented by a legal practitioner assigned by the State and at State expense, if substantial injustice would otherwise result.

The South African Constitutional Court in President of the Republic of South Africa & Others v South African Rugby Football Union & Others 1999 (10) BCLR 1059 (CC) para 153 it was held that:

“To consult in general means to inquire as to someone’s views in regard to a proposed course of action. A consultation in this sense can range from a protracted and deliberate exchange of views to obtaining a swift signification of consent. If the views of the person consulted concur with the action proposed, further consultation is obviously redundant. It is obvious that the present case is an instance of the latter. The constitutional purpose underlying the requirement of consultation was met.”

Prince Kanokanga, The Law of Costs in Zimbabwe: Text, Cases and Materials (Durban 2021) at 252 defined a legal consultation as follows:

“The initial meeting between a client and a legal practitioner is known as a consultation. The consultation consists in a legal practitioner being advised of a particular matter requiring legal advice or assistance.

Why book a legal consultation?

A legal consultation is an essential service provided by registered legal practitioners in respect of which individuals, private and public organisations may obtain professional legal assistance or legal advice on legal issues. Thus, a legal consultation in Zimbabwe can be regarded as a meeting or conference between a client and a legal practitioner at which discussions take place, and advice or guidance is sought and tendered by a legal practitioner.

What to bring to a legal consultation?

There are no laid-out formalities on the information or documents which are required for a legal consultation. If the matter to be discussed for instance is a debt collection matter, the following information may be useful:

• The amount(s) owing;

• The nature of the debt;

• The duration of the debt;

• The debtor's contact details (preferably email and physical address);

• The document(s) / agreement(s) if any, giving rise to the debt; and 

• Whether the debtor is an individual or any entity. 

Due to the fact that people consult legal practitioners on various issues i.e., commercial consultations, labour law consultation, real estate consultation, it is advisable for a party wishing to obtain legal advice to prepare information or documents which may be relevant to the discussion. In Scalabrini Centre v Minister of Home Affairs 2013 (3) SA 531 (WCC) para 72 it was held that:

“Consultation may be conducted in any appropriate way determined by the decision-maker, unless a procedure is laid down in the legislation. However, the procedure must be one which enables consultation in the substantive sense to occur. This means that sufficient information must be supplied to the consulted party to enable it to tender helpful advice; sufficient time must be given to the consulted party to enable it to provide such advice; and sufficient time must be available to allow the advice to be considered.”