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How long does a legal consultation last for in Zimbabwe?

There are no statutory formalities with regards to how long a legal consultation should last in Zimbabwe. The time that a legal consultation lasts depends on the facts and circumstances. A legal consultation may take ten minutes, 30minutes, an hour or a whole day. 

Kuper J, in Hirsch v Taxing Master & Others, 1958 (2) SA 623 (W) 636 held that:

“It seems to me that the first item, item A1, the instructions to institute or defend any proceedings, really relate to the first consultation which the client has with the attorney. At that consultation he tells the attorney what his grievance is and what it is that he would like the attorney to do. That consultation might take ten minutes and it might take the whole day. In the course of that consultation the client has to tell the attorney anything that has happened that he remembers as between himself and the person against whom the litigation is to be brought in order to place the attorney in a proper position to advise him as to the proceedings that have to be launched. But that is only the first stage in the proceedings. It frequently happens that as a result of that first instruction a summons can be issued or a petition launched, e.g., the case that was mentioned of a sequestration proceeding.