Community Services & Attorney Client Privilege
Community Legal Support Services
The Legal Affairs Directorate (LAD) provides community legal support services to the members of the University. The service covers the provision of general legal advice, making and execution of limited instruments which include wills, statutory declarations and powers of attorney and review and drafting of private contracts at subsidised fees.
Workshops & Training
The LAD organises workshops and training on various legal issues of interest to students, senior members and staff of the University. We also accept invitations to speak at orientations, workshops for student groups as well as disseminate information on common legal problems.
We would thus encourage the University Community to send us their training needs at the beginning of each academic year to enable the LAD to plan and organise the required training to meet the needs of the University Community.
Student Legal Support Services
The LAD, in association with and upon referral from the Careers and Counselling Centre assists students in resolving issues confronting them as students by providing needed advice and support.
- The LAD also provides informational sessions on business startups to students. This is offered in collaboration with the Careers and Counselling Centre of the University.
The LAD provides the following services for students:
- Answering questions, explaining the individual legal rights and responsibilities and describing available options. This counselling is privileged and confidential (See Attorney-Client Privilege)
- Advising students to seek the assistance of an external attorney where necessary.
Attorney Client Privilege
Attorney–client privilege protects communications between lawyers and their clients by keeping them confidential. This means that when members of the University community seek legal advice from the Legal Affairs Directorate, their communications whether oral, written, or electronic are kept strictly confidential and are protected from disclosure to opposing parties.
This privilege, provided under section 100 of the Evidence Act, 1975 (NRCD 323), encourages openness and honesty by assuring University members that the information they share with the Directorate will not be revealed, and indeed cannot be compelled to be revealed, in legal proceedings. This is especially important during litigation, where privileged communications cannot be disclosed to other parties.
To provide accurate and effective legal advice, the Directorate must have a full understanding of the facts, including potentially damaging ones. The attorney–client privilege creates a safe and confidential space for University personnel to share such information freely.
It is important to note that while this privilege is robust, it is subject to certain exceptions under section 101 of the Evidence Act, 1975.