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Attorney Anton Katz left the Cape Bar after nearly 30 years.
- Top defender Anton Katz has resigned from Cape Bar.
- The resignation follows a refusal by the Katz Bar Association to resign from its approved chambers.
- Katz says the housing policy, which requires members to maintain Cape Bar-approved cameras, puts black advocates and younger women at a disadvantage.
A Cape Town (SC) council of elders resigned from the Cape Bar, saying the organization’s housing policy is outdated and often puts younger black and female defenders at a disadvantage.
Attorney Anton Katz left the Cape Bar after nearly 30 years and said in his resignation letter that most council members do not appear to “demonstrate attitudes and values.” [he associates] with collegiality, general fairness, and simply a sense of constitutionalism. “
Katz says that when he became a member of the Cape Bar in 1990, he found racist and sexist attitudes prevailing in general. While these have improved, these attitudes are still evident in the wider legal profession. In addition, he lashed out at the Cape Bar for its “authoritarian mentality”, which, according to him, remains part of the bar culture.
His resignation was prompted by a recent scandal over the bar’s housing policy. The Cape Bar constitution requires members to maintain chambers approved by the Bar Council, unless exempt.
Since Katz’s practice does not require him to maintain council-approved cameras, he requested in August to be exempted from this policy.
His request followed a denied request to sublet his bar-approved cameras three years ago, and permission to share the cameras with a minor colleague that was granted two years ago.
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Cape Bar President Attorney Brenton Joseph said the organization would release a statement Tuesday in response to Katz’s resignation.
According to his resignation letter, his August application was rejected without a hearing. He was later granted a hearing, where he was questioned about the private details surrounding his application, the letter says.
Housing policy is generally considered outdated and has been recognized as needing radical reform, Katz says.
It adds that this policy has a “severe effect on young black and female defenders, who can have serious financial challenges.”
In a review survey conducted by Cape Bar, many members indicated that they would drop out if the requirement was not changed, and working from home was supported by more than two-thirds of members, Katz says.
It also refers to the one-off rentals of the bar members, which amounted to more than 4 million rand in September. In the building where Katz has cameras, the arrears are R890,000, he says.
Katz isn’t the only top council highlighting “outdated” policies.
At the end of October, the main defender Ishmael Semenya SC of the Johannesburg Society of Defenders (JSA) resigned after 34 years as a member.
Semenya said the turning point had been a resolution adopted to prevent non-JSA members from practicing in the Pitje Chambers in downtown Johannesburg.
He claimed that the housing rule is outdated and promotes segmentation, as members in good standing could be guilty of professional misconduct for practicing in a building where non-members practiced, City Press reported.
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