Attorneys – Frequently Asked Questions

The system is available for members to access at any given point. However, for a new season of applications, the system is available from October of a year to accept applications for the following year. Members receive notifications advising when they can access the system for applications for a new season.

The new online application has been developed for all sole practitioners/partners/directors to submit their FFC applications online. From 2016 onwards, Law Societies issue fidelity fund certificates through the online platform. Law Societies no longer issue certificates manually.

If you are a new firm and registered with a Law Society, you apply for your first fidelity fund certificate through the online platform. Because you do not have balances in your trust account/s yet, you will record “0s” as your balances in order to proceed through the application.

You are required to ensure that the Law Society of which you are a member has your correct email address and mobile number. You will receive notification via email and/or SMS to activate your login for the new application. It is therefore crucial for you to advise your Law Society of any changes in your contact details.
The online application is web-based, you can access it anytime from anywhere provided you have internet connectivity, this includes use of computers, ipads, tablets, smartphones, internet cafes, etc. The address from which you can access the online application is: https://ffc.fidfund.co.za or you can follow the link from your Law Society’s website. Easy to use help guides are provided to assist users navigate the online application.

The online application is supported in Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer, except Internet Explorer version 8.0 or lower. For the best experience, you are advised to use Firefox or Chrome. Make sure your provided login credentials are correctly captured, especially your password which is extremely sensitive as it also considers spaces as characters. Should you be on the correct browser and having captured your login credentials correctly but still experience problems accessing the online application, please contact the Law Society for assistance.The contact details for the Law Societies are as follows:
Law Society of the Northern Provinces (LSNP)
Tel: 012 338 5869 / 5815 / 5916
database@lsnp.org.za
records@lsnp.org.za
anette.vaneck@lsnp.org.za
brenda.sonto@lsnp.org.za
Cape Law Society (CLS)
clsffc@capelawsoc.law.za or 021 443 6700
KZN Law Society
records@lawsoc.co.za or 033 345 1304
Free State Law Society
ilze@fs-law.co.za or 051-447 3237
emily@fs-law.co.za or 051-4473237
jacoline@fs-law.co.za or 051-447 3237
Should all attempts to contact the Law Society fail, you can contact the Attorneys Fidelity Fund at ffcapplications@fidfund.co.za.

Legislation requires that each member who is either a sole practitioner, partner or director must apply for an FFC in order to practise and charge for services rendered.
• Firms with more than one member who is required to hold an FFC can appoint a firm representative, either a member or a non-member, who will capture the financial data for the firm.
• The representative, if not a member that is required to hold an FFC, will receive their own login credentials via email or sms once created by a member.
• The representative, if a member entitled to hold an FFC, will already have login credentials and use those to capture the firm’s financial information.
• A representative can only capture financial information for the firm but cannot proceed to certify or submit the form on behalf of the members.
• A member representative who is required to hold an FFC will be able to capture firm’s financial information and proceed until he/she can generate the certificate for self.
• Once the representative has captured the financial information, each of the members required to hold an FFC can go into the online application, individually certify the correctness of the captured information, and submit the application.
• There is therefore no need to replicate the financial information of the firm, it is captured only once.

The online application pre-populates firm and personal information. However, should a member’s personal information not display correctly, the member is able to change the following information:
• Mobile number;
• Telephone number;
• Email address;
• Residential address; and
• Marital status
Should critical data display incorrectly, including data pertinent to the firm, please notify the Law Society in writing of the correct information.

YES. The Law Societies continue to be responsible for issuing the FFC. The Attorneys Fidelity Fund does not issue certificates.To facilitate this issuance, the system is automated to make the process of issuing and obtaining an FFC simpler and expeditious. Checks and balances will still be conducted on the online application to ensure compliance with all the requirements before a certificate can be issued. The Director/Secretary of the Law Society retains the discretion to issue or decline the issuance of the certificate.

Provided all the necessary requirements have been met and the Law Society has satisfied itself of that, there should be no delays. The system will generate the certificate and send it for approval to the Law Society. Once the Law Society processes the application, you will receive notification of the outcome of the application via sms and/or email.

Not necessarily. Provided you save all captured information, by clicking “update” at every step, as and when you access the online application, you can always go back to the online application and continue with the process. The online application will take you to the step that is still to be completed. Should you not have saved the information, you will be required to start the process from the beginning and recapture the information.

YES. The certificate will reflect the Law Society of which the sole practitioner, partner or director is member, the period for which it is valid, the name of the member that is entitled to hold an FFC, the name of the firm in which he practices, the FFC number, the Law Society member number, and the date of issue.

The member can generate the certificate once. However, the certificate is stored in the system and the member will be able to print and reprint whenever required.

You can access the online application through any electronic platform that supports internet access, from your ipad, tablet, smartphone, internet café, etc. Should you have exhausted all efforts to obtain internet access to the online application, you may attend at the Law Societies’ offices for assistance.