Website Terms of Use

This Website is owned and operated by Candice Bowker, an attorney practising as a sole proprietor under the style Bowker Attorneys ("Bowker Attorneys" or "the Firm").

Website: https://bowkerattorneys.co.za

Principal / sole proprietor: Candice Bowker

Legal Practice Council firm number: 75739

Email: info@bowkerattorneys.co.za

Bowker Attorneys is a South African attorneys’ practice regulated by the Legal Practice Council. The Firm and its legal practitioners are subject to the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014, applicable LPC Rules and the Code of Conduct for Legal Practitioners, Candidate Legal Practitioners and Juristic Entities.

These Terms regulate access to and use of the Website. By using the Website, a user agrees to be bound by these Terms to the extent enforceable under South African law. If a user does not agree with them, the user should discontinue use of the Website.

The Website provides general information about Bowker Attorneys, its areas of practice and ways to contact the Firm. It is not an online legal-advice platform and, unless the Firm expressly states otherwise in writing, it is not designed to conclude an attorney-client mandate or other contract for legal services automatically through the Website.

Website material is general information only. It is not legal advice on any person’s particular facts and must not be relied upon as a substitute for advice obtained after proper instructions and consideration of the relevant circumstances. Law, procedure and regulatory guidance can change, and Website content may not reflect every development or jurisdictional issue.

Accessing the Website, downloading material, completing a contact form, requesting a call or sending an unsolicited email does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship or oblige Bowker Attorneys to act.

A professional mandate will arise only if and when Bowker Attorneys expressly accepts the instruction, after such conflict, capacity, FICA, risk and other checks as the Firm considers necessary and after the scope and material terms of the engagement have been agreed or otherwise lawfully established. Where the Firm issues written engagement terms, those terms govern the professional mandate and prevail over these Website Terms in relation to the legal services concerned.

Bowker Attorneys is subject to professional duties of confidentiality in circumstances recognised by law and the applicable professional rules. Legal professional privilege is a distinct legal protection whose existence depends on the facts and applicable law.

A user should not assume that an unsolicited website submission is privileged merely because it has been sent to a law firm. Before a mandate and conflict check are confirmed, users should submit only the information reasonably necessary for the Firm to identify the parties, understand the general nature of the enquiry and determine whether it can proceed.

The Firm may need sufficient party information to conduct a conflict check. Receipt of an enquiry does not itself disqualify Bowker Attorneys from acting for another person. Users should therefore avoid disclosing unnecessary confidential details before the Firm confirms that it is able to consider the proposed mandate.

If the Firm considers accepting an instruction, it may require identity, ownership, beneficial-ownership, source-of-funds, sanctions, risk or other information required under FICA, the Legal Practice Act, professional rules or other applicable law. The general Website form should not be used to upload these documents unless Bowker Attorneys specifically provides or approves the transmission method.

Bowker Attorneys takes reasonable care to ensure that its Website accurately describes the Firm and the services it offers. No statement is intended to misrepresent a service, compare the Firm unfairly with another legal practitioner, or guarantee a result. Any description of experience or expertise must be read in that context.

No client name, testimonial, matter description or case study should be interpreted as disclosed with authority unless the Firm has obtained the consent or other lawful basis required by the applicable professional and privacy rules.

No Website content, prior matter, testimonial, example or description of experience is a representation or guarantee that a particular matter will have a particular outcome. Legal outcomes depend on the facts, evidence, applicable law, conduct of other parties and the decision of courts, tribunals or other decision-makers.

Electronic communications may be delayed, intercepted, corrupted, misdirected or affected by malicious software. A user should not treat the transmission of an email or form as proof that it has been received or that a deadline has been protected. Urgent or time-sensitive matters should be confirmed directly with the Firm.

Law firms and their clients are targets for business-email compromise and payment fraud. Before making any payment, users and clients should independently verify Bowker Attorneys’ banking details using a trusted contact method and not solely by replying to the email containing the payment instruction.

A request purporting to change Bowker Attorneys’ banking details should be treated as suspicious and independently verified with the Firm before payment. Bowker Attorneys cannot responsibly accept liability for payment made to a fraudulent third-party account where the payer failed to take reasonable verification precautions, subject always to liability that cannot lawfully be excluded and the facts of the particular incident.

The Firm may maintain, update, suspend or withdraw parts of the Website where reasonably necessary. Although reasonable security measures are used, the Firm does not warrant that the Website will be continuously available, error-free or completely free of malicious code or third-party interference.

A user may not use the Website to commit or facilitate unlawful conduct, introduce malicious code, attempt unauthorised access, interfere with the Website or associated systems, scrape information unlawfully, impersonate another person, infringe intellectual-property rights or submit information unlawfully obtained from another person.

Unless otherwise indicated, original Website content, branding, written material, graphics, downloadable documents and layout are owned by or lawfully licensed to Bowker Attorneys and are protected by applicable intellectual-property law. Users may view and print Website material for legitimate personal or internal business reference. No content may be reproduced, republished, adapted, sold or commercially exploited in a manner that infringes the Firm’s rights without written permission.

Links to third-party websites are provided for convenience or reference and do not amount to an endorsement unless expressly stated. Bowker Attorneys does not control and is not responsible for third-party content, availability, security or privacy practices.

Personal information submitted through or generated by the Website will be processed in accordance with the Bowker Attorneys Privacy Notice and applicable law. The Privacy Notice forms part of the Website legal information and should be read with these Terms.

To the extent permitted by law, Bowker Attorneys is not liable merely because a user chose to rely on general Website information instead of obtaining legal advice appropriate to the user’s circumstances. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any professional duty or liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, nor does it override an accepted mandate or written engagement terms between the Firm and a client.

The Website is presently intended to facilitate information and enquiries, rather than automatically conclude legal-service transactions. Bowker Attorneys nevertheless publishes its identity, professional status and contact particulars to promote transparency and to address applicable electronic-commerce disclosure requirements. If the Website is later changed to permit online acceptance of legal-service terms, online payment for defined services or another electronic contracting process, these Terms must be reviewed before that functionality goes live.

These Terms and use of the Website are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute arising solely from Website use is subject to the jurisdiction of a court with competent jurisdiction in South Africa, subject to any mandatory law and without altering any jurisdiction clause contained in a separate professional engagement agreement.

Bowker Attorneys may update these Terms where reasonably necessary to reflect changes in law, Website functionality or Firm operations. The current version will be published on the Website with a revised review date.

Bowker Attorneys email: info@bowkerattorneys.co.za