Zelda Venter|Updated3 hours agoLegal proceedings pause R60 billion class action lawsuit against South Africa’s major banks

Lawyer Douglas Shaw leaving the Johannesburg High Court amid cheers from his clients in the R60 billion class action case against major banks. While scores of dispossessed homeowners packed the courtroom at the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday in anticipation of the long-awaitedR60 billion class action against the country’s major banks, the case never got off the ground as drama unfolded on whether their lawyer in fact had a licence to practice. Before the proceedings could kick off, counsel for First Rand Bank, one of the respondents, told Judge Leonie Windell that his attorney received an anonymous call on Monday, informing him thatDouglas Shaw, the lawyer representing the homeowners, did not have a Fidelity Fund Certificate for this year.

The judge was told that the attorney who was tipped offcontacted the Legal Practice Council (LPC) – the umbrella body that has to issue these certificates. The LPC, in turn, confirmed that Shaw, according to its records, did not have such a certificate for2026. Judge Windell was told that not only was it obligatory for Shaw to have this certificate if he wanted to represent clients in court, but it is also a criminal offence to litigate without it.

Judge Windell stated she could not allow Shaw to represent the applicants without the certificate and gave him until Wednesday morning to produce it. If he cannot produce the certificate, it will hamper the certification application severely, as he will not be able to argue it. They will then have to proceed without him.

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Shaw later indicated that he was heading to Pretoria to sort out the issue regarding the certificate with the LPC. A Fidelity Fund Certificate is a mandatory annual licence for legal practitioners (attorneys and certain advocates) in South Africa, confirming they are authorised to operate a trust account and handle client funds. Shaw was, meanwhile, also found to be in contempt of court following a complaint from Absa’s counsel that he referred to affidavits and other documents in his application, after he was earlier barred by the court from using these documents.

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