The firm Serumula MT Attorneys Incorporated was established in 2019 with main focus on litigation, Conveyancing and Commercial Practice. The firm was established as a sole proprietorship located in Pretoria, Gauteng Province. Mahlodi Timios Serumula is the sole trader has LLB Degrees from the University of South Africa. He established a sound client base in the above disciple and now intends to establish a solid in Insolvency Practice and Debt Collection.

The main objective of the firm is to increase its profit by 15% in the next year. The firm is recovering from the recession that crippled most firms in the past year.

In order to succeed our critical key factors for the past year are as follows:

• To establish insolvency department and debt collection in the firm.
• To target companies/institutions and government departments with the main objective of selection as panel Attorneys.
• Develop on the existing staff program and empowerment schemes to encourage staff.
• To give attention on existing client introducing the new department.

In order to succeed in obtaining our goals, our firm’s objectives are:

• To maintain high value standards and deliver equal higher services to our clients.
• To establish a website where clients my interact with our firm.
• To provide our clients with services that are tailored to their needs.
• To keep clients informed of developments through regular reporting structures such as e-mails, SMS, internet login and general website information.
• Assess the quality of work performed by the firm on a regular basis in order to achieve our corporate vision of efficient, effective, and expedited service delivery as per client requirements.
• Maintain high value standards and delivers equal higher service to clients and the legal profession at large.

The firm was established in 2019 by Mahlodi Timios Serumula. The firm established client base with the local municipality in debt collection. The firm then introduced its Insolvency department after Miss Pertunia Rakgoale qualified to be on the national panel of liquidators.

The firm has come to realise that there are no Debt collectors for the local municipality. We also offer services in:

• Integrated spectrum of service in Labour Law to facilitate the provision of constructive solutions to clients needs, which includes inter alia the following:
1. Alternative dispute resolution.
2. Presiding over disciplinary hearings.
3. Representing the employer in Conciliation Arbitration ad Labour Court matters.
4. Presiding on disciplinary matters.
5. Drafting of employment Contracts and codes of conduct for employer and employees.
6. Advice employers with regards to compliance with Labour Acts e.g. Employment Equity Act, Basic Condition of Employment Act.
7. Conducting Workshops and / or training in Labour Law & LRA.

The firm’s offices operate from 08h0 to 17h00 for client’s consultations and re open during weekends on Saturdays from 08h00 to 12h00 or alternatively by appointment. This affords time for work and consultations with clients whenever clients need to.
The firm has established a good communication between client and staff and the manner in which staff and client correspond. In the past, the firm had advertised in the local newspaper and by referral by existing clients. In order to improve the aforesaid, the firm has set out marketing campaign as follows:

• To enhance and improve contact with client.
• To be accessible to the client at all times.
• Advertising the firms standing at large and,
• Maintain good services to clients.

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths:
Serumula MT Attorneys Inc, took efforts to employ staffs who are enthusiastic for what they stand for. Our staffs are eager to assist and are at all times ready to learn more and tackle challenges head on. The firm’s partners compliment the above as they are hardworking and respected in the area where the firm is located and is further characterised as follows:

• Skilled, competent and experienced personnel
• Good database and Library
• Good location of the firm
• Financial and accounting systems in place
• Potential growth in place and cost effective
• Accreditation with bodies such as the Law Society.

Weaknesses:
Due to our geographical location the firm is challenged by new Law firms as well as the following:

• Not enough budget for new department.
• legislation may change.
• No BBBEE optimised.

Opportunities:
The introduction of Insolvency Practice and Debt Collection is quite a new discipline in the area and that affects the firm with a new area that has not been saturated. Our market and relationship with existing clients will enhance the firms’ establishment of debt collectors. We also have the following opportunities:

• Municipal Debt Collection.
• Relationship with existing client may often open new doors.
• Appointments from the Master of the High Court as Insolvency practitioner.
• Competitors lack experience and reputation.
• BBBEE rating improved.

Threats:
Most service being given to banks; paralegals make it difficult for our firm to grow the debt collection practice.

• Political and Environmental changes in terms of Municipal collection.
• Alternative service providers’ e.g. debt collector.
• Competition with other Law firms
• Economic recession
• Up and coming firms being established Law concerned

The above SWOT analysis helps the firm to know its strengths and challenges in as far as the market is concerned.
GUIDANCE AND MONITORING THE EXECUTION OF THE PLAN

1. The firm can implement a proper and efficient dairy system to avoid random execution of the work which would become risky in certain instances where one would see in a short space of time that a matter might likely to prescribe.
2. Furthermore, the firm can adopt a dual diary system, to put an individual legal practitioner to perform within the time frame for the work which was allocated to him and also to reach an objective goal of the client’s mandate.
3. The firm can register with prescription alert, so that the individual legal practitioner who was allocated a file to work on it can be easily traceable and identifiable so that proper sanction of the firm’s policy should be effectively impose.
4. The firm can ensure correct dates are recorded on files to avoid a confusion in the event of dispute between client and attorney when a statement of account is presented.
5. The firm can conduct bad file reviews, this means that if a file was incorrectly or inadequately recorded there is still more chance of correcting the incorrect statements.
6. The firm must record at the end of every phone call conversations and consultation thereof, and the record must be contemporaneous not reconstructed later, on the file there must be date and time expended on a particular progress of the matter, these assist one in drawing the statement of Account due. On the file a legal practitioner’s writings should be legible, clear and concise, these assist in defences in a case of PI Claim dispute.
7. Furthermore, a legal practitioner should draw an engagement letter as appears more fully in terms of Section 35(8) of the Legal Practice Act,1 which provides that:
   any Attorney or an Advocate referred to in section 34(2)(b) must, in addition to providing the client with a written cost estimate notice as contemplated in subsection also verbally explain to the client every aspect contained in that notice, as well as other relevant aspect relating to the costs of the legal services to be rendered
8. Furthermore, Section 35(9) which provides that:2
   A client must, in writing, agree to the envisaged legal services by that attorney or Advocate referred to in section34(2)(b) and the incurring of the estimated costs as set out in the notice contemplated in subsection (7).3
9. Non -compliance by any attorney or an advocate referred to section 34(2)(b) with the provisions of this section constitutes misconduct.4
10. If any Attorney or Advocate referred to in Section 34(2)(b) does not comply with the provision of this section, the client is not required to pay any legal costs to that attorney or advocate until the council has reviewed the matter and made a determination regarding amounts to be paid
11. the provisions of this section do not preclude the use of contingency fee agreements as provided for in the Contingency Fees Act.6
12. In as far as the policy of the law firm is concern the letter of engagement should include the name of the client upon which the instruction is given, it must also address the scope upon which the instruction is given, it must also divulge the terms and condition upon which the client is binding himself or herself to the instruction,
13. it must serve as record when disputes arise between Attorney and his or her own client, it must also state that one can appoint counsel if the matter can lead to the hearing that a fee for the Counsel should be reserved.
14. Mr Serumula M.T as the Director of the law firm would play a pivotal role in oversite the stuff as to whether they comply with the firm’s protocol.

MARKETING

Our firm needs to do a market analysis in order to challenge and withstand challenges from our competitors. The marketing procedure and strategies will enable our firm to attain its marketing objectives.
MT Serumula Attorneys Inc. will base our activities around the marketing mix or their “four P’s” theory.
Our strategic view will be to focus on the following:

• Product
• Place
• Price
• Promotion

MARKETING

• As a professional entity, Serumula Attorneys Inc is an Attorneys firm, and its product are rendering of services.


• Such services are rendered to client or customers and these entail individual clients, corporate clients, governmental institutions or any legal personal having the capacity to trade in such service.


• Our service to our clients will be in the form of representation of client’s cases at court, drafting of contracts, commercial and corporate documents, litigation skills, insurance claims and recovery, labour matters and mainly our newly established insolvency practitioners’ services.


• We will therefore strive to sell good professional services in the aforementioned services. Our experience in the above fields enhanced by legal qualifications and good draftsmanship, professionalism and corporate outlying of all opinions to advice clients. It will attract more instructions and in order to protect our product we intent to register our draftsman documents and contracts with the copyright.

Place

• Place has to do with the location of the firm. Our firm is located in a busy road at Cnr Minnar and Paul Kruger Street Pretoria Central, however, changes in the country has the effect that High Courts are established in areas where there were not located. Seeing that we intend expanding our Insolvency law practice.


• It would be necessary to establish a branch office in small towns so that we may render services that are productive.


• It is also easily accessible to the public as Church Street and bus route are a few meters from our firm and that makes it easy for clients to visit our firm. Our location is a busy town where people come to town for work and other various needs such as banking or buying and it is therefore easy to access our firm for payment of their services rendered or to be rendered. Consequently, it will not be now that our client base may dry out because of the place where we are located.

Price

• Price has to do with charging of fees by attorneys to clients. This is a sensitive issue because clients want to know what they are getting themselves in to. In order to market ourselves profitably we have to guard against overcharging. We therefore have to adhere and uphold our price within the rates of the Law Society, which governs our area.


• Serumula MT Attorneys Inc has come to notice that once our client feels comfortable with the arrangement that we reached and that also encourages clients to pay their fees as per agreement.


• Our objective is therefore to discuss charging of fees from the onset with our client, namely this will take place during first consultation with clients. We further intend to advise our client of the rate at which we charge fees, e.g. if one gives client an idea of the approximate costs in a simple matter and we further give them an interim bill and we further enable our clients to sign a Letter of Engagement and effectively seal the mandate.

PROMOTION

In order to provide our professional services, Serumula Attorneys Inc staff has a good personality because they are easy to communicate with and that has put trust in us. Having trust on us by client result in long standing business relationship achieved. The firm has also adopted a policy on presentation skills, our staff attend seminars where professional personnel teach on presentation skill. This has helped our staff, as they are rated amongst the best in the presentation skill to matters entrusted amongst them. The aforesaid seminars also teach on professionalism in which our external promotion method includes:

• Keep clients informed by emails, circulate newsletter and pamphlets.
• Improve client relations by hosting a monthly soccer day.
• Placing adverts in De Rebus.
• Personal Networking.
• Business cards.
• Public speaking by way of presentation on invites.

MARKETING TARGET

Social segmentation across the need of a particular segment before one can target the market e.g. the need or what a particular area likes. We will also target individual and corporate market as informed by the social segmentation. Demographic analysis where we will assess factors such as gender, status, age, Income and etc. Market with geographic orientation of people and their particular needs.
MARKETING STRATEGY

• Serumula MT Attorneys Inc intends to provide specialised Commercial, litigation, Conveyancing, Medical Malpractice Claims, Debt collection and Insolvency law, to attract and retain clients. The firms Attorneys will also publish articles on topical areas within its areas of expertise in all journals and magazines. The firm will also present a series of presentations and workshops to prospective clients on the implementation for their business operations.


• We intent to place small advert in the local newspaper and that will end up attracting client to our firm as most of the community members in the area in which we are located are educated. We will also rent out a billboard from the local municipality to advertise our law firm.


• We intend creating a website in which client will find what we offer as most of the community also use internet at their home or through their hand phones. Our services may also be market in the following sources:
  
  1. Brochures
  2. Yellow pages
  3. Personal networking
  4. De Rebus

STRATEGIC ALLIANCES

• There is a long-standing arrangement between the firm and competitors to refer work of insolvency and debt collection to our law firm in them billing us for commission. And also, we will refer work that from our offices we do not have expertise in it.


• The firm’s affiliation with the Local Municipality in debt collection for the municipal area rates and taxes and lease rental outstanding will bring more of individual client.

HUMAN RESOURCES

key players
The key players in the firm are Mr. Serumula Mahlodi Timios and Ms Pertunia Rakgoale who both have most experience in their respective fields and are responsible for bringing in most of the firm’s biggest clients.

Recruitment and selection policy

• Page 21 of 31 The firm intends to employ the best staff to its payroll. New employees will be introduced to the policies of our Law firm so that they may be on the level of understanding of the objectives of the firm.


• Our recruitment will be done within the parameters of the basic conditions of Employment Act and Employment Equity Act.


• Recruitment Sources:
  1. De Rebus
  2. LEAD Notice Board
  3. High Court and Magistrate Court Notice Boards
  4. Word of Mouth
  5. Network page
  6. News papers