On the 23rd of October 2025, something earth-shattering happened in the Johannesburg legal circles.

Disgruntled advocates practicing law in Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest and richest city, took down the hated 97-day payment rule, which was only in force in their bar. 

Members of the Johannesburg Society of Advocates (JSA), also known as the Joburg Bar, unanimously voted for a resolution to amend the 97-day rule.

This effectively brought to an end a 10-year battle to abolish a rule that was blamed for impoverishing and bankrupting hundreds of advocates.