Legal Strategy when representing yourself – By Adv. Muhammad Abduroaf

A well-thought-out, logically sound legal strategy is the primary factor in achieving a successful outcome in any legal matter. This relates to litigious and non-litigious matters.  To put it into context, an unsound legal strategy is one where you will pitch up in court, or put pen to paper, say what comes to your mind, and just hope for the best. No thought, no preparation, only wishful thinking. Not only is such an approach possibly fatal to your case or what you wish to achieve, but it can also cost you money or even prison time (depending on the nature of the legal problem). Therefore, if you are a lawyer or an individual representing himself, a well-thought-out and logically sound legal strategy can make the difference between getting what you want and losing your case.

Create your legal strategy and implement it immediately!

Each case is distinct, and the requirements and strategies vary to achieve a specific outcome. And that is where you start, devising based on the outcome you want. Visualise it, it would help. To give a simple example most people can relate to, if someone owes you money and does not want to repay you, visualise him or her paying you and start thinking of jotting down the steps you would follow to get him or her to pay.

You may start off by sending him or her a letter of demand, wherein you state in a structured and logical manner how it came about that he or she owes you money, and what you intend to do if he or she does not repay you within a specified time. You will also state that if payment is not received, you will institute legal proceedings or that you may then appoint an attorney. That would be a better legal stragegy that sending countless WhatsApp messages and making calls that are blocked. If he or she does not pay you, then you follow the next logical step in the strategy, which is taking the matter to Court. You then strategise again from there.

There may then be a more complex matter, for example, a claim for child maintenance in the Maintenance Court. Typically, your end goal would be to show and prove to the maintenance court that your child costs so much, and that the other parent can afford to pay his or her contribution. For this, you need to put pen to paper. On your part, your strategy would be to demonstrate, with supporting documentation and evidence, the cost of the child. That should be relatively straightforward, but it will also require some hard work.

Then the harder part would be demonstrating that the other parent can afford his or her contribution. Your strategy could be to demonstrate it through his or her actual income, assets, or spending, as reflected in his or her bank statements or other documents provided. Your strategy is to establish a direct link between the other parent’s financial affairs and his or her ability to afford child maintenance. That is the end goal, and all your effort should focus on that. You can also review social media to see how he or she spends on entertainment and a lavish lifestyle, which would demonstrate that he or she can afford a fair contribution to maintenance. Or you can do no strategising, work, and just hope the court will give you what you want. Unfortunately, even with luck, the latter strategy will not get you very far.

Will following a legal strategy guarantee that I get all that I want?

Having a well-thought-out and logically sound legal strategy does not guarantee that you will obtain all that you want. However, without a well-thought-out and logically sound legal strategy, you will most probably get far less than what you were entitled to had you taken the time and energy to employ a well-thought-out and logically sound legal strategy.

You should remember, the other side, or his or her attorney, if they are worth their salt, would also employ a strategy. Their strategy may be in direct conflict with yours. However, the stronger your strategy, the weaker their strategy will be. Returning to the child maintenance example, if their strategy is to show that their client cannot afford the maintenance, and you have successfully demonstrated that he or she can, through bank statements, assets, social media, etc., then you have, in effect, undermined their strategy. However, if you did not have a well-thought-out and logically sound legal strategy, the court may well have come to the conclusion that the other parent cannot afford the child maintenance and find in their favour.

Fight for your fights and win your case

In most legal matters, there should always be a central theme in your mind; that is, “it is my life, and I shall fight for my rights”. That is not to say that settlement is not an option. For example, in a child custody dispute, finding the middle ground may be best for the child. However, that is not what we are referring to.

Remember, in a legal dispute, the otherside will fight tooth and nail to win their case. You should do no less than. However, in legal matters, you fight with your brain. Therefroe you need to continuously assess the progress of your matter, and not back down. In doing so, you will get the results you want, or close to it.

Best of luck… Adv. M Abduroaf