Cape town - The Law Society of SA and the General Council of the Bar asked for a month-long extension of the July 27 deadline for comment on the Legal Practice Bill on Thursday.
The two bodies, which represent respectively the advocate and attorney professions, said they would be able to make “largely uniform” submissions to the portfolio committee on justice by the end of August.
They met last weekend to discuss the controversial bill, which seeks to replace all existing law societies with a single statutory body.
The legal fraternity has expressed disquiet about the bill since drafting began more than a decade ago under the first post-apartheid justice minister Dullah Omar, because of its implications for a long history of self-regulation.
It was re-introduced to Parliament in May.
The portfolio committee will hold public hearings on the draft act. - Sapa