Courting Disaster

Pietermaritzburg advocates to mark the seventh anniversary of a notorious brawl at the Bar with another round in court.

- Jonathan Erasmus

IT TAKES A BUNCH OF SENIOR LAWYERS to demonstrate beyond doubt that legal action is by far the most costly, time-consuming, inefficient and ultimately ineffective way to settle a dispute or bring an alleged wrongdoer to account.

The case brought by fellow advocates at the Pietermaritzburg Bar against Advocate Penny Hunt to have her struck off the advocate’s roll is expected to resume in April, nearly seven years after colleagues first accused her of habitually using foul language in chambers, of bugging their offices, tracking a colleague’s motor vehicle and, double-booking fee hours.

In the course of the venomous, seven-year battle, the robes of decorum have been flung aside, and the veneer of aloof respectability that surrounds the legal worthies of the Bar has been shattered.

Revealed for all to see is that advocates suffer from the same character flaws and weaknesses generally attributed to their blue-collar clients: they may indulge in alcohol-fuelled binges and punch-ups, extramarital affairs, dirty in-house jokes, foul language and – not that unexpectedly – they have a great propensity for vindictiveness.

All this and more is to be found in several files filled with affidavits, emails, letters, minutes, agendas and transcripts that form part of the court record at the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg.

There are no holds barred as Hunt continues the fight for her professional life. The trial, which began last year, is set down to continue from 3 -13 April.

“Foul-mouthed” Hunt’s story goes back still further, but hit the headlines for the first time in June 2010, when her husband, Cameron Hunt SC, then leader of Group 1 in the Pietermaritzburg Bar (Hunt was also a member), beat up “inebriated” fellow advocate Mergen Chetty at a Bar function to celebrate the start of the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.