A Constituent Member of the General Council of the Bar.

The origins of the Natal Bar, as it was then known, as a purely consultative branch of the legal profession are described in the tribute to Graham Mackeurtan in the preface to the 1943 volume of the Natal Provincial Division Law Reports.

Until the early 1920’s the method of practising known as the dual practice had prevailed in Natal. There were two roles, one of advocates and one of attorneys but anyone on either role (and there were many who were on both) was entitled to appear before the superior Courts. In fact a study of the earlier volumes of the Natal Law Reports indicates that there were members of the profession who specialised in appearing in Court and from the arguments their learning appears to have been fairly formidable.

Membership is open to every advocate admitted or enrolled in KwaZulu-Natal and practising there as an advocate only, subject to that person satisfying the requirements of the Society. Associate membership is open to certain categories of persons reflected in the Constitution of the Society.

There are two centres at which members of the Society practice, namely:

Whilst the affairs of the Society are run by the Bar Council, comprising members from each centre, each centre has its own Constitution and run certain affairs, largely relating to housing and the like, which can more practically be dealt with by the centres individually.