THE cosy club that is the Johannesburg Bar is
in danger of splitting into two camps over
whether it should stay in town or head for the
northern suburbs to cater for clients who are
unwilling to brave the city centre.
Last year the Bar Council asked its members to
vote on whether they wanted to set up
consulting rooms in the north. Critics said
the move smacked of the retreat of a
conservative white profession.
But the motion was passed and it was agreed
that groups of advocates would share basic
consulting rooms in Sandton for their more
timid clients, keeping their chambers in town
opposite the Rand Supreme Court in Pritchard
Street to ensure the institution’s survival.
It has now emerged that some advocates are
after a more permanent migration. Some groups
have apparently bagged the best wings of the
Sandton building set aside; one group is
rumoured to have spent over R600 000 sprucing
up a wing with a view to moving there
permamently. It is understood the group plans
to rent out its Pritchard Street chambers to
newcomers when it packs its bags for the
north.
Two people who will be watching developments
with interest are the Krok twins, who have a
major stake in the Brazilian Coffee Shop
chain. One of the chain’s most lucrative
watering holes is in the Innes Chambers
building in Pritchard Street.