Terms of Use

These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your access to and use of The Roll, a private software platform available at theroll.co.za and as a mobile web application (the "Platform"), operated by The Roll (Pty) Ltd, a company registered in South Africa with registration number 2026/450723/07, of 96 Circle Road, Table View, Cape Town, Western Cape, 7441 ("The Roll", "we", "us", "our").

By creating an account, subscribing to The Roll Pro, or otherwise using the Platform, you ("you", "the member") agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.

1. What The Roll is — and is not

1.1 The Roll is a private diary and coordination tool for verified South African legal practitioners. For free, it lets you record your own court appearances and see other verified members attending the same court on the same date; and, on a paid Pro subscription, it lets you contact them via WhatsApp to ask them to hold brief.

1.2 The Roll is not, and must not be represented as: an official court roll, a court-issued schedule or court record; a legal services provider or law firm; a legal referral service or marketplace; a fee-handling, billing, or payment platform between practitioners; or a matter-management system. We are not a party to, and take no responsibility for, any arrangement you make with another member.

1.3 Using the Platform does not create any attorney-client, agency, partnership, employment, or fiduciary relationship between you and The Roll.

2. Eligibility and verification

2.1 Membership is open only to admitted attorneys and advocates who are registered with the Legal Practice Council ("LPC") and in good standing. Candidate attorneys, paralegals, legal secretaries, clerks, and non-practitioners may not register in version 1.

2.2 You warrant that the information you provide — including your legal full name, surname, practitioner type, LPC number, and contact details — is true, accurate, and current, and that you are duly admitted and entitled to appear in the courts in respect of which you record appearances.

2.3 We verify practitioner details manually. Until verification is complete your account shows "Verification Pending". We may mark an account "Verification Issue" and request correction, and we may suspend or terminate any account we are unable to verify or that we reasonably believe contains false information.

2.4 You are responsible for keeping your details current. Changing your mobile number requires re-verification by one-time PIN (OTP).

3. Accounts, subscription, billing and cancellation

3.1 The Roll is offered on two tiers:

(a) Free — at no charge, you may create an account, record your court appearances, see other verified members attending the same court on the same date, and receive and accept requests to hold brief. No payment card is required for a Free account.

(b) Pro — R350 per month — a paid subscription that additionally lets you initiate contact: message other members on WhatsApp, request that a member hold brief, and create cover share links.

3.2 You may use a Free account indefinitely. You only need to provide payment details if and when you choose to upgrade to Pro.

3.3 When you upgrade to Pro, a valid payment card is required. Before any charge, you will be shown the plan, the price, the billing frequency, and the renewal date, and recurring monthly billing of R350 begins only after you confirm the upgrade. Your subscription then renews automatically each month until you cancel.

3.4 Payments are processed by our third-party payment provider. We do not store your full card details; we hold only a payment reference and your subscription status. By confirming a Pro upgrade you authorise recurring monthly charges until you cancel.

3.5 If a Pro payment fails, we will attempt to recover it and notify you by email. If payment remains unsuccessful after our retry period, your Pro features may be paused; your Free account remains available.

3.6 You may cancel Pro at any time from Profile → Subscription. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid month, after which your account reverts to Free — you keep your account and appearances but lose the ability to initiate contact. No refunds are given except where required by law or in the case of a genuine billing error.

3.7 Gifted Pro. A Pro member may gift one month of Pro to a limited number of newly registered colleagues. A gifted month is promotional, has no cash value, is non-transferable, is available only to a person who is new to the Platform and who has not previously received a gift, and is granted only once that person's practitioner status is verified. We may vary, limit, or withdraw gifting at any time, and may revoke promotional Pro time we reasonably believe has been obtained through abuse or misrepresentation.

3.8 We may change the price of Pro on reasonable prior notice by email; continued use of Pro after the change takes effect constitutes acceptance.

4. Acceptable use

4.1 You may use the Platform only to coordinate court cover with other members for legitimate professional purposes. You must not:

• (a) contact members for any purpose other than asking about or arranging to hold brief, or send unsolicited marketing, spam, or harassing messages;
• (b) collect, scrape, copy, store, or redistribute other members' information, including any attempt to extract or compile contact details;
• (c) misrepresent your identity, admission status, or right of appearance;
• (d) use the Platform unlawfully or in breach of the rules or code of conduct of the LPC or any court;
• (e) interfere with, probe, or attempt to circumvent the security, access controls, or privacy protections of the Platform.

4.2 To protect members, we limit the number of WhatsApp contacts you may initiate in a day. Excessive contact attempts may be flagged for review. We may suspend or terminate accounts for breach of this clause, and may report conduct to the LPC where appropriate.

5. Reporting and conduct

5.1 You may report a member for incorrect details, unprofessional contact, suspected non-practitioner status, or spam or abuse. Reports are reviewed manually. We may, but are not obliged to, act on a report, and we do not automatically suspend a reported member.

6. Privacy and contact details

6.1 Our handling of personal information is governed by our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms.

6.2 Phone numbers are not displayed anywhere on the Platform. When you choose to contact another member, the Platform opens WhatsApp; at that point a direct WhatsApp conversation is created, and the member you contact will receive your mobile number, and you will see theirs — as is inherent to contacting someone on WhatsApp. By using the contact feature you consent to this exchange of numbers for the purpose of arranging cover. Do not use any number obtained through the Platform for any purpose other than the cover arrangement to which it relates.

6.3 Your matter references and private notes are visible only to you and are never shown to other members, except that, if another member accepts your request to hold brief, your matter reference for that appearance is shown to that member so that they can attend.

7. Cover ("hold brief") arrangements between members

7.1 Any arrangement for one member to hold brief for another is a private professional arrangement strictly between the members concerned. The Roll merely facilitates an introduction; it is not a party to, and gives no warranty or guarantee in respect of, any such arrangement.

7.2 The Roll does not handle, process, set, or take responsibility for any fees, payment, or fee-sharing between members. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any fee arrangement and any holding of brief complies with the rules, code of conduct, and fee-sharing and referral rules of the LPC and any applicable law.

7.3 The Roll does not verify, guarantee, or take responsibility for: whether a member will in fact attend or hold brief; the competence, conduct, or suitability of any member; or the outcome of any appearance. You remain fully responsible for your own professional obligations to your clients and to the court, including ensuring proper representation at any appearance.

8. Intellectual property

8.1 The Platform, including its software, design, text, and branding (including the name "The Roll" and the logo), is owned by The Roll (Pty) Ltd or its licensors. We grant you a limited, personal, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the Platform for its intended purpose while your membership is active. You acquire no other rights.

9. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

9.1 The Platform is provided "as is" and "as available". We do not warrant that it will be uninterrupted, error-free, or available at any particular time, or that the information members enter is accurate or complete.

9.2 To the fullest extent permitted by law, The Roll is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential loss, or for any loss of profit, opportunity, data, or goodwill, arising from your use of or inability to use the Platform — including any missed appearance, any failure of a member to attend or hold brief, or any reliance on information obtained through the Platform.

9.3 To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability to you for any claim arising out of or relating to the Platform is limited to the total fees (if any) you paid to us in the three (3) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

9.4 Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability that may not lawfully be excluded or limited under South African law, including under the Consumer Protection Act where applicable.

10. Suspension and termination

10.1 We may suspend or terminate your access immediately if you breach these Terms, if we cannot verify your practitioner status, on the instruction of a competent authority, or to protect the Platform or its members.

10.2 You may terminate by cancelling your subscription and requesting account deletion. We deactivate the account and delete or anonymise personal information except where we are required or entitled to retain it by law.

11. Changes to these Terms

11.1 We may amend these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be notified by email or in-app. Continued use after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

12. Governing law and disputes

12.1 These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

12.2 Any dispute must first be referred to good-faith negotiation and, failing resolution, to mediation. Failing that, the dispute is subject to the jurisdiction of the South African courts.

13. General

13.1 If any provision is found invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force. 13.2 Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. 13.3 These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Platform.

14. Contact

The Roll (Pty) Ltd · Registration number 2026/450723/07 · 96 Circle Road, Table View, Cape Town, Western Cape, 7441
Email: support@theroll.co.za