Who We Are

We are providers of legal services to private, corporate and institutional clients in the private and public sector.
Our Notarial service caters for the authentication and certification of documents for use internationally.

Our services extend to most fields of the Law – ring us to find out if we are able to help with your particular query. If we can’t we’ll tell you and probably refer you to someone who can.

We are intent on providing practical costs effective advice and services with a view to the best outcome for you – the client.

About the Firm

Ziman and Ziman started as a legal firm in Corporation House, Rissik Street Johannesburg in 1968.

Hyme Ziman had been in practice in Bureau Lane, Pretoria in the early 1930’s, having graduated cum laude with a Ba.Llb from the Pretoria University. After a successful stint in Law he had gone into his family business, Ziman Brothers (Pty) Ltd where he joined his father and brother George. The Ziman family was one of the oldest in Pretoria and ran a food and beverage business, the family home being directly opposite the three statues in the grounds of the Union Buildings in Arcadia.  Until the 90’s the family had as their Pretoria postal address PO Box 10 Pretoria. The well known Pep-a-dilla soft drink was one of their products as was Ting-Ling Ginger Beer, PepLDoo flavoured drinks and Miranda Orange drink. They also manufactured tomato sauce, worcestorshire sauce, chutneys and vinegar and their premises in Proes Street was well known for its window into the bottling factory, visited by local shoppers and school children.

In 1968 Hyme returned to the Law, his first love, after some serious health issues relating to his eyesight and was joined by his youngest son Derek in 1970. The firm Ziman and Ziman was born. His eldest son Cyril had qualified as an attorney and had become a partner in the prestigious firm of Guttenberg Bergin and Rosen under the changed name of Guttenberg Rosen and Ziman. In 1978 the two firms merged under the name Rosen and Ziman with offices at National Board House opposite the Supreme Court.

Derek commenced legal practice at Blues Point Road in North Sydney in 2005 and the original name was adopted on the basis the he and Cyril would colaborate on international legal matters. That colaboration continues and services are offered in both Soth Africa and Australia as well as Europe, the Far East and Middle East and the USA when appropriate.

Our People

Derek Ziman (Dip Law Grad Dip (Leg Prac) PN)- Principal – Notary Public

Derek is the Principal at Ziman and Ziman Solicitors. He brings the wealth of decades of experience to his practice in North Sydney in general practice but has focused at various times on civil and criminal litigation, commercial law, franchising, building and construction law, conveyancing, family law, wills and estates and every aspect of legal practice which affects business owners.

Derek originally qualified as a practitioner in South Africa where he practiced as a partner in a family practice which was originally founded by Hyme Ziman in 1932 in Pretoria, South Africa. Hyme Ziman practiced for many decades and eventually passed away in 2002 at the age of 94 as the oldest practitioner in South Africa at the time. Derek applies the same age old and respected values and ethics to his practice in North Sydney today and has firmly established the same essential traditions and sense of dedication and commitment to the law which his father had.

In 1995 Derek emigrated to Australia with his wife and two sons. He has now accumulated over 17 years of experience in Australian business. He re-qualified as a practitioner in New South Wales after studying at the University of Sydney and was later admitted in the New South Wales Supreme Court on 3 October 2003. Shortly after he was admitted to the High Court of Australia. He then became admitted as a Notary Public. He has worked with a series of high profile clients in the time since his admission and opening of his own practice, Ziman and Ziman Solicitors in North Sydney.

Dr Scott Dobbs (Dip FS(fp) B Comm(Acc) LLB Grad Dip (Leg Prac) PhD FTMA GTA) – Estate and Tax Planning

Scott is an accomplished and acknowledged expert in matters relating to Tax and Estate Planning and has also made a name for himself in litigation. He is diligent and hard-working to a fault but is approachable and will go out of his way to assist you. He took on a matter involving the Strata management Act and had an enormous victory against lawyers who were until then presumed to be experts in that field. He will tackle any legal problem and is certainly the man to have in your corner when that time comes.

Isaac Chalik LLB,  BEc,  GradDip LP,  Dip FS (FP),  Dip FS (FMB)

Isaac has been consulting to individuals and small business for over 25 years. His expertise extends to finance, property, and franchising. Never shy to represent David against Goliath, Isaac has taken on banks and one victory was a case study in the 2018 Royal Banking Commission. Isaac prides himself on giving proactive advice so that the client considers issues that are not immediately apparent to the initial problem. He is always looking for practical solutions even if outside the box and making sure that clients have considered all commercially preferable options. Isaac is married with 2 adult sons and 5 fur babies.

Our Fees

Ziman and Ziman Solciitors are committed to providing you with affordable legal advice and representation without compromising the quality of our service. In doing so we undertake to:

Disclose our fees upfront

Before we start work on your matter we will discuss our costs with you. You will also be provided with a Standards Costs Disclosure and a Costs Agreement. These documents set out the terms on which we act for you. If possible we will provide you with an estimate for what our total costs will be.

Charge only for work performed in a transparent manner

We charge for work performed calculated in hourly rates. The hourly rates vary depending on the seniority of the solicitor performing the work. The rates applicable to your matter will be provided to you during your first consultation with us.

As is standard practice with solicitors in NSW we bill in 6 minute increments.

Any out of pocket expenses such as court fees, Barrister fees etc (disbursements) that we incur on your behalf are charged back to you at our cost.

Provide bills on a regular basis

In most cases we’ll bill you for work performed at the end of the matter or at the end of each month depending which occurs first.

Depending upon the type of your matter we may ask you to provide us with funds that we’ll hold in trust on your behalf. We then draw down on these monies to pay our fees and any out of pocket expenses incurred on your behalf. We will advise you at your first consultation and in our Costs Agreement whether this is applicable and the amount required.

If we are not holding money on trust for you, we’ll discuss our payment terms with you at the first consultation.