These conditions apply to all work done by us on behalf of clients and no variation will be effective unless it is made in writing and signed by a Partner on behalf of the firm.
Our Professional Relationship
Our objective is to provide you with a high quality legal service tailored to meet your requirements and to develop a close working relationship with you.
Wherever practical we would like you to give or confirm initial instructions to us in writing and we will assume that whoever gives such instructions has authority to do so. It is vital that you provide us with all information relevant to the matter and that you keep us informed of any changes.
The information that you give us is kept strictly confidential and disclosed only on your authority or as required by law. If, on your authority, we are working in conjunction with other professional advisers we will assume that we may disclose any relevant aspect of your affairs to them unless you advise us otherwise. We will also assume that you consent to the disclosure of our involvement as your legal advisers in this project for the purposes of publicity following completion of the transaction unless you advise us to the contrary.
On any particular matter, either you or we may bring instructions to an end at any time but we will not normally do so unless a conflict of interest arises or we consider that it would not be in your best interests for us to continue to represent you.
On completion of a matter and payment of any outstanding accounts we will, on request, return documents lent to us by you for the purposes of the matter. Our working papers, draft documents and copies of all letters sent by us will remain our property.
We do not undertake to retain your files for any particular period of time but generally keep all files for a minimum of six years. We may destroy files, without further reference to you, six years after completion of a matter.
Your file will be kept in our archive storage facility. It may be retrieved as necessary and a charge for this will be levied by the storage company and passed on to you for reimbursement. The charge may vary according to the urgency of the request for retrieval of the file.We maintain professional indemnity insurance.
Managing and Supervising Your Work
Our objective is to ensure that the conduct of each matter is properly managed so that it is dealt with by those with the right level and area of expertise.
The frequency of regular progress reports on your work will depend on the nature of the matter and will be agreed with you from time to time. At reasonable intervals reports on progress will be provided on request.We will keep you informed of any unexpected delays or changes in the character of the work being undertaken.
Fees and Payment
Our objectives are to determine a proper fee for your work based on a system of charging agreed with you in advance and to ensure prompt billing and settlement of accounts.
We will attempt to agree our charges with you in advance. Our charges are mainly based on the time spent on your work. In addition however the charge may take into account other factors such as the complexity of the issues involved, the speed of action required, the expertise or specialist knowledge required and if appropriate the value of the transaction to the client as well as the other factors set out in the Solicitors/Non-Contentious Business Remuneration Order 1994. Charging rates agreed with you on any individual matter will not be increased without prior notification. The total estimated cost will be provided (though this may be within a range and may be subject to variation if the matter proves to be more complicated than originally anticipated). Where a figure quoted is intended to be a fixed fee, this will be clearly stated.
Costs incurred by us on your behalf, together with disbursements such as fax and photocopying charges, travelling expenses and VAT, will be charged in addition to our fees.
Where we consider it appropriate we will ask for monies on account to cover us for the fees which will become due to us as a result of the transaction. We will always require cover from you if we are to incur disbursements in excess of £150.00 and this will include cases where we are asked to give an undertaking to a third party for sums in excess of that amount.
Where we consider it to be the most effective way of dealing with your matter we will instruct agents at your expense. We will consult you before engaging Counsel or experts for whose fees you will be responsible and we will inform you of any other substantial costs to be incurred on your behalf.
If instructions are terminated you will only be liable for fees arising and payments made or committed up to the date of termination of the instructions together with any fees or payments for work necessary to transfer the matter to another adviser.
Our accounts are due for payment on presentation. We reserve the right to charge interest at the rate of 3% above Barclays Bank PLC base rate on all invoices which are more than 28 days overdue.
Money received from you to be applied on your behalf will be held in a separate client account subject to the strict provisions of the Solicitors' Accounts Rules. Deposit interest paid to UK residents by us will be paid without deduction of tax unless we are required to deduct by law. It will be your responsibility to declare the sum so received for tax purposes.
If we provide an estimate then this is an indication given in good faith of the likely costs of carrying out the work concerned based on the information which we have at the time the estimate is given. Unless otherwise indicated at that time it is not a contractual commitment to carry out the work within that estimate. We will try to tell you promptly if it becomes apparent that our fees are likely to exceed the estimate which we have given.
In litigious matters we will provide you with the charging rates of the fee earners handling your case at the inception of the matter and any subsequent variations as they occur.Fee earners’ charging rates will be reviewed on a six monthly or annual basis.
Anti Money Laundering Regulations
We have in place procedures and controls which are designed to forestall and prevent money laundering. If we suspect that a client is committing a money laundering offence or is in any way a party to one as defined under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, we are obliged in accordance with our legal responsibilities to report our suspicions to the National Criminal Investigation Service. In that event we will not be permitted to disclose the contents of that report or even its existence to our client.
As part of the regulations we must verify the identity of all new clients and maintain evidence of identity. We may also refuse to accept large payments in cash from clients.
Feedback
If you are dissatisfied with our work or wish to make any comments about the way in which a matter is being handled you should raise the issue as soon as possible. We have a complaints handling procedure which operates in accordance with Law Society requirements and we make every effort to deal with and resolve any issues as soon as possible. This procedure does not affect any other remedy which you may have if you are dissatisfied or otherwise concerned.