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Sat 5th July, 2008
Terms and Conditions
Lawcomm Solicitors Terms of Business
We will carry out all the necessary work in respect of the matters you have instructed us upon to the best of our ability in accordance with out professional rules and standards.
People responsible for your work
You will be notified who will carry out most of the work in your matter. If at any time he or she is unavailable, please leave a message with their assistant or another member of their team.
We will try to avoid changing the people who handle your work but if this cannot be avoided, we will inform you promptly about who will be handling the matter and why the change was necessary.
Conduct of work
The person responsible for your work will explain to you the issues in your matter and inform you of progress. He/she will endeavour to communicate with you about your matter. This will include sending out copies of correspondence and documents where necessary or where requested. It is important that you read all correspondence and documents received and raise any questions you have relating to this.
Proof of identity
Due to government money laundering regulations, which apply to all professional organisations, and also due to Law Society requirements, we are obliged to request a suitable form of identification for our file records.
Communication
The normal hours of business at our offices are between 9am and 5.30pm on weekdays. Appointments or telephone calls can be arranged outside of these hours to suit you.
It is the firm's policy to ensure telephone calls are returned by the end of the day but you will appreciate that a lot of time during the day is taken up with personal attendances upon other clients and external appointments; accordingly, there may be some time delay in the return of such telephone calls.
Wherever possible the use of e-mail is encouraged and usually results in a quicker response time addressing specific matters you may have raised in writing. When communicating by e-mail or fax we cannot accept any responsibility for computer-generated viruses or for the security of the transmission. Also, please note that in certain matters you can track the progress of your case via our website at any time.
The Data Protection Act requires us to advise you that your particulars are held on our database. We may, from time to time, use these details to send you information that we think might be of interest to you.
Charges and expenses
Unless we agree a fixed fee with you, our charges are based on the time spent dealing with your matter. Time spent on your affairs will include meetings with you and perhaps others; any time spent travelling; considering, preparing and working on papers; correspondence; and making and receiving telephone calls.
We will charge you £175-195 per hour for each hour engaged on your matter by a Partner/Consultant, £140-165 per hour for an Assistant Solicitor and £100-130 per hour for work done by Paralegals/Executives from now until we next review our charges. Time spent on a matter is recorded in units of six minutes. Routine letters that we write, and routine telephone calls that we make and receive will be charged as units of 1/10th of an hour. Routine letters received will be charged as units of 1/10th of an hour. Other letters and calls will be charged on a time basis.
We usually review our charges annually to take account of charges in our overhead costs and will notify you in writing of any increased rate.
In addition to the time spent, we may take into account a number of factors, which include the complexity of the issues, the speed at which action must be taken, the expertise or specialist knowledge that the case requires, and, if appropriate, the value of the property or subject matter involved. On the basis of the information currently available, we expect these factors to be adequately covered by the hourly rates set out above. The rates may be higher if any of the above value elements apply.
If you have any query about the level of any revised rates notified to you, please contact a partner straightaway.
We will add VAT to our charges at the rate that applies when the work is done. At present, VAT is 17.5%.
It may be necessary to pay for expenses (often called "disbursements"). For example: court fees, counsel fees, expert report fees, insurance premiums, company searches, travelling, land registry fees, medical report fees, photocopy charges (25p per copy), investigation and tracing fees etc. The person responsible for the conduct of your case will inform you in advance the amount and reason for any expense. You must pay any necessary expense before the firm incurs the cost.
VAT is payable on certain expenses. Any estimate is a guide only and is subject to change depending upon a variety of factors including the progress of your matter.
If you instruct us as a director of a limited or public company you hereby accept that you will be held personally responsible for the payment of our costs and expenses in the event that your company is, for whatever reason, unable to pay.
In the event of any costs or expenses not being paid we reserve the right to decline to act any further in relation to any or all matters we are dealing with for you until payment is made.
If we are asked to provide a Solicitor's undertaking on your behalf we are entitled to require you to make a deposit of funds with us or give other security.
We are entitled to charge you a sum of £10 (cost) for each dishonoured cheque.
We are entitled to charge (inclusive of administrative costs) you a sum of £30 plus VAT, if we are instructed to send any payment to a third party or yourself via telegraphic transfer (TT).
Payment by credit or debit card is limited to £2,500 unless the client is present at the firm's premises at the time of the credit or debit card transaction.
Payment of interest
Under with the Solicitors Accounts Rules 1998 you are entitled to interest on monies standing to your credit on client account with this firm. The minimum figure upon which interest is payable is:
- £1,000 if held by us for a period of 8 weeks;
- £2,000 if held for a period of 4 weeks;
- £10,000 if held for a period of 2 weeks; and
- £20,000 if held for a period one week
We shall account to you for interest upon sums over £20,000 held for less than one week if having taken into account all the circumstances we consider it fair and equitable to do so.
We will calculate interest according to the Solicitors Accounts Rules 1998. If the amount is outside those rules, we will calculate interest at the rate available to us for the amount less, for each interest amount calculated, a fee of £20 to cover administrating costs.
Notwithstanding the above unless agreed with you in writing we shall retain monies standing to your credit on client account in your name with this firm.
The firm does not pay interest on payments on account made by monthly standing order.
Commissions
We shall disclose to you all the commissions earned by us in relation to your instructions except where we agree otherwise in writing in which case we shall retain any commissions.
Estimate
Wherever possible we will give you an estimate or budget of the likely cost of the work we are doing for you. In certain circumstances, because of the nature of the work involved, we may not be able to provide you with an estimate.
We will inform you if any unforeseen additional work becomes necessary (for example, due to unexpected difficulties or if your requirements or the circumstances significantly change during the course of the matter).
It is normal practice to ask clients to pay sums of money from time to time on account of the charges and expenses that are expected during the course of your matter. This helps to avoid delay in the progress of a case. Payments on account must be cleared before we start work on your matter. We may request further payments on account for charges and expenses to be incurred as the matter progresses. When we put these payments towards your bills, we will send you a receipted bill. We will offset any such payments against your final bill, but it is important that you understand that your total charges and expenses may be greater than any advance payment and also any interim bills.
Billing arrangements
To help you budget, we will send you an interim bill for our charges and expenses at regular intervals whilst work is in progress. We will send a final bill after completion of the work. Payment is due to us within 28 days of our sending you a final or interim bill. We will charge you interest on the bill at the rate of 4% per year above the base rate of National Westminster Bank, from the date of the bill, if you do not pay our bill within this time. Interest will be charged on a daily basis.
If you have any query about our bill, you should contact a partner straightaway.
If you are not satisfied with the amount of our fee you have the right request a remuneration certificate from the Law Society. This certificate will either say that our fee is fair and reasonable, or it will substitute a lower fee. If you wish us to obtain a certificate you must ask us to do so within a month of receiving our final bill. If you ask us to obtain a remuneration certificate, then unless we already hold sufficient money to cover these, you must first pay; (a) half our fee shown in the bill; (b) all the VAT shown in the bill; (c) all the expenses we have incurred shown in the bill. However, you may ask the Law Society to waive these requirements. Your rights are set out in the Solicitors (Non-Contentious Business) Remuneration Order 1994.
Further, you may be entitled to have our charges reviewed by a court. This procedure is called "taxation" and is different from the remuneration certificate procedure. Your rights are set out in sections 70, 71 and 72 of the Solicitor's Act 1974.
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
As Solicitors, we have an absolute obligation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to report to the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) any knowledge or suspicion relating to or incidental to involvement or association with the proceeds of crime (including tax evasion or benefit fraud) and are precluded by law of informing you of our intentions of doing so until seven days after such a report. In the event of such a report being made, whether appropriately or not, there shall be no liability to this firm and in no circumstances will any compensation be due or payable.
Money Laundering Regulations 2003
We are required to make compulsory identity checks of our clients in order to prevent us from handling the proceeds of crime, either intentionally or unintentionally. Being asked for identification does not mean you are under suspicion.
If you are a corporate client (i.e. a UK limited company) we shall require the above personal identification from a director of the company, if you are a partnership or LLP, we shall need the personal identification from a partner together with satisfactory evidence or a trading address. If you do not have these documents, you will need to prove who you are, but if you cannot provide satisfactory documentation or identification, we reserve the right to refuse to act for you. We shall retain copies of all personal identity for a period of five years.
Notwithstanding client privilege rules, it is a requirement to notify any irregularities we consider fit to the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS). In the event of a report being made, whether appropriately or not, there shall be no liability to this firm and in no circumstances will compensation become due or payable.
In order to comply with the Money Laundering Regulations we shall carry out any independent checks and searches at our discretion including company searches, and you will be responsible for payment of any such disbursements incurred.
Funding
Where appropriate we will discuss funding including public funding assistance. If at any time you wish to be reconsidered for public funding or if your circumstances change, kindly notify the person dealing with your matter.
You should always check to see whether you qualify for any legal assistance, for instance, pursuant to a home insurance policy, union membership or any other policy you may hold.
Recovering charges and expenses from the other side (Disputes only)
It is important that you understand that you will be primarily responsible for paying our bills. Even if you are successful, the other party may not be ordered to pay all your charges and expenses or these may not be recovered from them in full; if this happens, you will have to pay the balance of our charges and expenses. If the other party is publicly funded, you may not get back any of our charges and expenses, even if you win the case.
If you are successful and the court orders the other party to pay some or all of your charges and expenses, interest can be claimed from the date of the court order. We will account to you for such interest to the extent that you have not paid our charges or expenses on account, but we are entitled to the rest of that interest.
You will also be responsible for paying the charges and expenses of seeking to recover any charges and expenses that the court orders the other party to pay.
In some circumstances, the court may order you to pay the legal charges and expenses of the other side; for example, if you lose your case. This will be payable in addition to our charges and expenses. It is possible that our charges and expenses and your liability for another party's charges and expenses may be covered by insurance, and, if not, it may be advisable for you to have insurance to meet the other party's charges and expenses. Please discuss this with us if you require further information.
Investment Business
If you require us to carry out your investment business pursuits (pensions, insurances, mortgage or any other financial matters) we can only do this if the request is in writing and is supported by a written investment business agreement under the Financial Services Act 1988. At your request we are pleased to refer you to a reputable IFA or our Wealth Management department.
Disclosure of documents (Disputes only)
It is imperative that any documents that are relevant to your dispute are preserved. As part of the litigation process you will be required to disclose documents that are relevant. There are severe penalties if you either destroy relevant documents or you fail to disclose documents that are relevant to the issues between the parties.
Please advise us if you are in any doubt regarding your obligations concerning disclosure of documents. In any event, we shall provide further advice as to what may or may not be relevant and your disclosure obligations generally as the matter progresses.
Storage of papers and deeds etc
The firm is entitled to keep all of your papers and documents while there is money owing for its charges and expenses.
After completing the work and upon full payment of charges and expenses, the firm will keep your file except for any papers which you ask to be returned to you. The firm will store the file for a stipulated period of time on the understanding that it has the authority to destroy it at the end of this period. The firm will not destroy any documents that you have requested the firm to deposit in safekeeping as long as such a request is within reason.
There is no charge for retrieving papers or documents from storage for continuing or new instructions concerning your affairs. However, there will be a time-based charge for:
- Producing stored papers and documents to you or another on your request; or
- Reading, correspondence or other work necessary to comply with the instructions given by you on your behalf.
The flat fee for this is any event will be £25 plus VAT.
Liability
The firm shall not in any circumstances be liable to you whether in contract, tort or otherwise, for any special, consequential or indirect loss, damage, injury, cost or expense howsoever arising and of whatsoever nature.
The firm's total liability (whether in contract, tort or otherwise) under or in connection with any or all instructions received from you shall not in any circumstances exceed £2m.
Termination
You may terminate your instructions to us in writing at any time but we will be entitled to keep all your papers and documents while there is money owing to us for our charges and expenses.
We may decide to stop acting for you only with good reason, for example, if you do not pay an interim bill or comply with our request for a payment on account. We must give you written notice that we will stop acting for you.
Raising queries or concerns with us
We are confident that we will give you a high quality service in all respects. However, if you have any queries or concerns about our work for you, please take them up with the person dealing with your matter. If that does not resolve the problem to your satisfaction or you would prefer not to speak to that person, then please take it up with a partner.
Settlements
During the conduct of your matter it may become appropriate to make an offer to settle the case, either expressed in writing on an open basis or on a 'without prejudice' basis pursuant to the Civil Procedure Rules (Part 36) or the Family Proceedings Rules (rule 2.69). Equally such an offer may be made by the other side in your case. We shall discuss the merits and impact of any settlement offers, if appropriate, as the matter progresses and when the issues become clearer.
Third Parties
We respect your right to privacy and confidentiality. However, it may sometimes be necessary to discuss your matter with one of your nominated advisors such as your accountant, debt collection agency, bank manager, estate agent, etc. Also, we may need to demonstrate our maintenance of certain audit standards set by appropriate authorities such as the Law Society. If you do not want us to discuss your matter or show your file as outlined above without first consulting you, please inform us immediately.
All firms of solicitors are obliged to attempt to resolve problems that clients may have with the service provided. It is therefore important that you immediately raise your concerns with the partners.
Helpful advice and guidance
We will take all reasonable steps to help you understand your matter or dispute and give any explanation you require.
- Confidential Handling of Your Personal Affairs
Lawcomm shall work at all times in compliance with Law Society and Financial Services Authority Rules. No information will be given to third parties about your affairs without your express prior approval. However, the duty to keep a client's confidences can be overridden where a solicitor is being used by the client to facilitate the commission of a crime or fraud as this is not within the scope of our professional retainer.
- Quality Assurance
Lawcomm is a member of ISO 9001 who conducts a rigorous annual quality control review over all of its members to ensure that high professional standards are maintained.
- Personal Service
If the designated person who is acting for you is not available, or if you have any problems at any time, do not hesitate to contact the partner responsible for the Dispute Resolution, Debt Recovery, Personal Injury and Family Department, Russell Mozumder.
Acceptance
Your continuing instructions will amount to your acceptance of these terms of business.
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