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Terms of business

Client Care Information and Terms of Business (4th edition)

Thank you for instructing us to act for you in relation to the matter described below. This document sets out the particulars of your file, some important information and the terms on which we provide our services. Please read it carefully and if anything is unclear, please ask us to explain. Please sign one copy of this form in the box below and return it to us. Please note that the terms set out apply even if this is not done.

1 Personnel

1.1 The name and status of the person who will handle this matter are shown above. We may allocate the matter to someone else if we think this is necessary or desirable. This may be someone of different status from the person shown above. Except where the person handling the matter leaves the firm, this will usually be done with your approval.

1.2 If necessary, other people may from time to time work on your matter. Charging rates for other members of the firm will be different.

2 Costs

2.1 Fees charged for legal work (called "costs") comprise: (a) the actual charge for work done and services provided (b) disbursements and (c) VAT. "Disbursements" are sums we pay to others in the course of conducting a matter, such as search fees, court fees and fees paid to barristers and expert witnesses.

2.1 You as our client are liable to pay our costs. This applies even if you have the right to recover your costs from someone else.

2.2 For work which is publicly funded, your liability to pay our costs is governed by public funding rules. You may be liable to pay a contribution and your costs may be taken out of any money or property recovered for you. Otherwise your costs for this work will be paid from public funds.

2.3 If you are involved in litigation and lose, you might be ordered to pay your opponent’s costs. If you win, the other party may not be ordered to pay your costs. Note that an order for costs against your opponent will not normally provide you with full reimbursement of your costs.

2.4 If you are involved in litigation against a party who is publicly funded, you will probably not recover your costs even if you win.

2.6 You may set an upper limit on costs which is not to be exceeded without your agreement. If you do this, you must tell us the limit in writing. This will limit the amount of work we will do for you but if the limit is reached we shall be entitled to decline to do any more work unless the limit is increased or removed.

2.7 We shall be entitled to apply monies held on your account towards settlement of costs and other monies payable by you to us.

2.8 We may suspend work if a limit on costs in a publicly funded matter is or is about to be exceeded. We may cease acting if your entitlement to public funding is terminated.

2.9 All bills including interim bills are due within 14 days of delivery.

2.10 We shall be entitled to charge interest and compensation in respect of overdue bills under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 and regulations made under it. This Act only applies where the client is acting in the course of business. Where the Act does not apply we shall be entitled to charge interest at the rate payable on judgement debts from time to time in force.

3 Calculation of costs

3.1 We set an hourly charging rate for each member of the firm doing legal work. Except where this is a publicly funded matter, the rate for the person currently undertaking this matter is shown above.

3.2 Hourly charging rates are reviewed approximately annually, usually from 1st October. Rates for publicly funded work are not within our control and are changed from time to time.

3.3 The amount of time spent on each matter by each person undertaking legal work is recorded. Time is recorded in units of 6 minutes. This includes meetings, interviews, court appearances, preparation, research, correspondence (both postal and email) and telephone work, travelling and waiting time. Travelling expenses may be charged in addition to time spent.

3.4 Travelling expenses may be charged in addition to time spent. We charge a fee of £20 for every electronic funds transfer made on your behalf (or the actual cost of a transfer if greater). We have to charge VAT on travelling expenses and funds transfer fees. Normally, we do not charge extra for postage, telephone and photocopying costs. However, we may charge for these items where the amount involved is in our reasonable opinion more than normal and in this case VAT is chargeable on these items.

3.5 Costs are subject to the overriding principle that the amount charged must be fair and reasonable.

3.6 For property matters, which includes administration of estates, the costs charged will take into account all relevant circumstances under the Solicitors (Non-Contentious Business) Remuneration Order 2009. This may include a percentage (not exceeding 0.5%) of the consideration or, in administration of estates, the value of the property in the estate.

3.7 Costs in litigation will normally depend on the hourly rate charged and the amount of time spent.

3.8 You will reimburse us with all disbursements incurred by us. VAT is chargeable on our costs and on some disbursements.

3.9 The amount of our costs shall not be limited to the amount or amounts recoverable from the other party in any court proceedings or to the amount of any court scale.

3.10 Where we have agreed a fixed fee for a particular job, VAT, bank funds transfer fees, travelling etc. expenses and disbursements are chargeable in addition to the fixed fee.

3.11 Sometimes, matters become more complex or time consuming than anticipated. Examples of why this may occur include defects in title, adverse search results, disputes with the other party to a transaction, difficulties in obtaining information or documents and the course of negotiations becoming more complex than usual. It is impossible to provide a complete list. In such cases we shall be entitled to charge more than the fixed fee but we will notify you before doing this.

3.12 In the case of sales or purchases which do not proceed to completion, the fee charged will be calculated by reference to the time spent on the matter. Except where clause 3.11 applies and subject to clause 3.10, fees will not normally exceed any quoted or agreed fixed fees where a formal quote has been given or fixed fee agreed.

3.13 Fees quoted for a sale do not include a home information pack unless otherwise stated.

4 Information about costs

4.1 In most cases it is not possible to give an exact idea of costs in advance. This is because the amount of time a case will need nearly always depends on circumstances which we cannot control. At the outset of the case we will give you our then estimate of the costs or, if this is not practicable, say so and give you an estimate when sufficient information is available. However, this will be an estimate only and not an agreed price or limit.

4.2 Where it is appropriate, we will update you as to the position on costs as the matter progresses. In addition you can at any stage ask the amount of the costs incurred to that point in time and we will be happy to supply this information.

4.3 Guidance as to the amount of costs will not constitute binding limits as to the costs payable at the end of a matter or on an interim bill.
5 Interim bills and monies on account.

5.1 During the course of a matter we may request payment on account of costs for work done, work to be done, VAT, disbursements and other monies and liabilities incurred or to be incurred by us.

5.2 We shall be entitled to render interim bills for work done and disbursements and other monies and liabilities incurred. An interim bill may at our discretion be either an interim bill for the work covered by it or a final bill for that work.

5.3 If a payment on account or interim bill is not paid we may suspend work for you until payment is made, or cease acting for you altogether.

6 Evidence of identity

6.1 From time to time we are required by law (including regulations relating to money laundering), duties to others, for our own protection or by good practice to be satisfied as to the identity of a client. We may ask you to provide satisfactory evidence of identity. If this is not provided we shall be entitled to stop acting for you. In that event, you still remain liable for the costs of the work done.

7 Documents

7.1 The contents of our files, including all documents generated in the course of our work shall belong to us.

7.2 However, documents containing legally binding agreements, wills, title documents and grants of representation will not be our property.

7.3 We shall be entitled to retain all documents and property in our possession until all money which you owe us from time to time has been paid. The technical word for this is a lien.

7.4 We shall be entitled to destroy our file after such period as we may decide. This is normally at least 8 years.

7.5 Subject to our lien, we will normally be prepared to release our file to you or another firm of solicitors. If we are unwilling to do this then unless a lien being exercised we will prepare a copy for you but you must pay our reasonable copying charges.

7.6 In property purchases where we also act for a lender, our duties to the lender will normally require that the file be retained in our possession.

7.7 We shall not be liable for documents lost or damaged while in the possession of any postal, delivery or courier service.

8 Storage

8.1 If you request us to store documents or other property for you these will be stored free but entirely at your risk. We shall be entitled to require you to remove them. If you request us to send them to a third party, we may at our discretion charge postage. You should ensure that all property we store for you is insured by you.

9 Email and fax

9.1 We shall be entitled to use email and fax in the work we do for you even though these are not necessarily secure means of communication. Email communications are not encrypted.

9.2 We shall be entitled to send you emails telling you about this firm, its services and other things we think might interest you. To avoid any such emails, please notify us in writing.

10 Limits on our responsibilities to you

10.1 When acting in transactions involving property (including corporate transactions) we shall not (unless we agree in writing to do so at your specific request) be under a duty to investigate or make enquiries as to any environmental matters. This includes but is not limited to possible contamination and susceptibility to flooding. Additionally we shall not be required to advise on any reports which are or have been obtained in relation to environmental matters.

10.2 Unless expressly and specifically instructed, we shall not be under a duty to advise on the effect of tax law in relation to any matter.

11 Financial services

11.1 We are not authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 but we are able in certain circumstances to offer a limited range of investment services to clients because we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. We can provide these investment services if they are an incidental part of the services we have been engaged to provide.

11.2 If you have a problem with the service we have provided for you then please tell us. We will try to resolve it quickly and operate an internal complaints handling service. If for any reason we are unable to resolve the problem between us, then the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Complaints Service provide complaints and redress mechanisms.

11.3 The Law Society is a designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 but responsibility for regulation and complaints handling has been separated from the Law Society's representative functions. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is the independent regulatory body of the Law Society and the Legal Complaints Service is the independent complaints handling body of the Law Society.

12 Insurance mediation activity

11.1 We are not authorised by the Financial Services Authority. However, we are included on the register maintained by the Financial Services Authority so that we can carry on insurance mediation activity, which is broadly the advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts. This part of our business, including arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong, is regulated by Solicitors Regulation Authority. The register can be accessed via the Financial Services Authority website at www.fsa.gov.uk/register. (You should specify an EPF search).

11.2 Where we arrange an insurance policy, we shall not be obliged to conduct a fair analysis of the market unless we expressly agree otherwise.

12 Complaints

12.1 If you have a problem with the service provided, please contact the managing partner or any other partner in our firm. Their names appear on our printed letter paper under the heading Partners.

13 Status of these terms

13.1 Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, these terms apply both to the matter in respect of which this statement was issued to you and to all other work done for you after the date of this statement. If a revised edition of these terms is sent to you, the revised edition will apply.

13.2 While you are requested to sign and return a copy of these terms to us, these terms apply even if you do not do so.

13.3 If in relation to any particular matter we enter into a conditional fee agreement or a contingency fee agreement with you, then in the event of any inconsistency between these terms and that agreement, the terms of that agreement shall prevail but only in relation to that particular matter.

13.4 We may make changes to these terms from time to time by giving written notice to you.

And finally

The essence of a good solicitor and client relationship is communication. We will always be happy to discuss the matter with you. We hope that if during the progress of your matter you feel there is any information you need, you will ask.

Note: Earlier editions of our terms of business:

1st edition    2nd edition    3rd edition