|
|
| click here to download a copy |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
We value your instructions and our aim is to help you achieve your goals quickly
and effectively in an approachable and cost-efficient way.
This document sets out the terms on which we agree to act for you. You should
read it with your letter of engagement.
A. WHEN YOU INSTRUCT US
Responsibility for work
We will tell you which partner will
have overall responsibility for your case, the person who will be dealing with
your case on a daily basis if this is a
different person, and their supervisor. If we have to involve other people
within the firm, for example, if your case covers a number of different areas
of law, we will tell you their names, job titles and the areas of your case
that they will deal with. We will tell you how much these people’s services
will cost you when they become involved in your case.
Conflicts of interest
We search our records to protect you from conflicts of interest. Where
a conflict arises or may arise (for example, where we find that your opponent
is or has
been our client), we may not be able to accept or continue your case.
Your identity
To meet the Money Laundering Regulations 1993, we may have to ask you for
information confirming your identity and financial details.
B. OUR CHARGES
We normally work out our charges by multiplying a person’s
charging rate by the time they have spent on your case. However, time spent is
not the
only factor that we take into account. We believe that our charges should reflect
the value of our services to you. So we may take into account how complicated
your case is, how urgent it is, the value of the transaction, specialist skills,
and the amount of the responsibility we accept.
Special arrangements
We may vary our methods of charging if we make special
arrangements with you in writing, for example, where we agree a conditional
fee arrangement (you
will not have to pay if we do not win the case) or we agree to fix or limit
our charges or agree to base the charge on the value of the transaction.
Changing our charging rate
We regularly review our hourly rates. We will tell
you about any changes before we charge you.
Estimates
We will give an estimate of our charges whenever possible. We will tell you
as soon as possible if we think our charges will be higher than the estimate.
An estimate is only a guide. We will take it into account in the final bill,
but you should not take it as a binding quotation. You can ask to set a limit
on our charges if you want to.
Payment on account
Before we start work on your case, or during your case, we may ask you to
make a payment on account of our charges or expenses. We will reduce the final
bill by the amount of this payment. We will pay interest on any money we hold
for you in line with the Solicitors Accounts Rules.
Invoices
Unless we agree otherwise in writing, we will normally invoice you at regular
intervals, even if your case has not been completed. We will agree these intervals
to suit you, but they will not normally be shorter than monthly or longer than
quarterly (every three months).
Information on charges
Our invoices will give details of our charges and expenses, but please ask
us if you would like information at other times.
C. EXTRA PAYMENTS
Expenses
Whilst we are acting for you, expenses may arise. We will normally
charge you separately for internal expenses such as sending faxes, photocopying
and
travel, and external expenses we have to pay on your behalf, such as search
fees, accountants, surveyors, barristers and other experts’ fees and
court fees. We will send you an estimate at the start of your case of how much
and what these are likely to be. You can ask to set a limit on expenses if
you want to.
Value Added Tax (VAT)
By law we have to add VAT to our charges and expenses. You may have to pay
VAT even when someone else pays our charges and expenses for you, for example
your insurer.
D. YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
Information
We may ask you for information to help us with your case. You must
give us information we ask for as soon as possible, and tell us if you think
it is not
complete or accurate. It is also your responsibility to carry out any other
tasks that we agree you should do. We will not be responsible for anything
that happens because you have not done something we asked you to do promptly.
This may also mean you have to pay extra charges or expenses.
Paying our charges
We expect you to pay our charges when they are due, even
if you have an arrangement with another person for payment (unless we have
already agreed in writing to
contact that person for payment)
E. PAPERS
Confidentiality
Our Partners and staff must not reveal confidential information
about you or your case to other people. However, where an insurer pays for
us to deal
with your case, we have your permission to reveal all details of your case
to your insurer. Your insurer may have the right to call for and inspect your
file, to check quality standards. If you are buying a property and we are acting
for you and a lender, for example a bank or building society, we may have to
reveal relevant details about you to the lender. We will tell you if this applies
in our case.
Rights
We keep all copyright and other rights to all reports and draft agreements
we produce, written advice or other materials we provide and all systems we
work out while we are acting for you. You will have the full right to use these
materials within your own organization or on another case. If you want to use
these materials in any other way, you will need our permission.
Releasing your papers
We have the right to keep your papers until our charges
and expenses have been paid in full.
Storage
At the end of your case we will store your papers without charge for
a limited period of time which will depend on the nature of the case. We will
then dispose
of them without contacting you again. Please tell us straight after your case
is completed if you want us to return your papers to you. We will not destroy
title deeds, wills, share certificates or other documents which continue to
have effect. We may charge you for getting your papers from storage and delivering
then to you, or for providing information about them.
F. PAYMENT
Terms of payment
You must pay our invoices as soon as you receive them. We may charge interest
on invoices which are not paid within 28 days from the date of the invoice.
The rate of interest will be 2% more than the base rate of Lloyds Bank.
Payment by the opponent
Where we are instructed on a case involving court proceedings,
if the court rules allow us to, we will try to get your opponent to pay our
charges and
expenses of dealing with your case. Where we are successful, there may still
be some charges and expenses which you will have to pay. We will discuss this
with you at the relevant time.
Legal aid
Where appropriate, we will help you to apply for legal aid. You will be responsible
for our charges and expenses until legal aid is granted. We will tell you about
your responsibilities to the Legal Aid Board when you apply for legal aid.
Insurance
If your insurers are responsible for paying our charges and expenses, we will
get the money from them. You must tell us immediately if your insurers plan
to withdraw cover. If you are registered for VAT, you may still have to pay
the VAT on our charges and expenses.
G. NOMINEE TRUSTEE AND COMPANY SECRETARIAL SERVICES
Trustee and nominee services
These services are available to you from Lyons Davidson Trustee Company
Limited, Lyons Davidson Trustee Services Limited and Lydaco Nominees Limited.
The partners
of Lyons Davidson own all of these companies.
Company Secretarial services
We may offer company secretarial services including
a registered office service which we may charge you separately for. We will
tell you the amount of the
charge at the time. We review our charges for company secretarial services
every year, and we will tell you if they change.
H. TERMINATION
We may refuse to continue to act for you if you do not pay our invoices on
time or make payment on account when we ask you to. We may also refuse to continue
to act for you if there are other circumstances giving us good reason to do
so (for example, where there is a conflict of interest). If we do this, you
will have to pay any charges and expenses that arise before that date, and
you will continue to be responsible for any commitments we have entered into
on your behalf. We may charge you for work which we have to carry out after
termination or because you ask us to transfer your papers to another adviser.
I. COMPLAINTS
Please let us know if you feel that we have failed to meet our own standards
or your expectations of us.
We have a complaints procedure to make sure that complaints are dealt with
quickly and at the appropriate level in our firm. If you have a complaint,
please raise it first with the person dealing with your case, their supervisor,
or the responsible partner. If you are not satisfied with the way they deal
with your complaint, please write to us and mark your envelope “For the
attention of the Senior Partner”. The Senior Partner and our Quality
Manager will consider and respond to your complaint. If you are still not satisfied,
you can refer your complaint to the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors.
Please ask us if you want their address.
Bristol House, 40-56 Victoria Street, Bristol, BS1 6BY
Telephone 0117 904 5900 Fax 0117 904 6006
Email info@lyonsdavidson.co.uk
DX No: 7834 BRISTOL
A full list of partners names is available on request. Regulated by The Law
Society.
