Terms and Conditions
Terms of Engagement / Client Care Rules
Letter of Engagement
Thank you for contacting. It will be a pleasure to act for you in this matter. We enclose some material which sets out:
(a) Information for clients which lawyers are required by the Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers to provide; and
(b) My standard terms of engagement.
Services to be Provided
The following is a summary of the legal services we expect to provide to you:
Application for a limited licence
Fees
The basis on which our fees are calculated is as set out in these terms and conditions.
Payment of our fee/s for work agreed to be done, completed or conducted by us is to be made by online bank transfer or credit card payment.
Responsibility for Services
Dear client,
The person with overall responsibility for your file will be Mr. Ned Burke, Barrister, of Domain Chambers, 36 Cameron Rd, Tauranga. Although assisted by staff, he alone will have responsibility for the services that are provided to you. The instructing solicitor on this occasion is Michael Toner of Toner Law Tauranga. If you wish to utilise a different instructing solicitor in regards to your matter please advise accordingly.
If the information in this letter and the accompanying material is acceptable, then we can proceed accordingly. If you orally or by email advise your acceptance or instruct me to proceed, you will in any event be bound by these terms.
We look forward to working with you on this matter.
Yours faithfully,
Ned Burke
Standard Terms of Engagement
The following are Mr. Burke’s Standard Terms of Engagement and in them he sets out important information including his obligations to you.
1 Services
1.1 The services I am to provide for you are outlined in my ‘Letter of Engagement’.
2 Financial
2.1 Fees:
a) The fees I will charge or the manner in which they will be arrived at, are set out above.
b) If due to unforeseen difficulties work arises that falls outside that scope, I will advise you as soon as reasonably practicable if it becomes necessary for me to provide services outside the agreed scope and, will give you an estimate of the likely amount of the further costs. We will come to a mutual agreement as to the cost of the extra services.
2.2 Disbursements and expenses: In providing services I may incur disbursements or have to make payments to third parties on your behalf. When such an expense is required to be paid for I will ask for payment from you in advance so that I can make this payment on your behalf.
2.3 GST (if any): Is payable by you on my fees and charges.
2.4 Invoices: If you require, I will send interim invoices to you, at periodic intervals while I am engaged by you, and on completion of the matter, or termination of my engagement. I may also send you an invoice when I need make payment on your behalf for a significant expense.
2.5 Payment: Invoices are payable within 14 days of the date of the invoice, unless alternative arrangements have been made with me.
2.6 Security: I may ask you to pre-pay amounts to me.
2.7 Third Parties: Although you may expect to be reimbursed by a third party for my fees and expenses, and although my invoices may at your request or with your approval be directed to a third party, nevertheless you remain responsible for payment to me if the third party fails to pay me.
3 Confidentiality
3.1 I will hold in confidence all information concerning you or your affairs that I acquire during the course of acting for you. I will not disclose any of this information to any other person except:
a) to the extent necessary or desirable to enable me to carry out your instructions; or
b) to the extent required by law or by the Law Society’s Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers.
3.2 I will of course, not disclose to you confidential information which I have in relation to any other client.
4 Termination
4.1 You may terminate my retainer at any time.
4.2 I may terminate my retainer in any of the circumstances set out in the Law Society’s Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers
4.3 If my retainer is terminated you must pay me all fees due up to the date of termination and all expenses incurred up to that date.
5 Retention of Files and Documents
5.1 You authorise me (without further reference to you) to destroy all files and documents for this matter (other than any documents that I hold in safe custody for you) 7 years after my engagement ends, or earlier if I have converted those files and documents to an electronic format.
6 Conflicts of Interest
6.1 I have procedures in place to identify and respond to conflicts of interest. If a conflict of interest arises I will advise you of this and follow the requirements and procedures set out in the Law Society’s Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers.
7 Duty of Care
7.1 My duty of care is to you and not to any other person.
8 General
8.1 These Terms apply to any current engagement and also to any future engagement, whether or not I send you another copy of them.
8.2 I am entitled to change these Terms from time to time, in which case I will send you amended Terms.
8.3 My relationship with you is governed by New Zealand law and New Zealand courts have nonexclusive jurisdiction.
Information for Clients
Set out below is the information required by the Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers of the New Zealand Law Society (“Law Society”).
1 Fees
The basis on which fees will be charged is set out in my ‘Letter of Engagement’. When payment of fees is to be made is set out in my ‘Standard Terms of Engagement’.
2 Professional Indemnity Insurance
I do not hold professional indemnity insurance.
3 Lawyers’ Fidelity Fund
The Law Society maintains the Lawyers’ Fidelity Fund for the purpose of providing clients of lawyers with protection against pecuniary loss arising from theft by lawyers. The maximum amount payable by the Fidelity Fund by way of compensation to an individual claimant is limited to $100,000. Except in certain circumstances specified in the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006, the Fidelity Fund does not cover a client for any loss relating to money that a lawyer is instructed to invest on behalf of the client.
4 Complaints
I maintain a procedure for handling any complaints by clients, designed to ensure that a complaint is dealt with promptly and fairly.
If you have a complaint about my services or charges, you should refer your complaint directly to me, I have overall responsibility for my work and I am determined that if any client has a complaint about my services or charges, I will do my utmost to resolve it to that client’s satisfaction.
If you do not wish to refer your complaint to me, or you are not satisfied with my response to your complaint, you may refer your complaint to David Bates Barrister. He may be contacted as follows:
– by letter at PO Box 11083 Papamoa, New Zealand.
– by email at d.bates@xtra.co.nz
– by telephoning him at 07 572 4336
The Law Society operates the Lawyers Complaints Service and you are able to make a complaint to that service. To do so, phone 0800 261 801 and you will be connected to the nearest Complaints Service Office, which can provide information and advice about making a complaint.
5 Persons Responsible for The Work
I have overall responsibility for the services I provide for you. This is set out in my letter of engagement.
6 Client Care and Service
The Law Society client care and service information is set out below.
Whatever legal services your lawyer is providing, he or she must:
– Act competently, in a timely way, and in accordance with instructions received and arrangements made.
– Protect and promote your interests and act for you free from compromising influences or loyalties.
– Discuss with you your objectives and how they should best be achieved.
– Provide you with information about the work to be done, who will do it and the way the services will be provided.
– Charge you a fee that is fair and reasonable and let you know how and when you will be billed.
– Give you clear information and advice.
– Protect your privacy and ensure appropriate confidentiality.
– Treat you fairly, respectfully and without discrimination.
– Keep you informed about the work being done and advise you when it is completed.
– Let you know how to make a complaint and deal with any complaint promptly and fairly.
The obligations lawyers owe to clients are described in the Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers. Those obligations are subject to other overriding duties, including duties to the courts and to the justice system.