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Terms Of Business |
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All solicitors are required to supply their clients with written information about the terms of business on which they provide legal advice. We are regulated by the Solicitors Authority and are subject to its code of conduct.
Clients of Clark Holt are entitled to expect from us not only the necessary technical expertise but also the highest standards of service, efficiency and courtesy. It is our aim that our clients should be satisfied with all aspects of any work undertaken by us and we hope they consider such service represents good value for money.
You may terminate your instructions to us at any time by telling us in writing. You will then be provided with a bill for our charges to date. If at any stage you do not wish us to continue doing work and/or incurring charges and expenses on your behalf, you should make that clear to us.
You have the right to withdraw, without charge, any new matter on which you instruct us within 7 working days afterwards. Please note that this right will cease if we start work with your consent within that time. Your continued instructions in this matter will amount to acceptance of our terms of business.
Where we act for two or more clients jointly, it is on the clear understanding that we are authorised to act on instructions from either, both or any of them.
Fees
Our charges are calculated mainly by reference to the time spent by the solicitors dealing with this matter. Although time is a major component of the charges, there are several other factors which affect our charges, including the importance or complexity of the matter, the values involved and the difficulty or urgency of the work. It is often only at the end of the matter that these factors can properly be assessed.
Our hourly charging rates vary, depending on the level of qualification of the person involved and range from £170 to £250 per hour. Our rates do not include VAT which will be added to the bill. We review our rates annually. Our VAT number is GB663317634.
Expenses
In addition to our fees, we may from time to time incur out-of-pocket expenses on your behalf. These expenses will be charged to you, and we may during any transaction ask you to pay money to us on account or as and when these expenses are incurred. We will consult with you before incurring more substantial expenses. Where relevant, VAT will be added to such expenses incurred.
Terms of Payment
We normally ask clients to pay our fees and expenses at the end of each matter. If the matter is protracted or costs are building up, we may deliver interim bills to you at regular intervals as the matter proceeds. The Law Society recommend this practice as it enables clients to budget for costs. We are sure you will understand that if payment is not made we reserve the right to decline to act further. In that event, the full amount of work done to that date will be charged. We ask that our bills be paid within 14 days of their date.
If any bill is not paid within one month of its date, we reserve the right to charge Statutory Interest on any outstanding balance.
Data Protection
We are required to advise you that your personal information is held on our database. We may, from time to time, use these details to send you information which we think might be of interest to you. For email back-up purposes only, we may export your personal data outside the European Economic Area, with appropriate data protection and security safeguards.
Taxation or Accounting Matters
We do not provide advice in relation to taxation or accounting matters and would strongly recommend that you obtain appropriate professional advice if the matters in which we are concerned involve such issues.
E-mail Policy
We use e-mail unless we have been specifically requested not to do so or it is clearly inappropriate. Our computer systems are virus checked and, in addition, all our external e-mail messages are checked for viruses by our internet service provider. Whilst we use all reasonable endeavours to prevent the transmission to you of known viruses, you should also check all incoming electronic messages for viruses.
Anti Money Laundering Procedures
Like all solicitors in the regulated sector, we are now required by law to operate strict procedures to guard against the risk of money laundering. We take these issues very seriously and go to great lengths to ensure that we do not become involved in such activity. We are required to confirm your identity, and may ask you to provide documents for this purpose. We may use electronic identification service providers to confirm your identity and that of any beneficial owners, and we reserve the right to charge you for our expenses incurred in doing so. Please do not send us any funds until we have verified your identity and that of any beneficial owners. We are also required to carry out periodic due diligence into your business and we will ask you for information and documents for this purpose. Where it appears that any assets relating to a transaction (whether they are your assets or those of any third party) were derived from criminal activity, or where there is a suspicion that any person is engaged in money laundering, we may have to make a report to the appropriate authorities. If we are obliged or we decide to make a report, we may not be allowed by law to tell you that we have done so and there may be a period during which we are prohibited by law from continuing to act for you. Although experience and the quality of our clients indicate that such circumstances are unlikely to arise, nonetheless, we accept no liability whatsoever for any loss or damage you may directly or indirectly suffer as a result. The policy of this firm is not to accept cash payments in any circumstances.
Papers and Documents
At the end of the matter following payment of all outstanding costs, any original documents or other property which belong to you which we hold will be returned if you so wish. The file will be stored and kept for at least 6 years. During storage, it will be readily obtainable if required. After at least 6 years and perhaps longer depending upon the circumstances of the matter, the file will be destroyed.
Limitation of Liability
Our advice is solely for your confidential use. The advice should not be relied upon by any other person or third party for any other reason whatsoever. No liability is deemed to be owed or accepted by us to any other person. In addition, no liability is accepted for any loss, damage or expense, of any nature whatsoever, which is caused by the reliance upon such advice by any other person or third party. The extent of Clark Holt's liability, of whatever nature, whether to you or any other third party, and arising out of or in connection with this engagement, shall not exceed £10,000,000.
Property Transactions
From time to time property work involves insurance – for example, where "defects" in a lease or the title to a property cannot be rectified, insurance may be a means of overcoming such problems. As a firm we are not authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). However, we are included on a register maintained by the FSA so that we can carry on insurance mediation activities – which is broadly the advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts. This part of our business, including arrangements for complaints and redress if something goes wrong, is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The register can be accessed on the FSA website - www.fsa.gov.uk/register. Where we recommend or give advice on any contract of insurance, we do not give advice on the basis of a fair analysis of the whole market and we only select products from a limited number of insurers. However, we are not contractually obliged to conduct business in this way. Our list of insurers comprises Countrywide Legal Indemnities, First Title and Guaranteed Conveyancing Solutions. We reserve the right to alter or add to our list of insurers from time to time, but at any time you can request details of the insurers with which we conduct business and we are obliged to provide you with the details on request.
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