174 Family Law

TERMS OF BUSINESS – PRIVATE – PARTIAL RETAINER

Thank you for instructing this firm to assist you in dealing with your case.  We will do our best to see that everything proceeds as smoothly as possible.

In order to help you understand how we conduct our business I think it may be useful to outline to you some of the general areas of importance in our dealings.

If you have any queries regarding these points please do not hesitate to raise them with me either by telephone or when we meet.

Responsibility

You are scheduled to meet with one of the team below pursuant to our fixed fee scheme. This is for an initial consultation for up to an hour. If you spend more than this time then you will be charged at the hourly rate outlined below.

We will try to avoid changing the people who handle your work but if this cannot be avoided we will inform you promptly who will be handling the matter.

The Director with ultimate responsibility for the matter is Helen Pittard

The Family Team

We aim to offer all of our clients an efficient and effective service and I am confident that we will do so in this case.

We will assist you on an ‘unbundled’ or ‘partial retainer’ basis, the features of which are explained below. We will only advise you on the matter in respect of which you are seeking advice today and this agreement is limited to the advice we give you today and the work we have agreed to undertake on your behalf in accordance with my covering letter.

We are not agreeing to provide any further advice under this agreement or to act as your representative in respect of court proceedings or in any communication with third parties.

If you require further advice from us on this matter or a related matter or any other matter you should make another appointment with us and any further advice provided will be on the basis of a separate agreement.

If you require advocacy in court we will not be able to represent you under this agreement but may be able to assist you under a different type of agreement. We will be happy to explain this to you in more detail if you require such a service.

Under this agreement we cannot conduct litigation for you. This means that as far as any court or tribunal proceedings are concerned we will not act as your representatives. We can advise you about how to represent yourself but you will remain responsible for issuing proceedings, dealing with all correspondence and other communication with the court and other parties. If you require us to represent you in litigation we will be pleased to discuss with you how we can assist under a different agreement.

All advice we provide to you is based on our understanding of the law as it applies at the time it is given to the facts you have told us about and any documents you have shown us. We cannot be liable for any incorrect advice provided on the basis of inadequate information you have given to us.

If we think that any information you have given us is inadequate we will not be able to advise you until the further information we ask you to obtain or verify is provided and a further meeting may be required.

If at any point we think that the matter is too difficult for you to deal with yourself even with the benefit if our advice, we will not be able to assist you on an unbundled basis under this agreement. You may then wish to instruct us as your legal representatives under a new agreement but you are also free to seek advice elsewhere.

As solicitors we have a professional duty to the court as well as to you our client. If we become aware that you have misled or intend to mislead the court in any way we will advise to you bring this to the attention of the court. If you do not do so we will not be able to continue to advise you. However, your dealings with us are confidential and protected by legal professional privilege, so we will not provide any information about you to the court or any other party without your permission.

Although costs orders are rare in family proceedings, if you are seeking advice about legal proceedings where you may wish to claim costs from your opponent, you should advise your opponent as soon as is reasonably practicable that you have incurred the cost of legal advice about the case and if you are successful you may seek to claim the cost of this advice from them.

Under this agreement we will not retain any of your original documents but we will keep a copy of your personal details, record of interview and any document we have assisted you to draft or complete.  We may ask you for a copy of any other document you have shown us that is relevant to the advice we give you.

Fees

We have agreed to engage on a fixed fee of £150.00 plus VAT. This will cover our initial meet only up to a maximum of 1 hour time spent and reporting to you on that meet.  The fixed fee is payable either in advance of our meet or on the day of our meet. If you require additional work to be undertaken then this will result in additional costs being incurred and will not be included within this fixed fee.

Our charging rates are as follows:-

If you exceed the remit of the fixed fee then It is often very difficult at the outset of a case to say how much those fees will be.  Much will depend on the particular matter, the attitude of the other side and how the case progresses.  However, as a firm we do appreciate how important it is for you to be able to budget for fees.  The vast majority of solicitors calculate their charges in matters such as these by reference to the time spent.

We, as with those other solicitors, charge on an hourly basis, adding the cost of letters and telephone calls.  We also take other factors into account for example, the complexity of the case. 

Solicitors have to pay out various other expenses on behalf of clients including such things as Court fees, Counsels fees and experts’ fees.  Vat is payable on certain expenses.  We refer to such payments generally as “Disbursements”. All such Disbursements and any other additional expenses will need to be paid by you in advance of them being incurred. We will of course notify you in advance of such cost being incurred. However there may be circumstances when such notice cannot be given in which case the amount will be added to your bill.

By way of a guide only, the best estimate I can give you at this stage on the basis that I am acting for you in respect of:

However it is open to us to discuss whether or not further fixed fees would be appropriate for your case.

Terms of Business

If you were to instruct us further:-

It is normal practice to ask clients to make payments on account of anticipated costs and disbursements.  It is helpful if you will meet requests promptly but if there is any difficulty please let me know as soon as possible.  At this stage all we require from you is our fixed fee of £150.00. 

We shall deliver bills to you at regular intervals for the work carried out during the conduct of the case.  This will enable you to budget for costs.  I am sure you will understand that in the event of a payment of our costs, or, on account of Court fees not being made, we must reserve the right to decline to act any further and that the full amount of the work done up to that date will be charged to you.  Accounts should be settled within fourteen days.  Interest will be charged on bills that are not plaid within that time of 12%.  Should this matter not be carried through

to completion then a charge will be made in respect of the work that has already been undertaken.  VAT would be payable on that amount and you would also be billed for any disbursements incurred depending upon the amount of work done, this may be a small proportion of the charges set out above, or may be almost the full amount.  It is rare, however, for this to occur and I can foresee no reason why it should in this particular case.

Card Payments

If you wish to pay our bill by debit/credit card please go to our website www.174familylaw.co.uk where you will find our online payment page.  If you pay your bill by debit or credit  card there will be no administration charge. Please note that card payments can take up to 3 days to clear.

Your Transaction

I am enclosing an Information Sheet or Sheets indicated at the foot of this letter which relate to your transaction.  I hope that you find this information useful in understanding the procedure involved.  If you have any queries at this stage please let me know.

Order for Costs

I should also explain that at the conclusion of this matter, and in the event that you are successful, it may be that you will be entitled to the payment of your costs by some other party.  However, it is rare for the system of assessment of costs as it is known to result in the other party having to pay anything like the full amount of your costs.  This is a complex subject which I shall be happy to explain further if you wish.

In the event that you are successful and the costs of the matter are to be paid by the other party, we may be able to claim interest on those costs to be paid from the date on which the order for costs was made.  Any interest which we may receive will, of course, be taken into account when assessing our final bill.

It may, of course, be the case that you are not successful if the matter goes to Court.  This could mean that in addition to our fees, you will also have to pay the other party’s fees as well.  Whilst these fees can be assessed by the Court as to what is fair and reasonable, they could amount to at least equal to our fees if not more.  If the matter does have to go to Court, I will, of course, discuss all these points with you again at the appropriate time.

CLS Funding

Whilst at the moment you are not eligible for CLS funding (formerly known as Legal Aid) it may be, because of a change in your circumstances, that this should be considered at a later stage.  If, during the course of the case, you feel your financial position changes, could you please let me know as soon as possible.  I am enclosing some information about CLS funding for the future.

Agreement

As confirmation that you would like us to proceed on this basis, I should be grateful if you would sign the extra copy of this letter enclosed and return it to me.  We will then have entered into an agreement, and which will mean that the hourly charge rate, as set out above, will be fixed.  Given this agreement, your rights to challenge this rate will be restricted.  Could you please also forward your cheque, made payable to this firm, at the same time.

Financial Services

If during this transaction you need advice on investments we may have to refer you to someone who is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, as we are not.  However, as we are regulated by the Law Society, we may be able to provide certain limited investment services where these are closely linked to the legal work we are doing for you.

If this is the case and if you have any problem with the service we have provided for you then please let us know.  We will try to resolve any problem quickly and operate an internal complaints handling system to help us to resolve any problem between ourselves.  If for any reason we are unable to resolve the problem between us, then we are regulated by the Law Society which also provides a complaints and redress scheme.

As stated above this firm is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.  However, we are included on the register maintained by the Financial Conduct 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 the Law Society.  The register can be accessed via the Financial Conduct Authority website at www.fca.gov.uk /register.

Regulatory Matters

The firm has effected professional indemnity insurance cover which meets or exceeds the requirement of the SRA.  In the event of any failure by the Firm to meet its liabilities, apart from such insurance, the Solicitors’ Compensation Fund is in place, from which grants may be given to those who have suffered loss by reason of the dishonesty of a solicitor or an employee in connection with a solicitor’s practice or in connection with a trust of which the solicitor is a trustee.

All UK law firms are subject to reporting, disclosure and other requirements imposed by the UK regulators or laws, such as concerns HM Revenue and Customs, money-laundering, the proceeds of crime and terrorist financing.  These requirements can override our usual duty of confidentiality to you, in addition, these requirements may oblige us to ask you to provide us with information that may be relevant for legal or regulatory purposes at any time.  Any failure by you to provide any information of this sort shall entitle us to cancel this Contract on giving immediate written notice to you.

We are required by statute to make a disclosure to the Serious Organised Crime Agency where we know or suspect that a transaction may involve money laundering or terrorist financing.  If we make a disclosure in relation to your matter, we are not able to tell you that a disclosure has been made and we may have to stop working on your matter for a period of time and may not be able to tell you why.

Money Laundering Requirements

As a result of the Money Laundering Terrorist Financing & Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 which have transposed the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive into UK law and as a result of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 we must ask you to produce evidence of your identity, unless you are personally known to us for at least two years or your case is a publicly funded matter not involving any financial issues.  We will need to see proof of your identity, which could be any of the following:

We are entitled to refuse to act for you if you fail to supply appropriate proof of identity for yourself or for any principal whom you may represent. We will not be liable for any loss, damage or delay arising out of the firm’s compliance with any statutory or regulatory requirement.

Please understand that we need to see original documents and not photocopies.  We may then take a photocopy of the documents produced for our records. Two forms of ID are required-one to prove who you are and one to prove where you live. It is NOT acceptable to use the same document as evidence of both name and address. IF YOU DO NOT PROVIDE ACCEPTABLE ID WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ACT FOR YOU.

Please note that if anything comes to our attention, whether as a result of information provided by you, or otherwise, which leads us to the view, or suspicion, that there is, has, will, or may be an act constituting money laundering, we are obliged to report the same to the appropriate authority. 

Please note that under this legislation if this firm has any reason to believe or suspect that any monies, property or other items of value involved in your case comes within that legislation WE ARE REQUIRED to disclose details to the police or to a designated compliance officer.

Please also note that as a result of this legislation we also reserve the right to refuse to accept cash payments from you for any sum as the receipt of significant or regular amounts of cash can impose upon us an obligation to report this under the Proceeds of Crime Act.  If in doubt please speak to us first.

Information that State Benefits are being claimed improperly also necessitates a report.

The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information for Payer) Regulations came into force on 26 June 2017and the ML Regulations came into force 24^th February 2003 and POCA became Law on the 1^st March 2004.  The ML regulations affect you and us but POCA is aimed primarily at honest professions, like us.  Offences under POCA carry criminal sentences of up to 14 years and fines.  Consequently we have to comply with and take very seriously these Regulations and Laws.

“Criminal Property” is property of any kind or which represents the benefit of “Criminal Conduct” and that is defined as conduct that is illegal in the UK or would be, if committed in the UK.  Thus, for example, money or property obtained through undeclared income or tax or benefit fraud (no matter how small) is Criminal Property derived from Criminal Conduct.

If we knowingly conceal, disguise, convert, transfer, remove, assist in the acquisition, use or control of, or have possession of Criminal Property, we may be guilty of an offence under the POCA.  We may also commit an offence if we reasonably ought to have known or suspected that Criminal Property or Criminal Conduct is involved, but do nothing.

If we know or suspect that Criminal Property or Conduct is involved we are required under POCA to disclose the facts or suspicions to the National Crime Agency (NCA i.e. the Police).  If we fail to make a disclosure we may commit an offence.  If we tell you that we have made a disclosure, we may commit an offence.

Obviously, we are not suggesting that you are involved in ML or that your assets or finances are the proceeds of crime or derived from any Criminal Conduct.  But circumstances may arise during the course of our instructions that may reasonably lead us to have concerns.  In that case we may ask you for an explanation.  If we are not wholly satisfied with what you tell us, we may invite you to make a joint disclosure to NCA.  If you refuse, we reserve the right to make a disclosure alone, and in that case we shall not be able to tell you that we have done so.  However following recent Law Society Guidelines if we are conducting any litigation for you including preparatory stages (including pre-action) or diversion from the Court systems such as settlements, negotiations, and out of Court settlements and Alternative Dispute Resolution we may not have to make an authorised disclosure to NCA if such disclosure may prejudice that litigation.  The Law Society has also confirmed in these circumstances failure to report would not lead us to be committing any offences pursuant to Sections 327 to 329 of the POCA. In these circumstances we will tell you about ant potential money laundering problem and explain what action we may need to take.

If a disclosure is made, we are obliged to stop all work on your file and can take no further actions for you, or (where appropriate) our client, regardless of the stage then reached in the transaction.  For example, if contracts have been exchanged (in a transaction where there are contracts), we may not be able to complete your transaction, in which case you may be in breach of contract and liable to financial penalties to the other party.  NCA have 7 days in which to make an initial investigation, and to make a decision, either that there is no reason for concern, or that they want to start an investigation. Please note NCA can extend this time to 31 days if it decides to do so.  Only when we have the consent of NCA to continue, can we recommence.

The ML Regulations require us to “know” our clients or where as in the case of re-mortgaging, our clients customer.  This is achieved by you promptly complying with our requests for your Identification in two parts.  The first is your name, and the second is your address.  We shall request you to supply various documents and have to tell you that unless our requests are complied with, we shall not be able to continue acting for you or (where appropriate) continue to deal with the matter for your client where you are the customer.

These notes are not intended as a comprehensive guide to ML and/or POCA.  Further details can be supplied on request – provided you do not seek our advice on the Law or a way to circumvent it.

These notes also form part of our Retainer which means they will be treated for all purposes as being part of our instructions to us, even if you are a customer of our client for the purpose of such matters as a re-mortgage, and we do not act for you directly.

Please be assured that the purpose of this Note is as a polite warning, and is sent, as a matter of course, to all our clients and (where appropriate) customers of our clients.

Storage of Documents

After completing the work, we are entitled to keep all your papers and documents while there is money owing to us for our charges and expenses. In addition, we will keep your file of papers for you in storage for not less than one year. However our Current practice for storage of files is 6 years consistent with our Data retention policy a copy of which can be made available to you upon request.After that, storage is on the clear understanding that we have the right to destroy it after such period as we consider reasonable, and unless you contact us to the contrary, we will deem that we have your consent to do so, or to make a charge for storage if we ask you to collect your papers and you fail to do so. We will not of course destroy any documents such as Wills, Deeds, and other securities, which you ask us to hold in safe custody. No charge will be made to you for such storage unless prior notice in writing is given to you of a charge to be made from a future date which may be specified in that notice.

If we retrieve papers or documents from storage in relation to continuing or new instructions to act in connection with your affairs, we will not normally charge for such retrieval. However, we may make a charge based on time spent for producing stored papers or documents to you or another at your request. We may also charge for reading, correspondence or other work necessary to comply with your instructions.  We also confirm that we reserve the right to raise a charge for retrieving the file of papers from storage in general.  At present our standard charge for doing so is £50.00 plus Vat

Our banking arrangements

During the course of this matter we may at times hold money on your behalf.  If so the money will either be held in our client’s account which is with Lloyds Bank Plc or, if the money is held on a longer term deposit, with HBOS (through the Halifax).

In the unlikely event of either of these organisations failing then it is likely that we as a firm cannot be held liable for your loss resulting from this.  However, under The Financial Services Compensation Scheme compensation should be payable to clients who are individuals or small businesses up to £85,000.00 per client and per each authorised deposit taking institution.  As a result if you hold other personal monies with the same banks then the limit remains at £85,000.00 in total.

You should also be aware that some deposit taking institutions have several brands i.e. where the same institution is trading under different names.  You are advised to check either with your bank, The Financial Conduct Authority or a financial association for more information about brand names.

In the unlikely event of the failure of a bank we would need your consent to supply The Financial Services Compensation Scheme with your personal details and the amount held in the account to which you are entitled so that a claim may be made.  By confirming your instructions in this matter we will take it that you are giving us such consent.

Banking fraud by internet scam

Many transaction involve sending large amounts of money from one place to another and consequently in this electronic age Law firms have been targeted by fraudsters. Where appropriate we attach our information sheet which contains our bank details and explains how we deal with such potential fraud.  PLEASE KEEP THIS INFORMATION SHEET SAFE. We will not normally provide our bank details either by phone or email.

BANK INTEREST

The firm’s policy is to account to clients for interest earned whilst their money is in our client account, provided the amount of interest exceeds £20.  The interest payable is unlikely to be as high as might be obtainable by you, as the Solicitors Regulation Authority Accounts Rules state that client’s money must be held in an account enabling instant access, in order to facilitate a transaction.  However, if we are aware that a significant amount of money will be held in client account for a fairly significant length of time, consideration would be given to opening a designated deposit account. 

In some cases we receive initial documentation and assistance from a third party introducer.  We have not received such assistance in your case. However if we did we must report to you who we have received such assistance from and   any fee paid. Please note that you would not be liable for these administrative costs.

Raising Concerns About Our Service

We aim to offer our clients a friendly and efficient service.  During the course of the matter, if there is any aspect about which you are concerned or require clarification, then please raise it with the person who is handling the matter, with a view to the matter being resolved quickly.  If you are still not satisfied please contact our client care director either by letter at The Lauries  142 Claughton Road Birkenhead Wirral CH41 6EY or by e-mail at hpittard@174familylaw.co.uk or by telephone on 015183232532.

The firm has a Complaints Procedure document, which is available on request, and which would be sent to you should you make a complaint.  Your right to complain might relate to the way in which your matter is being handled, or a bill that we issue.  In the case of a complaint about a bill, there might also be a right to object to the bill by applying to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part 111 of the Solicitors Act 1974.  However, we would point out that if all or part of a bill remains unpaid, we may be entitled to charge interest – any such entitlement would be set out in our Terms and Conditions of Business and/or on the reverse side of the bill.

We have eight weeks to consider your complaint.  If you remain dissatisfied at the end of our complaints process, you would then be at liberty to contact the Legal Ombudsman, an organisation which investigates complaints about poor service from lawyers.  The Legal Ombudsman can investigate complaints up to six years from the date of the problem happening or within three years of when you found out about the problem.  If you wish to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, this must be done within six months of our final response to your complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, their contact details are as follows:-

• Visit legalombudsman.org.uk
• Cal 0300 555 0333 between 8.30am to 5.30pm (calls to 03 numbers will cost no more than calls to national geographic numbers (starting 01 or 02) from both mobiles and landlines. Calls are recorded and may be used for training and monitoring purposes.)
• For minicom call 0300 555 1777
• E-mail enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
• Postal address: Legal Ombudsman, PO BOX 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

Our complaints procedure document gives details of the categories of person/organisation that are entitled to complain to the Legal Ombudsman, relevant timescales, and the possibility of the complaint being concluded by way of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Whilst we hope that you will be happy with our service we would prefer to know sooner rather than later if you are not.

Confidentiality

As solicitors, we are under a general professional and legal obligation to keep your affairs private.  However, we are required by current legislation to make a report to the National Crime Agency (NCA) where we know or suspect that a transaction involves money laundering or terrorist financing.  By instructing us to act on your behalf in accordance with these terms of engagement you give us irrevocable authority to make a disclosure to the NCA if we consider it appropriate.  You agree that this authority overrides any confidentiality or entitlement to legal professional privilege.  We shall be unable to tell you if we have made a report.

We are accredited by the Law Society’s LEXCEL standard being the highest legal quality assurance level LQAL achievable in the UK.  We also hold a contract with the Legal Aid Agency and can offer to our clients who are eligible public funding.  To maintain these standards / contracts , auditors review our practices and procedures on an annual basis.  This includes review of client files.  Again, in signing to our terms and conditions you are providing your authority for the release of your file to LEXCEL / Legal Aid Agency auditors.

To ensure the best quality and efficient service to our clients, we may well elect to store client documentation relating to this retainer in secure client portals in the Cloud.  Only those who you have authorised can gain access to this portal.  In signing this retainer, you are giving your consent to your documents being stored in this way.

Limited companies

    When accepting instructions to act on behalf of a limited company, we may require a Director and or controlling shareholder to sign a form of personal guarantee in respect of the charges and expenses of this firm. If such a request is refused, we will be entitled to stop acting and to require immediate payment of our charges on an hourly basis and expenses as set out earlier.

Tax advice

    No Director or employee, of this firm, holds himself out as qualified to give advice regarding matters of taxation and, therefore, all enquiries relating to matters of taxation should be referred to a suitably qualified accountant.

    If you have any concerns in this respect, please raise them with us immediately. If we cannot assist, we may be able to identify a source of assistance for you.

PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE & LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

As solicitors we are permitted to put a reasonable limit on our liability to our clients provided that:

• The limit on our liability is not below the minimum level of SIR cover (currently £3,000,000 for Limited Companies and LLPs); and

• We can only limit our liability to the extent that the law allows.  In particular, we do not limit our liability for death or personal injury result in from our negligence.

Our liability to you shall therefore be limited as follows:

• Irrespective of the legal grounds on which any claim against us is made, unless we expressly state a higher amount in the letter accompanying these terms of business, our liability to you shall be limited to:-

(i)           £3 million (or such other greater figure the firm chooses) for all claims and losses resulting from one act error or omission subject to aggregate limits of:

(ii)          £3 million (or such other greater figure the firm chooses) for all claims and losses arising from a series of related acts, errors or omissions or;

(iii)         £3 million (or such other greater figure the firm chooses) for all claims and losses resulting from a series of acts errors or omissions arising out of or attributable to the same originating cause, source or event, or;

(iv)         £3 million (or such other greater figure the firm chooses) for all claims arising from the same or similar act error or omission in a series of related matters or transactions;

• We will not be liable for any consequential, special, indirect or exemplary damages, costs or losses or any damages, costs or losses attributable to lost profits or opportunities.

• For the purposes of this clause, a claim against any one or more of our partners, assistant solicitors, employed barristers and any other members of our staff (whether employees or not) shall be regarded as a single claim against us and our liability to you shall be limited accordingly.

Our PII cover is underwritten by Sompo International Insurance, whose registered place of business is at 1st Floor, 2 Minster Court, Mincing Lane, London EC3R 7BB.  The territorial scope of our PII cover for offices in England & Wales is worldwide subject to limited indemnity in the jurisdictions of Canada and the United States of America.

About Us

174 Family Law and Family Mediation Solutions are trading styles of HLP LEGAL LIMITED Company Registration No. 12064088 registered office The Lauries  142 Claughton Road Birkenhead Wirral CH41 6EY ) Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (registration number 660373). This firm is not a successor practice of 174 Law Solicitors Limited

Thank you, finally, for taking the trouble to read this letter.  I hope that it has been of some assistance to you.  As confirmation that you would like us to proceed on the above basis.  I should be grateful if you would sign the extra copy of this letter enclosed and return it to me together with cheque made payable to “174 Family Law” and I look forward to the speedy conclusion of this matter on your behalf.

Enclosures

Information sheets as ticked

Legal Aid                                                                                  Signed   …………………………….

Undefended Divorce      

Financial Proceedings                                                                        …………………………….

Child support                                                                                           (Please print name)

Children’s Arrangements                                                       

Domestic Violence                                                                 Date       ……………………………

Fixed fee                           