AGREEMENT FOR LEGAL SERVICES
with
TURNER HOPKINS
AGREEMENT
We will provide legal services to you in accordance with the details in the Schedule and on these Terms and Conditions.
So that we will provide legal services to you, and at the request of you, the Guarantor (as described in this agreement) guarantees the performance of the obligations of you to us and in particular will pay to us any amount due to us from you.
INSTRUCTIONS
You instruct us to act as your lawyers generally as set out in this Agreement for Legal Services.
OUR PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY ARRANGEMENTS
We hold indemnity insurance that exceeds the minimum standards specified by the Law Society.
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
We have a complaints procedure. Any complaint you have about our dealings with you must be made initially to the person in charge of complaints procedures, who then must discuss the complaint in detail with you at the earliest opportunity.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the initial discussion, then you must write to us setting out your complaint and reasons for dissatisfaction, as well as your reasoned proposal for resolution of the complaint.
On receipt of a written complaint the supervising partner will review and advise of our decision.
If you are unsatisfied with the result of our complaint procedures, then you have the right to lodge a written complaint with the New Zealand Law Society’s complaints service – details of which are available on www.lawsociety.org.nz.
LAWYERS’ FIDELITY FUND
If the instructions involve or result in us being entrusted by you with money or other valuable property, you are protected by the Lawyers’ Fidelity Fund if the money or property is taken by theft by us or any of our employees or agents. Claims on that Fund are limited to $100,000 for any one theft.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. Your Instructions
1.1 We will act in your best interests to carry out your instructions.
1.2 We reserve the right to cease to act where you cannot or will not provide instructions required in addition to those specified under the heading “Instructions”, or where we are of the opinion that you have misled or deceived us in any material way.
1.3 We will take reasonable steps to keep you informed of the steps taken to carry out your instructions.
1.4 By instructing us you accept liability to pay the accounts that we will render for work done together with all disbursements incurred in respect of your instructions, and you agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.
2. What are our obligations to you?
2.1 The Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers of the New Zealand Law Society require that in all events, subject to the duties of us and its members to the courts and to the justice system, we and each of our lawyers must:
(1) act competently, in a timely way, and in accordance with any arrangements made between us and you;
(2) protect and promote your interests and act for you free from compromising influences or loyalties;
(3) discuss your objectives and how they should best be achieved;
(4) provide you with information about the work to be done, who will do it and the way in which our services will be provided;
(5) charge you a fee that is fair and reasonable, and let you know when you will be billed;
(6) give you clear information and advice;
(7) protect your privacy and ensure appropriate confidentiality;
(8) treat you fairly, respectfully, and without discrimination;
(9) keep you informed about the work being done and advise when it is completed;
(10) let you know if the instructions are of the sort where you may be eligible for legal aid and if so whether we are prepared to undertake the work in the instructions if paid by legal aid;
(11) let you know how to make a complaint, and deal with any complaint promptly and fairly.
3. How do we charge?
3.1 Our fees are charged in accordance with guidelines laid down by the Rules of Conduct and Client Care of the New Zealand Law Society. In fixing the fee we are entitled to take account of considerations such as:
(1) the time and labour spent;
(2) the skill, specialised knowledge and responsibility required;
(3) the importance of the matter to you and the results achieved;
(4) the urgency and circumstances in which the work is undertaken and any time limits, including time limits imposed by you;
(5) the degree of risk assumed by us in undertaking the services including the amount or value of any property involved;
(6) the complexity of the matter and the difficulty or novelty of the questions involved;
(7) the experience, reputation, and ability of the personnel carrying out the work;
(8) the possibility that the acceptance of the instructions will preclude employment of us by other clients;
(9) the reasonable costs of running a law practice.
4. Estimate of Costs
4.1 Any costs estimate will be our “best guess” as to what the fees and other costs are likely to be. If the work does not proceed as we had expected due to unexpected complications, or if the work proves more complicated than originally anticipated, we will charge for all additional work.
4.2 If it appears that the estimate will be exceeded, we will advise you of the reasons and obtain further instructions from you.
5. Credit Policy
5.1 You may be allocated a credit limit which will be:
(1) confidential between you and us (and persons such as barristers and expert witnesses instructed by us with the consent of you)
(2) the total amount that we will allow to be owed or due to us by you at any time.
(3) able to be increased or decreased or withdrawn by us at any time.
(4) we have the right to make reasonable and confidential credit enquiries from an appropriate information provider. We and the guarantor (as appropriate) will sign the attached authorisation to permit us to make such enquiries.
(5) We may stop doing work (and instruct others to stop doing work) for you if your credit limit is exceeded or if payment is not received by us within 14 days of issue of our invoice. We will have no liability for any loss suffered by you when work is stopped for this reason.
6. When will you be billed?
6.1 Depending on the type of work being performed our accounts will be sent to you either at the completion of the work or on a periodic basis. In the case where work is performed over a number of months we will normally account to you for work performed on a monthly basis.
6.2 We may require you to make a payment or payments to us for the provision of legal services under this agreement prior to the final billing of any matter.
7. What about out of pocket payments you have to make?
7.1 Payments may have to be made to other people for work to be done, for example filing fees, search fees, agency fees and similar payments (called disbursements). We are not required to pay these amounts for you unless we receive payment from you first. We have the right to ask for these specific amounts or for an approximate amount to cover these expenses to be paid in advance to ensure that we are not out of pocket.
7.2 If we instruct any other person (including Counsel or another lawyer) we have the right to require payment of that person’s estimated fees into our trust account beforehand. By instructing that person, we undertake an obligation to pay that person’s fees and accordingly require to be protected for them. We may require you to enter a payment arrangement directly with that person.
8. When do you have to pay?
8.1 Our accounts are all due within 14 days of issue of our invoice. If we are holding any money for you, you authorise us to deduct the account from that money after having provided you with a dated invoice.
9. Joint and Several Liability
9.1 If there is more than one person comprising you, each person is jointly and severally liable for payment in due time of all our accounts and other charges such as those under clause 10.
10. What if you cannot pay on time?
10.1 If you anticipate difficulty in the payment of any account, you must contact us immediately and discuss arrangements for payment. The provisions of clause 5 may apply.
10.2 Interest is payable on any account more than 7 days overdue. Interest shall be calculated at the rate of 1.5% per month.
10.3 If we have to take steps to recover any unpaid account, the costs of recovery (including debt collectors’ charges) are all payable by you.
10.4 If you fail to make payment of our reasonably rendered accounts for a period of over 3 months we reserve the right to refer the matter to a credit reference agency at our discretion.
11. Guarantor
11.1 Where the name of a guarantor is completed on the front page of this agreement then that person personally guarantees full payment of any amount due to us from you in terms of this agreement.
12. Lien
12.1 Where work has been done by us but we have not been paid by you, then we have the right to retain the original documents and the correspondence on your files until such time as all outstanding fees, disbursements and other expenses have been paid. This is known as a lien. This will be particularly important in circumstances where you decide for whatever reason to instruct another law firm. You must pay all outstanding fees, disbursements and other expenses before we release your files to your new solicitors. Alternatively that other law firm may be obliged to give an undertaking to us to pay all outstanding fees and disbursements before your file is released.
13. Retention of Records
13.1 Files and documents will be retained by us for a period of 10 years after which they will be destroyed.
13.2 Subject to the lien in paragraph 12 and if you wish to inspect these or require copies to be made, a charge may be made for this.
14. Confidentiality
14.1 We will hold all information concerning the business and affairs of you in strict confidence, and will not divulge such information except where required or permitted to do so by law, or you expressly or impliedly authorise us to make such disclosure.
