Terms of Engagement
These are our standard terms of engagement. They apply for each matter where you instruct us to act for you unless varied by written agreement and your instructions will be deemed to be acceptance of these terms.
The Scope And Quality Of Work
We commit to providing you with the best services possible where the advice given will be based on our experience and professional judgement. This should not be taken as a guarantee regarding outcomes. Our duty of care is to you. Before any other person may rely on our advice we must expressly agree to this.
Managing Your File
The names and status of the person or persons who will have overall responsibility for the services we provide for you are set out in our letter of engagement. To manage your matter efficiently and cost effectively, please provide us with:
- Clear instructions, if possible in writing.
- Your expectations including your desired outcome, and any changes in these.
- All information and correspondence relevant to the matter.
- Important time constraints for completing the work.
- The name(s) of anyone else who has authority to give instructions on your behalf.
- Your current contact details.
Please do not hesitate to ask us to clarify any aspect that you may be unsure of.
Disbursements And Expenses
In providing services we may incur disbursements or have to make payments to third parties on your behalf. GST is payable by an internal disbursement recovery fee of 30% of the total GST exclusive fee will be charged. This fee will typically include disbursements such as photocopying, faxes, couriers, national telephone toll calls and mobile telephone calls that do not exceed $10.00 each. We will invoice you all third party disbursements as they are incurred. Where any of these disbursement costs exceed $150.00 we may ask for a payment in advance before we commence the work. Where an independent professional advisor is required to be engaged, it is expected that this fee will be paid by you prior to their engagement; or an independent arrangement be made between you and the independent professional concerned. In the event that your matter proceeds to court, we will require to charge to cover the preparation and time in court. We will advise you of this by telephone and/or in writing and will provide you with our account details so that payment can be made.
Invoices
It is our practice to bill on a monthly basis where the matter is ongoing and on completion of the matter or on termination of our engagement. Invoices are payable within 7 days of the date of the invoice and upon completion of the matter unless alternative arrangements have been made with us. When we are holding money on your behalf in our trust account, we may draw on that money for our fees and disbursements when invoiced. You authorise us to deduct our fees and disbursements from any judgment, settlement or other money received by us on your behalf. Although you may expect a third party to pay our invoices, or you may request us to direct our invoices to a third party, you remain responsible for the timely payment of our invoices. All payments made by credit card are subject to a 4% surcharge. All consultancy work, excluding process serving, will have a $170.00 file management fee applied to the invoice for file storage and retention costs incurred by us.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
We hold professional indemnity insurance.
Privacy
We will hold in confidence all information concerning you or your affairs that we acquire during the course of acting for you. You have the right to access this information and you may request us to correct this information if it is not correct. We will not disclose any of this information to any other person except:
To the extent necessary or desirable to enable us to carry out your instructions; or
To the extent required by law.
Termination
You may terminate our retainer or significantly modify your instructions at any time. Please advise us in writing as soon as possible. Until we receive notification in writing we may continue with our original instructions that may incur further costs for you in the meantime.
There may be instances where we may be unable to act for you. These circumstances may include:
Your unwillingness or inability to pay our normal fee for the relevant work.
Lack of available time.
Instructions falling outside our normal field of practice.
Instructions that could require us to breach any professional obligation.