1. Our Responsibilities and Standard of Service

Redstone Solicitors is committed to providing a high standard of service. Our responsibilities to you include the following:

• Our responsibilities include advising you on the law, following your instructions, reviewing your matter regularly, and discussing with you whether the potential outcomes justify the expense and risks involved with your matter.

• We will update you by telephone or in writing with progress on your matter regularly and at least every six weeks.

• We will communicate with you in plain language.

• We will explain to you by telephone or in writing the legal work required as your matter progresses.

• We will update you on the cost of your matter at the outset if we agree on a fixed fee. If we act for you on an hourly rate basis, we will update you regularly as your matter progresses and in any event at least every six months.

• We will update you on whether the likely outcomes still justify the likely costs and risks associated with your matter whenever there is a material change in circumstances.

• We will update you on the likely timescales for each stage of this matter and any important changes in those estimates.

• We will review your matter regularly.

• We will advise you of any changes in the law.

• We will advise you of any circumstances and risks of which we are aware or consider to be reasonably foreseeable that could affect the outcome of your matter.

• We will continue to review whether there are alternative methods by which your matter can be funded. 

2. Your Responsibilities

• You will provide us with clear, timely and accurate instructions.

• You will provide all documentation required to complete the transaction in a timely manner.

• You will safeguard any documents which are likely to be required for discovery.

• You will inform us of any change of your name, address and any circumstances relevant to your case.

• You will pay our fees when they become due. 

3. E-mail Communications

Unless you tell us otherwise, you agree to us communicating with you, including sending bills and other confidential information, by normal, unencrypted email, using the email address(es) you have given us from time to time.  You should be aware that there is a risk that emails (in particular when unencrypted) may be intercepted, delayed or corrupted or may fail to be delivered.

We make reasonable attempts to exclude from our emails any virus or other defect that might harm a computer or IT system.  You undertake to act likewise with any electronic communications you send to us.  Neither you nor we shall have any liability to each other in respect of any claim or loss arising in connection with such a virus or defect in an electronic communication other than where such claim or loss arises from bad faith or wilful default.

4. Our Professional Fees and Expenses

We will endeavour to provide you with the best information possible regarding the cost of handling your matter. Where possible, we will:

• agree on a fixed fee with you;

• give you a realistic estimate of your potential costs;

• give you a forecast within a possible range of costs; or

• explain why overall costs cannot be fixed or realistically estimated, and give you the best information possible about the cost of the next stage of your matter. 

Where we agree on an Agreed Fixed Fee, this will be based on a logical calculation based on the complexity of the matter, the estimated time we will spend on conducting your case and our hourly rates.

If we cannot agree on a fixed fee and we charge you on an hourly rate basis, we will provide you with an estimate of your potential costs. Any costs estimate we give at any time is a guide to assist you in budgeting.  It is not intended to be fixed, unless that is specifically agreed in writing.

Any fee arrangement we agree with you, or any costs estimate we give you, is based on the scope of the work anticipated and our assumptions about the matter at the time it is agreed or given. If the scope of the work changes or the assumptions change, it will no longer apply. In that case we will discuss a revised fee arrangement or estimate with you. If we agree an Agreed Fixed Fee with you, it will be fixed and not change even if we have to spend more time than we estimated, provided that you have disclosed all of the relevant circumstances of your matter to us before we agreed on an Agreed Fixed Fee.

In appropriate cases, we can agree on an arrangement where you may set an upper limit on the costs we may incur on your behalf so that once we have reached that limit we would not be able to incur any further costs without obtaining your further authority.

Where possible, we will give you a breakdown of the cost of handling your matter, including our professional fees, disbursements and VAT (if applicable). We will inform you if any unforeseen extra work becomes necessary, for example, due to unexpected difficulties or significant changes in your instructions and/or circumstances. We will also inform you in writing of the estimated cost of the extra work before undertaking the work. We will attempt to agree on the amended charge with you. If we cannot reach an agreement, we will have to stop undertaking any further work on your matter and charge you on an hourly basis for work to date, as set out in this Terms of Engagement.

Our hourly rates are reviewed with effect from 1^st April each year.  We will notify you of the rates if they change and you will then be bound by them.  If you do not accept the new rates after review, we reserve the right not to continue acting for you.

We reserve the right to charge separately for scanning, photocopying, printing, telephone calls, faxes, electronic funds transfers, catering and other support services, and travel, courier and other incidental expenses.

If your matter is contentious, you will be responsible to us for our fees and disbursements regardless of any order obtained for payment of your costs by another party.  Our costs are likely to exceed the sum which you could recover from any other party to the proceedings.  You should also bear in mind that you may be ordered to pay the costs of the other party.

5. Invoices and Payments

We will normally ask you to make a payment on account before we commence to carry out work on your matter.

We will send you interim invoices for our fees and disbursements after we have completed our work on certain stages of your matter. Payment of our invoices will be due in 7 days of your receipt of them, unless agreed otherwise. When we complete our work on your matter, we will send you a Final Invoice, showing all of the monies paid and the amounts owed to us by you.

If we do not receive payment of our fees, when they are due, we will charge you interest on the amounts owed at a yearly rate equal to 7% above the base lending rate of the European Central Bank, compounded daily.

It is a condition of our retainer that all invoices, interim and final, are paid in time. Where an account is overdue we are entitled to retain any files and documents belonging to you which are in our possession until our account is settled.  We also reserve the right to cease working on this and any other matters on which we are acting for you.

If you have any queries about our invoices, you should contact the person dealing with your case straight away. You have a right to challenge our invoices by applying to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. However, please note that the Legal Ombudsman may not consider a complaint about the invoice if you have applied to the court for assessment of the invoice.

6. Payment of interest

We will normally credit you with interest on any funds we hold in our client account on your behalf. Our policy on the payment of interest is as follows.

• Interest will accrue at the rate payable by our bank on instant access deposits.  This may be less than the rate at which you could have invested the money yourself.

• We will credit you with interest if the amount of interest involved is more than £20. Interest less than £20 will be retained by the firm.

• If we hold sums of money for you in relation to different matters we will normally treat the money relating to each of the different matters separately. 

7. Hours of Business

Our normal business hours are between 9.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. from Monday to Friday. We are closed during weekends and National Holidays.

8. Professional Indemnity Insurance

We have Professional Indemnity Insurance against potential professional negligence. The insurance covers our practice conducted from our offices in England and Wales. Our current insurers and their contact details are:

Axis Specialty Europe SE
52 Lime Street
London
EC3M 7AF

Website: www.axiscapital.com

9. Equality and diversity

Redstone Solicitors is committed to promoting equality and diversity in all of its dealings with clients, third parties and employees. Please contact us if you would like a copy of our equality and diversity policy.

10. Data protection

We use the information you provide primarily for the provision of legal services to you and for related purposes including:

• updating and enhancing client records;

• analysis to help us manage our practice;

• statutory returns; and
• legal and regulatory compliance.
  

Our use of that information is subject to your instructions, the UK GDPR, other relevant UK and EU legislation and our professional duties including our duty of confidentiality. Please note that our work for you may require us to give information to third parties such as expert witnesses and other professional advisers. You have a right of access under data protection legislation to the personal data that we hold about you.

We may from time to time send you information which we think might be of interest to you. If you do not wish to receive that information please notify our office in writing.

11. Storage of documents

After completing the work on your case, we will be entitled to keep all your papers and documents while there is still money owed to us for fees and expenses.

After the end of the relevant matter please let us know if you would like us to send your file of papers to you.  Otherwise, we will keep our file of your papers for up to 7 years, except those papers that you ask to be returned to you. We keep files on the understanding that we can destroy them 7 years after the date of the final bill. We will not destroy documents you ask us to deposit in safe custody.

If we take papers or documents out of storage in relation to continuing or new instructions to act for you, we will not normally charge for such retrieval. However we may charge you both for:

• time spent producing stored papers that are requested;
• reading, correspondence or other work necessary to comply with your instructions in relation to the retrieved papers. 

12. Vetting of files and confidentiality

External firms or organisations may conduct audit or quality checks on our practice. However, please be advised that these external firms or organisations are required to maintain confidentiality in relation to your files.

13. Limiting Our Liability

Our liability to you for a breach of your instructions shall be limited to £3 Million, unless we expressly state a higher amount in the letter accompanying these Terms of Engagement. 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.

We have an interest in limiting the personal liability of employees, consultants and partners. Accordingly you agree that you will not bring any claim against any individual employee, consultant or partner in respect of losses which you suffer or incur, arising out of or in connection with our engagement or the services we provide.  The provisions of this paragraph will not limit or exclude the firm’s liability for the acts or omissions of our employees, consultants or partners.

The provisions of the above paragraph are intended for the benefit of our employees, consultants and partners but the terms of our engagement may be varied without the consent of all or any of those persons.

The above exclusions and limitations will not operate to exclude or limit any liability which cannot lawfully be limited or excluded. In particular they do not limit liability for fraud, nor for causing death or personal injury by negligence, nor for negligence in contentious business, insofar as the Solicitors Act 1974 s 60(5) precludes the exclusion of such liability.

Please ask if you would like us to explain any of the terms above.

14. Applicable law

Any dispute or legal issue arising from Our Terms of Engagement will be determined by the law of England and Wales, and considered exclusively by the English and Welsh courts.

15. Terminating the Retainer

You may end your instructions to us in writing at any time, but we can keep all your papers and documents while there is still money owed to us for fees and expenses.

We may decide to stop acting for you only with good reason –e.g. if you do not pay an interim bill or there is a conflict of interest. We must give you reasonable notice that we will stop acting for you. If we have to stop acting for you, we will explain your options for pursuing the matter, and will work with you to minimise disruption to your matter.

If you or we decide that we should stop acting for you, you will pay our charges up until that point, even if the original agreement or understanding had been that we would only bill you on completion of the matter. These are calculated on the basis of our hourly rates, which vary according to the seniority of the person handling your case. The rates of the person handling your case will be specified in our first letter to you entitled “Letter of Engagement”.

16. Money Laundering

The law requires solicitors to get satisfactory evidence of the identity of their clients and sometimes people related to them. This is because solicitors who deal with money and property on behalf of their client can be used by criminals wanting to launder money.

To comply with the law, we need to get evidence of your identity as soon as possible. Examples of such evidence include your passport, photographed driver’s licence and national identity card. If you cannot provide us with the specific identification requested, please contact us as soon as possible to discuss other ways to verify your identity.

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

17. Payment Arrangements

We have a policy of not accepting from our clients amounts in excess of £2,000.00 in cash in any 28 day period. We reserve the right to request the source of any monies in excess of the said amount. Refusal to disclose the information requested may compel us to cease our retainer with you, as it may be in conflict with our duties under the Regulations.

Where we have to pay money to you, it will be paid by cheque or bank transfer. It will not be paid in cash or to a third party.

18. Providing Exempt Financial Services

We are not authorised by the Financial Services Authority. If, while we are acting for you and you need advice on investments, we may have to refer you to someone who is authorised to provide the necessary advice.

However, we may provide certain limited investment advice services where these are closely linked to the legal work we are doing for you. This is because we are members of the Law Society of England and Wales, which is a designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

The Solicitors Regulations Authority is the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society. The Legal Complaints Service is the independent complaints-handling arm of the Law Society. If you are unhappy with any investment advice you receive from us, you should raise your concerns with either of those bodies.

19. Complaints

Redstone Solicitors is committed to high quality legal advice, representations and client care, and we pride ourselves in the high quality services we provide. However, sometimes concerns or disagreements may occur due to various reasons. For example, you may be unhappy about the service you have received or our invoices. In the event that such a disagreement transpires, the following procedure should ensue.

It is our policy to endeavour to resolve any concerns you might have with our services in dealing with your matter. Therefore, it is important that you first raise your concerns with the person dealing with your case. If he or she is unable to resolve the matter, you can contact Mr Yasar Dogan, the Manager(s) of our firm. You can find his contact details on our letters.

Once you have followed the above, we should be able to resolve any concerns you may have. However, in the unlikely event that we were unable to settle the matter to your satisfaction, you are entitled to contact the Legal Services Ombudsman at any time. Normally, you will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint and within twelve months of the act or omission complained of. The Legal Services Ombudsman is the body, which deals with complaints regarding the conduct of solicitors in England and Wales. Their address is:

The Legal Ombudsman

PO Box 6806

Wolverhampton

WV1 9WJ

Tel: 0300 555 0333

Web: http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk

As well as your right to complain about any of our bills under our complaints procedure, you can also apply for the bill to be assessed by the court under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974, in which case the Legal Ombudsman may not consider your complaint.

Please be reminded that the above procedure does not affect your legal rights. We also maintain a Complaints Procedure which details how we handle complaints and which will be made available to you upon your request.