Fees & Terms
Hourly rates agreed in advance
In all cases I advise the hourly rates for the work that you have asked me to do. The importance of this is :
- You know from the beginning exactly how much you can budget on spending in correlation to time spent
- I must exercise due diligence and care and attention in handling your case
- All parties know where we stand.
As stated I do work purely on a time basis and where you ask me to handle a more difficult or complex issue, additional requests or work on an urgent basis it does alter my fee. I will discuss this with you prior to work being undertaken.
Terms of engagement
I will provide you with my terms of engagement prior to substantive work commencing
RUPERT WARD LEGAL
TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT
- This document contains client care and service information in accordance with the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008. These terms, including our fees and charging rates, may be reviewed periodically as explained in clause 43.
DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES
- You have asked us to act for you in connection with the provision of legal advice and services.
MY UNDERTAKINGS
- We are committed to serving you professionally and ethically and make the following undertakings to you:
- We will hold strictly confidential all communications with you and all information which we receive from you during the course of dealings. We will not reveal your confidences without your express agreement.
- We will pursue your work conscientiously. In turn we will need your full and timely cooperation to help represent you.
- We will work with you to develop an understanding of your expectations. We will work together to establish goals and deadlines that meet your needs.
- We will communicate with you and keep you informed about the status of your work. We will endeavour to return your telephone calls promptly. We will send you copies of significant correspondence and other documents.
INSTRUCTIONS
- As a Barrister and Solicitor practising on my own account, the practice is authorised by the New Zealand Law Society to take direct instructions.
- On occasions work on this matter will be undertaken, at our direction, by third party referral parties where this is in your best interest. This may include drafting, attendances at Court appointments and research. You will be billed separately for this work. There will be no duplication of costs as referral to a third party lawyer will be a cost-effective means of ensuring that your work is properly attended to.
- On other occasions work on this matter will be undertaken, under our complete supervision, by our support staff which may include an administration worker and a legally qualified research worker or other staff appointed by us from time to time. This may include research law, reviewing files for missing or existing documents, drafting base documents, reviewing information sent or any element that assist your file.
CONTACT
- If you are, for any reason, unable to contact us please telephone on +64 03 310 8103
HOURLY RATE
- The hourly rates for the work you have instructed will be advised in initial correspondence (excluding GST). Hourly rates are subject to review.
CALCULATION OF FEES
- Our fee will be based on the time spent by various staff on your behalf and the criteria laid down by the New Zealand Law Society. Monies paid in advance will be held in Escrow by an Agent to protect your interests. The time spent by the practice on your behalf for which you will be charged will include:
- Personal and telephone attendances upon you.
- Correspondence with you.
- Attendances with lawyers acting for the other party/parties.
- Considering the law and facts of your case.
- Reading and considering incoming letters, papers, documents in your case.
- Preparation of papers for any Court, Tribunal or relevant authority.
- Necessary correspondence with third parties, including potential New Zealand Employers.
- Instructing enquiry agents and experts.
- Attending Court on your behalf.
- Time spent on travelling.
- Supervising staff under the practice’s control.
- If you ask us to undertake more work for you, it is possible that our fees will ultimately exceed the estimate we have given you. This might happen because you have asked us to help you with extra work, solve complex issues or complete additional tasks. Should we need to work with urgency, this can also increase your costs. There is no guarantee or assurance offered regarding fee levels as so many issues can impact the amount of work required. You can instruct at any time that work ceases or alternately discuss the level of work you require undertaken.
- If there are changes in migration policy or applicable law that may have an effect on your application or position, this can require additional work to be carried out on our part. If we need to contact you to check your progress, in the case that we do not hear from you for a substantial period of time, this can also require time to be spent on your file.
- Once work has commenced on your file, you will be charged for all the time spent on your file, as well as costs e.g. all telephone calls either made or received, emails, research etc incurred in relation to work on your file. As work is conducted on your file, you will receive an invoice, which you should then pay according to the method laid out in our instruction form that you have received. The invoice you receive will directly reflect the amount of work completed period on your file. When more work is done on your file, you will receive a higher invoice. The invoice will be lower when less work is done. The better the communication is between us, the quicker the work will proceed.
CLIENT CARE AND SERVICE
- The Law Society client care and service information is set out below. In that regard we must:
- Act competently, in a timely way, and in accordance with instructions received.
- Protect and promote your interests and act for you free from compromising influences or loyalties.
- Discuss with you your objectives and how they should best be achieved.
- Provide you with information about the work to be done.
- Give you clear information and advice.
- Protect your privacy and ensure appropriate confidentiality.
- Treat you fairly, respectfully and without discrimination.
- Keep you informed about the work being done and advise you when it is completed.
- Let you know how to make a complaint and deal with any complaint promptly and fairly.
The obligations lawyers owe to clients are described in the Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers. Those obligations are subject to other overriding duties, including duties to the courts and to the justice system. If you have any questions, visit www.lawsociety.org.nz or call 0800 261 801.
ACCOUNTS
- Generally accounts will be sent to you fortnightly or monthly although on occasions they will be sent to you to coincide with important junctures in the matter.
- Payment of all accounts is due within seven (7) days of the account being rendered.
- If our account remains outstanding after thirty (30) days we will carry out no further work on your behalf until appropriate arrangements have been made to bring the account back into good standing.
- Any account not paid within thirty (30) days will accrue interest on the outstanding balance at a rate of 10% per annum from the date upon which payment was due. Any charges incurred by collection agencies will be added to the amount owing.
- We may disclose your name and address to third parties such as credit agencies to perform a credit reference or to undertake credit management or collection processes if it is reasonable to do so.
DISBURSEMENTS
- Disbursements include expenses such as Government filing fees, toll calls, faxes, photocopying, travel expenses, couriers and the fees of agents who serve documents and conduct investigations, searches and registrations and the like.
- You are responsible for reimbursing us for disbursements. Disbursements may be included with our accounts or may be billed separately.
- We may also require payment in advance in respect of anticipated disbursements which will be held in escrow if appropriate.
CONCERNS AND COMPLAINTS
- If you have any concerns or complaints about the professional service being provided to you, we encourage you to call us to discuss this at the earliest opportunity. We assure you of a careful and sympathetic listening to any such concerns.
MONEY LAUNDERING
- New Zealand has passed a law called the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (we will call it the AML/CFT law). The purpose of the law reflects New Zealand’s commitment to the international initiative to counter the impact that criminal activity has on people and economies within the global community. Recent changes to the AML/CFT Act mean that from 1 July 2018, lawyers are required to comply with its requirements. This law requires lawyers to do a number of things to help combat money laundering and terrorist financing, and to help Police bring the criminals who do it to justice. The AML/CFT law does this because the services law firms and other professionals offer may be attractive to those involved in criminal activity. The law says that law firms and other professionals must assess the risk they may face from the actions of money launderers and people who finance terrorism and to identify potentially suspicious activity. To make that assessment lawyers must obtain and verify information from prospective and existing clients about a range of things. This is part of what the AML/CFT law calls “customer due diligence” (‘CDD’). CDD requires a law firm to undertake certain background checks before providing services to clients or customers. Lawyers must take reasonable steps to make sure the information they receive from clients is correct, and so they need to ask for documents that show this. We will need to obtain and verify certain information from you to meet these legal requirements. This information includes:
- your full name; and
- your date of birth; and
- your address.
To confirm these details, documents such as your driver’s licence or your birth certificate, and documents that show your address, such as a current bank statement will be required.
If you are seeing us about company or trust business, we will need information about the company or trust including the people associated with it (such as directors and shareholders, trustees and beneficiaries). We may also need to ask you for further information. We will need to ask you about the nature and purpose of the proposed work you are asking us to do for you. Information confirming the source of funds for a transaction may also be necessary to meet the legal requirements. If we are not able to obtain the required information from you, it is likely we will not be able to act for you. Before we start working for you, we will let you know what information we need, and what documents you need to show us and let us photocopy. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries or concerns.
TERMINATION OF LEGAL SERVICES
- At all times you have the right to terminate our services upon written notice to that effect.
- We also reserve the right to terminate our services at any time upon the giving of written notice (subject to our ethical obligations). This may occur (without limitation) where you have not paid us when due, when you cannot, or will not provide instructions to us or when ethically, we do not consider that we can continue acting. All costs up to the point of termination of our services must be paid before we will incur the cost of the file being released to any alternative advisor.
INSURANCE
- We will maintain indemnity insurance that exceeds the minimum standards specified by the New Zealand Law Society.
- The Lawyers Fidelity Fund also provides a limited form of recourse in certain circumstances.
PRIVACY INFORMATION
- Over the course of your involvement with us, we may collect and hold personal information about you. Failure to provide us with information may preclude us from providing services to you or limit the quality of the services provided.
- Information concerning you will be used by us to provide legal services, and to inform you of issues and developments that may be of interest to you. By instructing us in this matter you authorise us to obtain from any person or release to any person any information necessary for that purpose and you authorise any person to release information to us that we require for those purposes.
- We will maintain client files and records electronically. You authorise us to make electronic copies of documents we receive from you or on your behalf. Once an electronic copy has been made, we may securely dispose of the original hard copy unless you specifically instruct us otherwise in writing. Certain types of original documents of legal significance may be retained for a longer duration in accordance with our policies or legal obligations. We may transmit, store and process your information using third-party services or facilities, including those located outside New Zealand. Where required, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that any overseas disclosure or processing complies with the Privacy Act 2020 and our professional obligations, including obtaining any further authorisation from you that may be required.
- Information concerning you will be held at our offices. Under the Privacy Act 2020 you have the right of access to, and correction of, any personal information held by us.
- The Financial Transactions Reporting Act 1996 requires us to collect from you and retain information to verify your identity.
USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
- In providing legal services to you, we may use artificial intelligence (“AI”) and other technology tools to assist with work on your file. This may include legal research, reviewing and summarising information, preparing and drafting documents and correspondence, and administrative tasks.
- Any use of AI will be under our supervision. We remain responsible for the legal services provided to you and will review and verify AI-assisted work before relying on it, providing it to you, sending it to another party, or using it in any Court or Tribunal proceeding.
- Where AI or other third-party technology providers are used, we will take reasonable steps to protect your confidential and personal information and to ensure those tools are used consistently with our professional and legal obligations. However, no third-party system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the absolute security of data processed by those providers.
- If you do not wish AI tools to be used in connection with your matter, you may advise us in writing.
COMMUNICATIONS
- We do not accept any liability for loss arising from non-receipt of any communication, including computer or email communications.
- We may provide you, from time to time, with other relevant information, such as a newsletter or immigration updates. At any time, you may request that this not be sent to you.
JURISDICTION
- This agreement is covered solely by New Zealand Law to the exclusion of all other jurisdictions. Any dispute arising between the parties in connection with this agreement shall be dealt with exclusively, in the Courts of New Zealand to the exclusion of all other jurisdictions.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
- We are obliged to protect and promote your interests to the exclusion of the interests of third parties and ourselves as set out in the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 (Rules). This may result in a situation arising where there exists a conflict of interest.
- We have procedures in place to identify and respond to conflicts of interest or potential conflicts of interest. If a conflict of interest arises, we will advise you of this and follow the requirements and procedures set out in the Rules. This may mean we cannot act for you further in a particular matter, and we may terminate our engagement. We will, of course, advise you should this situation arise and assist you with finding new representation.
DUTY OF CARE
- Our duty of care is to you and not to any other persons. We owe no liability to any other person, including, but not limited to, any directors, shareholders, associated companies, employees or family members, unless we expressly agree in writing or it has otherwise been incorporated into these Terms. We do not accept any responsibility or liability whatsoever to any third parties who may be affected by the performance of our services or who may rely on any advice we give, except as expressly agreed upon in writing.
- Our advice is not to be referred to in connection with any prospectus, financial statement, or public document without our written consent.
- Our advice is opinion only, based on the facts known to us and on our professional judgement, and is subject to any changes in the law after the date on which the advice is given. We are not liable for errors in, or omissions from, any information provided by third parties.
- We may review and amend these terms of engagement and our fees, charging rates and disbursements from time to time. We will give you reasonable notice of any material change before it applies to future work. Unless we agree otherwise in writing, the revised terms or rates will apply only to work undertaken after the effective date stated in our notice. If you do not accept a proposed change, you may instruct us to cease work, subject to payment of all fees and disbursements incurred up to that date and our professional obligations.
- Our advice relates only to each particular matter in respect of which you engage us. Once that matter is at an end, we will not owe you any duty or liability in respect of any related or other matters unless you specifically engage us in respect of those related or other matters.
AGREEMENT
- We kindly request that you sign the bottom of the letter in acknowledgement and agreement of these terms or indicate to us over email that these terms are acceptable. If we do not hear from you to the contrary, we will assume that you agree with the terms contained in this letter. If you conclude that you do not want us to act on your behalf or cannot accept the terms in this letter, please advise us promptly.
- If you have any questions or concerns regarding these terms of engagement, we would be pleased to speak with you at any time of your convenience +64 03 310 8103