Terms and Conditions

Fees & Terms

MY FEES: My minimum fee for a brief, basic matter is £60. My hourly rate is £150. I reserve the right to vary the rate, particularly in respect of extremely urgent and/or complex or unusual matters or those that require particular expertise. In most cases I will offer a fixed fee and will usually ask you to email me a copy of the document(s) involved in advance, so that I can accurately assess the work involved and will then provide you with a quote.

V.A.T: I am currently not VAT registered.

PLACE OF ATTENDANCE: Your personal attendance at my office is preferable where my own photocopying and facilities are available as required. Arrangements can be made for me to attend your home or place of business. In cases justifying attendance at your own address – e.g. in the event of incapacitation, special arrangements can be made but this inevitably increases time and expense.

QUOTATIONS & ESTIMATES: I will provide you with an estimate of my fees in advance of the work that I carry out for you. My fees are calculated by the number of documents, complexity of the matter and the likely time that will be spent. If I provide an indication of my fees based on inaccurate information from you, I reserve the right to vary my fees and to notify you of any such change. Variations in the instructions given, additional attendees at appointment and requests for additional work or unexpected developments and/or inexperience, incompetence or lack of co-operation on the part of other parties or their advisers may also increase costs.

TIME CHARGED: This applies to all work undertaken from start to finish including preliminary details and advice, preparation, attendances, drafting, phone calls, correspondence, fax, legalisation and terminal work including the Notarial Register and Protocol.

DISBURSEMENTS: Additionally, you will be responsible for all payments I make on your behalf as disbursements. Typical examples are Legalisation fees payable to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and/or Embassies, translators’/interpreters’ fees; Agents; couriers’ and/or special postage charges. However I shall not incur these without first obtaining your consent to do so.

PAYMENT: My charges are normally payable upon release of the notarised documentation, although subsequent work may remain to complete the matter. I accept payment by cash, card payment or immediate BACS transfer. If you have negotiated a regular invoice account with me, I will issue my invoice to you with the completed documentation, for payment within fourteen days. Any queries concerning an invoice should be raised immediately upon receipt. In the event of payment not being made as requested, I reserve the right to decline to act any further on your behalf and/or to exercise a lien on any papers or documents which are in my possession, until payment has been made.

RESPONSIBILITY: I must be satisfied as to your identity, your address, your legal capacity, your authority and your understanding and approval. In many instances I may insist on a translation. I shall try to ensure that the document, in the manner of its execution, its form and substance will achieve its purpose. I must be satisfied that it is your voluntary act and that no fraud, violence or duress are involved and that other stipulated formalities either under English or Foreign law are observed. If I am not satisfied about any one of those things I can refuse to undertake the matter.

FOREIGN LAW: I do not advise on foreign law but act in an evidential, authentication capacity.

YOUR OWN PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS: In relation to certain transactions, I would expect you to have obtained advice from your own (a) English lawyer(s) and/or (b) relevant foreign lawyer(s), and/or (c) other competent professional advisers. You may potentially be taking a huge risk of relying on documents prepared by another party or its adviser(s), without yourself taking independent legal or other competent professional advice. If you have not done so, you may be advised to obtain advice from (a) English lawyer(s) and/or (b) relevant foreign lawyer(s), and/or (c) other competent professional advisers before the transaction proceeds.

REGISTER & PROTOCOL: At the closing of the transaction, a formal register entry has to be made by me as a permanent record; and a protocol copy set of the notarised documentation is customarily kept. Frequently, a fully executed set of duplicate originals is required, or advisable, to be retained by me. In some instances, I may retain the original and issue a certified copy.

LIABILITY: I carry professional indemnity liability cover of £1,000,000 which is the minimum level of cover specified by the Master of Faculties. I therefore limit the level of my liability to you to £1,000,000 for any loss, injury or damage of any nature whatsoever in respect of negligence or breach of duty of care in respect of any one claim or series of related claims.

JURISDICTION: English law shall be the applicable law and the English courts shall have sole jurisdiction in the case of any dispute.

E-MAIL: It is my policy to use e-mail wherever possible. Where a client has provided me with an e-mail address, e.g., by sending me an e-mail, I will assume that I may use that address for the sending of unencrypted sensitive or confidential correspondence or documents to the client. I may also, during the course of a matter, send unencrypted sensitive or confidential information to other persons involved, unless specifically requested by them or the client not to do so. All e-mails sent and the attachments thereto should be scanned for viruses by the recipient.

MONEY LAUNDERING REQUIREMENTS: I operate a money laundering reporting procedure as required by law whereby, in the event of any suspicion as to money laundering, information will be revealed to the appropriate authorities. All payments to my client account must be made via a UK clearing bank. Cash payment will be accepted where it falls below £500. Clients will be required to provide satisfactory proof of identity and full details of the source and proposed destination of funds. Pending this, funds may be frozen and I will not accept any responsibility for loss or delay caused by the failure of clients to provide such information promptly.

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO CANCEL: If you are an individual to whom the Consumer Contract (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges (Regulations 2013)) then this gives you a right to cancel your retainer with me within 14 days without giving any reason. The cancellation period will expire after 14 days from the day of the conclusion of the contract. Your right to cancel under these regulations is in addition to and not in substitution for your general right to withdraw your instructions at any time. My work begins immediately and if I complete my work within the aforementioned 14 days period you will lose your right to cancel. If you decide to exercise your right to cancel, you must do so in writing (by post, fax or email) using my contact details.