Terms of Business

These are the standard terms on which Herschel Law Ltd accepts instructions. They apply alongside the client care letter you receive for your own matter, which takes precedence where the two differ.

Herschel Law Ltd, SRA number 8001050, company number 12289537.

Client Care and Terms of Business

When you instruct us you will receive a client care pack which includes a Client Care and Terms of Business Agreement and Client Care Information Pack which sets out the scope of the work, who will do it, what it will cost and the likely timescale.

The scope of our work

We advise on the matter described in your client care letter and on nothing else. We do not advise on tax consequences, financial products or the commercial merits of a transaction unless the letter says we do. We advise on the law of England and Wales only. If the scope changes, we tell you before it affects the cost and confirm the change in writing.

Our fees and how we charge

We charge on one of three bases, and your client care letter says which applies.

A fixed fee, where the work has a defined scope. It does not change unless the scope does, and only with your agreement in writing

Hourly rates of £200 to £350 plus VAT depending on the fee earner, where the matter cannot be scoped in advance. You receive an estimated range at the outset and updates on where costs stand

Stage by stage, where each stage is quoted separately and you decide whether to continue at each point

We will add VAT to our charge at the rate that applies when the work is done. At present VAT is 20%.

On 1 April each year the hourly rates are reviewed, and we will notify you in writing of any increased rate. Our published fees are on the pricing page updated annually.

Disbursements

There may be certain other disbursements, including payments we make on your behalf, such as Barrister fee and court fees which you will have to pay. VAT is also payable on some of these disbursements.

If as part of our work we are required to pay out funds by electronic transfer, for example to you, a bank or building society or the other side’s legal practitioner, charges will apply.

Billing and payment

We ask for a payment on account to cover initial costs or the whole amount depending on the matter. This will be outlined in the initial consultation and Quote provided to you. Any advance will be strictly used for your matter and held in the Client Trust Account until either disbursement has been incurred or work completed and a fees invoice raised.

If a matter does not proceed to completion we will send you an account of our charges incurred up to the point we cease acting on your behalf.

For the administration of estates we will usually send you a bill on account of our costs and disbursements after the grant of probate has been obtained and at intervals of one to three months thereafter during the administration of the estate. In appropriate circumstances and subject to your prior agreement we may send you bills more frequently. We will also send you a final bill for our costs and disbursements when the administration of the estate is completed. In all cases if we hold sufficient funds on your behalf and have sent you a final or interim bill we will usually deduct our charges from these funds.

If you have any questions about a bill please contact our firm as soon as possible.

You are entitled to complain about a bill. There may also be a right to object to the bill by making a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman or by applying to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974.

If an interim account is not paid within seven days of sending the bill, or a final account is not paid within 14 days of sending the bill, we reserve the right to terminate your instructions and to retain your papers until such time as the account is paid.

Where we require payment from you or others for the completion of your matter we may postpone completion until we are in receipt of cleared funds. We accept no liability for any loss arising from delay in the clearance of funds which is not attributable to us. We reserve the right to charge interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate.

Client money and interest

Money held on your behalf is held in a client trust account in line with the SRA Accounts Rules. We do not hold client money for more than 28 days.

Identity and source of funds checks

We are required by law to verify the identity of our clients and, in many matters, the source of the funds being used. We cannot begin work or complete a transaction until those checks are satisfied. In some circumstances we may have to report to the authorities without telling you that we have done so.

Confidentiality and conflicts

Everything you tell us is confidential and remains so after the matter ends, subject to our legal and regulatory obligations. We may disclose your file to our auditors, insurers and regulator, all of whom are bound by confidentiality.

We cannot act for you if doing so would create a conflict of interest with an existing client. If a conflict arises during a matter, we will tell you and explain what happens next.

How we communicate

We communicate by telephone, post and email. Email is not secure, and we are not responsible for messages that are intercepted, corrupted or fail to arrive. Tell us if you would prefer us not to use email for your matter.

Be wary of anyone emailing to say our bank details have changed. We do not change our bank details by email. Always telephone us on 01753 299611 to verify payment details before sending money.

Your file after the matter ends

We keep your file for 6 years and may destroy it afterwards without further notice. Deeds, wills and other original documents held in safe custody are kept separately. If you ask for the file back during that period we will provide it, and we do not charge for retrieval.

Ending the retainer

You may end the retainer at any time by telling us in writing. You remain liable for our charges and disbursements up to that point. We may stop acting only for good reason and on reasonable notice, for example where a conflict arises, where you do not give us the instructions we need or where our bills are not paid.

Limitation of liability and insurance

We do not accept liability for any loss or damage caused by negligence, non-performance or breach of duty to a value in excess of £2 million unless we have made a special arrangement with you at the outset of your matter.

No member or employee of our firm will be liable to you for breach of contract or negligence in their personal capacity.

Other than in respect of liability arising from fraud, personal injury or death, we do not accept liability for claims received more than 12 months from the conclusion of our work or, if not apparent within that time, more than 6 months after it becomes apparent.

Your statutory rights remain unaffected.

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 costs and disbursements.

We will only cease acting for you on good reason and after giving you reasonable notice. Possible reasons for our firm to terminate our retainer with you may include:

(a) Failure to respond twice to requests for instructions;

(b) Failure to respond to a request for information required by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002;

(d) Failure to pay an interim account;

(e) If a conflict of interest arises whereby we are no longer able to continue acting for you.

We also reserve the right to stop acting at any time in the event of rude or abusive conduct being directed against any member of staff.

If we stop acting for you, you must pay our charges up until that point. These are calculated by proportion of the agreed fee.

Governing law

These terms, and any dispute arising from them, are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.

How to contact us about this

Write to Herschel Law Ltd, 60 High Street, Slough, Berkshire SL1 1EL, email info@herschel-law.co.uk or call 01753 299611.

How to contact us