CASEY & CASEY SOLICITORS TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Your relationship with Casey & Casey: what you need to know about us

We recognise that at the beginning of your case it is likely that you have many questions about the terms upon which Casey & Casey undertakes work for its clients. It is vital that you are fully clear about our firm’s relationship with you and if following consideration of this letter you have any further queries, then please do not hesitate to raise these with us.

Some of the information which follows is prescribed by the Law Society of Northern Ireland, the solicitors’ governing body, as details to which you are entitled and we apologise for any repetition of things you may already know and for the rather standard nature of this letter. However we have also sought to deal with many other common initial questions.

As your solicitors it is our duty to use our professional skills and expertise to advance your case. We will use our professional judgement to take steps to protect your interests. This means that we will receive letters, emails and phone calls which we will be obliged to consider and respond to if it is in your interests.

We will also have to write and make telephone calls to try to advance your case. We cannot contact you for instructions every time we receive communication or we need to make an enquiry, as this will unnecessarily increase the costs of your case. We assure you that every effort will be made to keep you informed about the main developments in your case and we will contact you immediately for your instructions if anything significant or unusual occurs. We will also contact you if we receive information that affects our current views. We will seek your instructions and give you a written review on the issues at that point. You should bear in mind that as a case develops, the length of time it takes to resolve and the way in which it is progressed, is influenced not just by what we decide to do together but also how others decide to deal with your case.

If there is any new information that might affect your instructions, it is important that you tell us about it as soon as possible. It is useful to receive written confirmation of that information, either by letter or electronic means.

We will not institute any legal proceedings without first obtaining your express authority, but once legal proceedings have been instituted it is important that you understand that we are entitled to take steps which are usually taken in proceedings of this nature. Apart from our duty to you, we have obligations to the Court and/or Tribunal as Officers of the Court. It is important that you respond promptly to requests for information or instructions as failure to do so could harm your case. It is also important that you abide by any advice given by counsel or us.

We shall assume that we have your authority to incur routine expenditure e.g. police and medical reports as necessary. We will, however, revert to you as regards incurring any expenditure of an unusual nature such as retaining junior and senior counsel or the services of an expert or specialist.

1. Scope of your instructions

It is important at the outset that we are clear about the work that you wish us to undertake for you. We will discuss this fully with you upon receiving your instructions and where appropriate confirm these to you in writing. We will endeavour to keep you informed of all steps that we are taking on your behalf at any time, as well as making it clear when we require information or specific instructions from you.

It is our aim to provide a high quality service, whilst recognising the need to balance the work to be undertaken against the cost involved. It is for you to instruct us as to how you wish to proceed, However, it is then for us to advise you as to which steps should be taken, in the light of our expertise. It is also important that we record information, including the advice given, in writing for our file.

We note that your instructions require us to undertake the following work :- XXXXXXXXXX.

2. Who will carry out the work ?

XXXX will be primarily responsible for dealing with your case, with support as appropriate from the supervising partner YYYY. From time to time other members of staff will deal with some aspects of the work as appropriate although XXXX will have overall responsibility for the work. If it is necessary to re-allocate your work to another member of staff you will be advised accordingly.

Contact details for the solicitor primarily responsible for dealing with you case:

Telephone Number : 028 302 66214
E-mail address : law@caseysolicitors.co.uk
Fax Number : 028 302 60909
Office hours : Mon- Fri 9.00 am to 5.00 pm
Website : www.caseyandcaseysolicitors.co.uk (please consult for details of our terms and conditions)

It is important that you keep your contact details up-to-date. Please therefore notify us of changes to telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and postal addresses. Again we think as a precaution that you should follow up any telephone calls about these changes in writing.

3. Fees

Our charging methods are set out in the attached schedules. Fees and expenses payable in respect of interim invoices are payable within 30 days after the date of the invoice. Any outstanding fees and expenses will be payable on completion of a matter. If you do not pay within 30 days from the date of the invoice we will charge interest on the amount outstanding on the due date at the rate of 8% per annum.

We will not carry out further work until any outstanding bill is paid. If you have difficulty paying our fees then you should contact us as soon as possible.

When your case is concluded and we are holding money on your behalf, we will deduct our fees and expenses from the monies due to you and pay you the balance.

4. Accounts-general information

Where we receive money from you or from a third party which is to be applied on your behalf, this will be held in a separate client bank account which will be subject to the strict provisions of the Solicitors Accounts Rules.

5. Legal aid eligibility

You may be entitled to Legal Aid if you are in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance or Income Support or otherwise come within the financial limits applicable.

If you wish to avail of Legal Aid you must bring to your first appointment or at the earliest available opportunity, current documentation confirming your benefit details and/or those of your spouse/partner if they are in receipt of the relevant benefits. If you are on a low income or other benefit you may qualify to some extent for Legal Aid. Again, current payslips and benefit details must be brought to your first appointment or provided at the earliest available opportunity.

The Legal Aid rules provide for a contribution from you if your income exceeds the maximum level for free Legal Aid or assistance. If you are being assisted under the Green Form Scheme then the money is paid to this firm. If you are granted Legal Aid any contribution will be payable to the Legal Services Commission. Failure to make the payments assessed will result in assistance/Legal Aid being withdrawn and you will be responsible for all of our costs.

I am not able to accurately assess how much you may have to contribute in relation to civil legal aid. The Social Security Agency will make the assessment and it is important that you co-operate with them. The assessment is based on your net income, including that of your partner, how much money you/you both have in savings, the number of dependents and your outgoings. If at any time your financial circumstances change, for the better or worse, you should tell us immediately as we will have to notify the Legal Services Commission accordingly and a re-assessment of your financial position will be carried out.

The Legal Services Commission has what is called a statutory charge over any money or property recovered or preserved through the proceedings. The Legal Services Commission has what is called a statutory charge over any money or property recovered or preserved through the proceedings. The statutory charge arises where a legally assisted person keeps or gains money or property as a result of legal aid funding but where some or all of their legal costs are not recovered from their opponent, or from any contributions the assisted person had to pay towards their legal aid. In these circumstances the Commission has a legal obligation to pay the assisted person’s legal costs. At the same time, the Commission has a legal obligation to recoup its expenditure subject to some specified exemptions, from the money or property that the assisted person has kept or gained. This means that an assisted person may be required to repay to the Commission some or all of their legal costs from any money or property which they have kept or gained with the help of Legal Aid. The procedure for recouping Legal Aid funds in this way is called the “statutory charge”.

Please note that there is usually a significant time delay between applying for and the granting of Legal Aid. The grant of Legal Aid is not backdated and therefore costs incurred before you are in receipt of a full Legal Aid Certificate will not be covered and will remain your responsibility. If you cannot afford to pay for your case to progress and Green Form assistance has been used up, we will have to wait until a Legal Aid Certificate is available before we can take any further steps to progress your case.

Legal Aid is not presently available for certain types of work e.g. Industrial or Fair Employment Tribunal matters in Northern Ireland and that the maximum entitlement would be for advice only under the Green Form Scheme.

Re : Emergency Legal Aid Certificate

We would respectfully remind you that an Emergency Legal Aid Certificate is issued by the Legal Aid Department on an emergency basis without a full assessment of your capital and income having been carried out.

The Legal Aid Committee has the power to subsequently either discharge, revoke or replace the current Emergency Legal Aid Certificate by a Civil Aid Certificate.

In the event that any action is taken by the Legal Aid Department upon completion of your financial assessment other than to issue a replacement Legal Aid Certificate the Law Society of Northern Ireland has the right to recover from you the costs paid or payable out of the Legal Aid Fund less any money received from you by way of contribution.

In addition we as your Solicitors will have the right to recover from you the difference between the amount paid or payable out of the Legal Aid Fund and the full amount of our solicitor and client costs as taxed or agreed.

It is essential that you fully understand the terms of the Emergency Certificate as set out above and in view of the fact that this emergency certificate in the light of the foregoing or if you have any queries in relation to the Issue of an Emergency Certificate.

Re : Criminal Legal Aid

Legal Aid may be available for those charged with more serious criminal offences. This will depend on the nature of the offence and your disposable income. Your solicitor will make the application to the court and the judge will take the decision.

6. Termination of retainer

You may terminate our engagement on this matter in writing at any time. You will have to pay all outstanding fees and expenses up to the date of termination. We may retain all documents, deeds and other papers until payment of all monies due to us.

We may at some time consider that we ought to stop acting for you, for example, if you did not respond to any requests for information or did not abide by or accept any advice given.

You will be responsible for all the fees and expenses incurred to the date we cease to act and we may retain all documents, deeds and other papers until payment of all monies due.

On the termination of the retainer we will notify all relevant parties accordingly and if appropriate, apply to the court to come off record on your behalf.

7. Papers and documents

It may be necessary for us to retain personal data about you on our files and/or computer records. Examples can include financial information, bank details, sensitive personal data and medical records/reports. In accepting these Terms of Business you confirm that we may receive and hold confidential and/or sensitive personal data in relation to you and that, where appropriate, this may need to be disclosed to others, such as counsel/solicitor advocates, experts and other parties. If you have a concern about disclosure of any particular sensitive personal or commercial data please raise this with us at an early stage.

We will communicate with you by the most effective means, but we cannot be responsible for the security of correspondence and documents sent by fax, e-mail or other electronic means. If you have concerns about the confidentiality of any information sent by such electronic means, please let us know so we can arrange for secure transmission.

When a matter has completed we normally retain our correspondence file for a period of up to 6 years after completion. Thereafter the file will be destroyed without reference to you unless, before then, you notify us that you wish to retain some part of the file. Original documents will usually be returned to you, or the apparent owner.

8. Confidentiality and conflicts

We will at all times respect the confidential nature of any information which we receive from you subject only to our duty to disclose information to comply with our legislative and regulatory obligations. However, if as the matter proceeds other professional advisers become involved we will assume, unless you notify us otherwise, that we may disclose any such information to and discuss it with such other advisers as necessary. We have procedures designed to prevent our acting for one client in a matter where there is or could be, a conflict with the interest of another client for whom we are acting. If a conflict does arise then it will be up to us taking account of legal constraints, Law Society rules and the other client’s wishes to decide whether we should continue to act for both parties, for one or for neither.

On occasions we may be asked to advise a client in a similar line of business. In accepting these Terms of Business you agree that we will not be precluded from acting on behalf of other clients, whether current or future, who are in a similar line of business to you either during the conduct of this matter or after our retainer has been completed, unless there is a clear conflict of interest arising from the specific work that we do for you.

9. Money Laundering Regulations 2007

We are required by the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 to verify your identity before we can act or continue to act on your behalf in connection with this matter.

You will have to produce your original passport, driving licence or other official photographic identity document and either a recent utility bill or bank statement to confirm your address, as we require a copy of each for our file. You need to do this as soon as possible otherwise we will not be able to continue to act for you.

We may have to ask you questions about the proposed source and flow of funds for your case and make such further enquiries as may be relevant to the transaction. There also are circumstances under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 in which we are required to make a confidential report to the Serious Organised Crime Agency where we know or suspect that a criminal offence has been committed, and we may be prevented from informing you of this under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.

Because of the provisions in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 our policy is that we do not accept payments in cash exceeding £750.00.

10. Complaints Procedure
See Schedule 3

11.Cyber Crime
Please note that we do not request and we do not expect to receive your banking details by e mail. Our own bank details will be available if required if you call in person to the office. If you are unable to call please telephone the office and they will be posted to you once your identification has been verified.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

In no circumstances will we be liable to you for any loss arising out of or in connection with this engagement in contract, tort, by statute or otherwise, unless the loss is caused directly as a result of our negligence or default.

In all circumstances the potential total aggregate liability of our firm, whether for breach of contract, tort, including negligence and/or misrepresentation, breach of statutory duty (or otherwise), arising out of or in connection with our engagement, will be limited to an amount not exceeding £2,000,000.00. The potential total aggregate liability of our firm to you arising out of or in connection with our engagement will in addition be limited to the amount that could be met without recourse to the personal assets of any partner.

We shall not be liable for any indirect consequential loss or for loss arising out of any action necessary for us to take to comply with any Money Laundering Regulations 2007.

Where any loss is suffered by you for which we and any other person are jointly and severally liable, the loss recoverable by you from us shall be limited so as to be in proportion to our relative contribution to the overall fault, taking into account that other party’s liability. That other party may include you, for example, in a situation of contributory negligence.

If, as a result of any exclusion or limitation of liability agreed by you with any other person the amount, which you are able to recover is reduced, then our liability to you will be reduced by an equivalent amount.

We shall not be liable to any third party for any services or advice that we provide to you nor shall we have any liability to you for any services or advice given by any third party whom we instruct on your behalf, for example in relation to legal, financial or other professional advice.

JURISDICTION

These Terms of Business are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Northern Ireland.

We would ask you to return one signed copy of this letter/agreement as an acknowledgement that you accept these terms. In the meantime, in so far as we carry out work for you prior to receipt by us of the signed copy of this letter/agreement, or you raising particular concerns or issues about the content, the work will be deemed to be done on the basis of the terms set out above.

Finally our VAT number is 434 2160 85and we hold professional indemnity insurance covering all our activities as solicitors through Marsh LTD, Bedford House, Bedford Street, Belfast BT2 7DX. The professional rules applicable to solicitors may be found in The Solicitors Practice Regulations 1987 as amended and The Solicitors (Client Communication) Practice Regulations 2008 and may be accessed via the Law Society’s website : www.lawsoc-ni.org

In the event that any of these Terms of Business should become invalid, illegal or unenforceable then any remaining terms and clauses shall survive unaffected.

SCHEDULE 1

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS (LITIGIOUS)

Our fees will normally be calculated with reference to the time spent by members of staff involved in the matter. The work may include meetings with you and others, reading and working on papers, dealing with the other party’s solicitors, witnesses and counsel, and where necessary time spent travelling away from the office. Our hourly rates for members of staff take into account the experience and knowledge of those involved and the hourly rates are reviewed and may be increased if appropriate with effect from January 1st. each year.

The hourly rate for a partner or consultant is £125.00 plus VAT and the hourly rate for an assistance solicitor is £75.00 plus VAT.

We are unable to estimate the total number of hours at this stage but we will be able to provide you with historical details of time taken on request.

Incoming and outgoing telephone calls in and out, letters, e-mails and other electronic means of communication sent or received are charged at £20.00. Please bear this in mind when considering whether you need to contact the office outside our agreed contact arrangements. In addition to the cost of the time involved, we are entitled to take into account (amongst other things) the complexity, importance, urgency and difficulty of the matters involved, the number and importance of the documents involved, the skill and responsibility involved and the value of the transaction, together with its importance to the client. In certain instances percentage uplift on our hourly rate may be appropriate. Our uplift in this case is likely to be between 50 and 100 per cent. Please remember that VAT will be charged in addition to the total amount of the professional fees at the rate applicable on the date our bill/bills are delivered to you.

EXPENSES

The hourly rate does not include expenses incurred by the firm on your behalf. Examples include:

 Counsels’ fees;
 Experts/medical fees;
 Stamp duty;
 Court fees;
 Travel expenses;
 Bulk photocopying;
 International calls or conference telephone/video links;
 Bank charges e.g. electronic funds transfer;
 External or overseas lawyers/advisors such as accountants.

These will be shown separately on your bill and will be in addition to the professional fees. Such expenses will be your responsibility. We are under no obligation to make such payments unless you have provided us with the funds to do so. We will normally ask that significant expenses such as government charges to issue court documents, counsels’ or experts’ fees be paid in advance at the appropriate time. We will give you fourteen days advance notice of the date of payment. A charge is not normally made for routine work of support staff or for routine postal charges for mail.

RECOVERING COSTS FROM YOUR OPPONENT AND YOUR OBLIGATIONS

In litigation, even when successful, you may not recover the full costs of pursuing your case. There is nearly always an element of non-recoverable costs irrespective of the outcome of legal proceedings pursued or defended on your behalf. Some courts such as the County Court, operate on scale fees that set out the amount that can be recovered for legal costs. However, we may have to charge you more than the scale fees.

If you are unsuccessful in the legal proceedings then the Court may make an order for costs against you for some or all of the costs of other parties. Those costs and expenses are in addition to our own professional fees and expenses. If you are successful in the proceedings then, in certain circumstances, even if an order for another party to pay your costs is made, that party may not be willing or able to pay you.

We expect that at the conclusion of the proceedings you will, if requested, make full payment of our costs and outlays without waiting for payment from any other party. In the event of our recovering all or part of those costs from another party we will then account to you for that money.

Legal Expenses Insurance and Third Party Cover for Costs

In some circumstances you may find that your household or car insurance includes provisions for the payment of legal expenses. In certain circumstances your Trade Union may also provide cover. We would suggest that you check this and let us know the result of your enquiry as soon as possible.

EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL PROCEEDINGS

In proceedings before the Industrial and Fair Employment Tribunals in Northern Ireland it is important to note that costs remain your own responsibility from the outset to the conclusion of the proceedings.

Tribunals rarely award Costs Orders. Accordingly whether or not you are successful or your claim is settled or lost, you will be personally liable for the legal professional fees and expenses incurred on your behalf. It is therefore important that you respond to requests for information and documentation promptly and fully and that you co-operate with any direction issued from the Tribunal.

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Most contentious Court and Tribunal proceedings allow for the possibility of considering Alternative Dispute Resolution, whether by way of conciliation, arbitration or mediation. Such mechanisms can be quicker and cheaper and we are happy to discuss these with you at an early stage.

 

SCHEDULE 2

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS
(NON-CONTENTIOUS BUSINESS)

Our fees will normally be calculated with reference to the time spent by members of staff involved in the matter. The work may include meetings with you and others, reading and working on papers, dealing with the other party’s solicitors, witnesses and counsel, and where necessary, time spent travelling away from the office. Our hourly rates for members of staff take into account the experience and knowledge of those involved and the hourly rates are reviewed and may be increased if appropriate with effect from January 1st. each year.

The hourly rate for a partner or consultant is £125.00 plus VAT and the hourly rate for an assistance solicitor is £75.00 plus VAT.

We are unable to estimate the total number of hours at this stage but we will be able to provide you with historical details of time taken on request.

Incoming and outgoing telephone calls, letters, e-mails and other electronic means of communication sent or received are charged at £20.00. Please bear this in mind when considering whether you need to contact the office outside our agreed contact arrangements. In addition to the cost of the time involved, we are entitled to take into account (amongst other things) the complexity, importance, urgency and difficulty of the matters involved, the number and importance of the documents involved, the skill and responsibility involved and the value of the transaction, together with its importance to the client. In certain instances a percentage uplift on our hourly rate may be appropriate. Our uplift in this case is likely to be between 50 and 100 per cent. Please remember that VAT will be charged in addition to the total amount of the professional fees at the rate applicable on the date our bill/bills are delivered to you.

EXPENSES

Either

The hourly rate does not include expenses incurred by the firm on your behalf. Examples include:

 Counsels’ fees;
 Experts’/medical fees;
 Stamp duty;
 Court fees;
 Travel expenses;
 Bulk photocopying;
 International calls or conference telephone/video links;
 Bank charges e.g. for electronic funds transfer;
 External or overseas lawyers/advisors such as accountants.

These will be shown separately on your bill and will be in addition to the professional fees. Such expenses will be your responsibility. We are under no obligation to make such payments unless you have provided us with the funds to do so. We will normally ask that significant expenses such as government charges to issue court documents, counsels’ fees or expert fees, be paid in advance at the appropriate time. We will give you fourteen days advance notice of the date of payment. A charge is not normally made for routine work of support staff or for routine postal charges for mail.

SCHEDULE 3
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

Casey & Casey Solicitors

Our Mission

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards.

Client Care Contact

If you have a complaint, please contact Simon Casey, in writing. You can write to him at 25/27 Lower Catherine Street, Newry, County Down.

What Will Happen Next?

1 We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm or explain the details of the complaint in writing. We will also let you know the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint. You can expect to receive our letter within seven days of our receiving your complaint.

2 We will record your complaint in our central register and open a section within the central register for your complaint. We will do this within seven days of receiving your complaint. The central register will record the date the complaint was made, the name and address of the client, the date the complaint was dealt with and the outcome.

3 We will acknowledge your reply to our acknowledgement letter and confirm what will happen next. You can expect to hear from us within seven days of your reply.

4 We will then start to investigate your complaint. This may involve one or more of the following steps:
- We may ask the member of staff who acted for you to reply to your complaint within fourteen days.
- We may examine the reply and the information in your complaint file.
We may then ask for more information. This may take up to fourteen days from receiving the reply.

5 We may invite you to meet Simon Casey to discuss and, it is hoped, resolve your complaint. We will do this within fourteen days of receiving all the details we need from the member of staff who acted for you.

6 Within seven days of any meeting, we will write to you to confirm what took place and any suggestions we have agreed with you. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, we will send you a detailed reply to your complaint. This will include our suggestions for resolving the matter. This will happen within fourteen days of us completing the investigation.

7 At this stage, if you are still not satisfied you can write to us again. We will then arrange to review our decision. This will happen in one of the following ways:
- Simon Casey may review his own decision within fourteen days.
- We may arrange for someone in the firm who has not been involved in your complaint to review it. He or she will do this within twenty-eight days.
- We may ask another local firm of solicitors to review your complaint within fourteen days. We will let you know how long this process will take.
- We may invite you to agree to independent mediation. We will let you know how long this process will take.

8 We will let you know the result of the review within fourteen days of the end of the review. At this time we will write to you confirming our final position on your complaint and explain our reasons. If you feel we have not resolved the matter satisfactorily you can contact the Law Society of Northern Ireland to discuss the circumstances of the complaint and how we dealt it with. You must do this within 6 months of making the initial complaint. If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.