Terms of Engagement
1. Introduction
The following terms of engagement apply to all work carried out by Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors for clients except as otherwise agreed. The expression "we", "us" and "our" refer to Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors and "you" and "your" refer to our client.
Our intention is to provide you with the highest quality of service, handling your instructions with professional skill, care and attention.
These terms of engagement appear on a Web site operated on behalf of Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors (a partnership). The address of Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors for all correspondence relating to this Web site is at Citylink Business Park, Albert Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT12 4HB. All communications regarding this Web site should be addressed to the Head of Debt Recovery at the above address.
Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors is regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland and authorised by the Society to conduct investment business. A list of the partners' names and their professional qualifications is available for inspection at the above office. The partners are solicitors.
2. Use of our Web site
The content and design of the Web site pages are subject to copyright owned by Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors or used under licence from third party copyright owners. We permit you to make copies of our site as necessary incidental acts to your viewing of it and you are welcome to print pages for your personal use but no part of this Web site may be reproduced or transmitted for any other purpose.
You may not link to this site, nor frame it, without our express written permission.
From time to time this Web site may feature content related to the law and legal developments. Such content is intended to provide general guidance only and should not be regarded as a substitute for taking legal advice in relation to your particular circumstances. Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors has offices throughout Europe and alliances with law firms outside Europe. Content related to the law and legal developments featured on this Web site is based upon the laws of Northern Ireland unless otherwise expressly stated.
From time to time this Web site may also include links to other Web sites. These links are provided in order to enhance the interest of other featured content and are not intended to signify that Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors endorses or otherwise has any responsibility for the content of the linked Web site.
This web site is made available for public viewing on the basis that Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors exclude to the extent lawfully permitted all liability whatsoever for any loss or damage howsoever arising out of use of this web site or reliance upon the content of this web site.
3. Account Manager
It is important that you are kept fully informed of progress in carrying out your instructions. In addition to any specific method of communication and reporting agreed with you, we operate an 'Account Manager' system to ensure that you have a single, senior lawyer who will maintain an overview of your affairs and have ultimate responsibility for ensuring that your requirements are met.
4. Instructions
Advice rendered by us is provided for the purpose of the instructions to which it relates and for your benefit. It may not be used or relied on for any other purpose or by any person other than yourself without our prior agreement.
We shall not be responsible for any failure to advise or comment on any matter which falls outside the scope of your instructions.
5. Charges
Our fees are based on the various criteria laid down by statute which states that our charges are to be fair and reasonable having regard to all the circumstances.
We will normally charge fixed fees for uncontested debt recovery.
If any matter becomes contested or if complications are noticed when considering your initial instructions then, our charges are normally calculated by reference to the current hourly rates of the lawyers concerned applicable at the time the work for you is done.
We will obtain your consent before carrying out work for which an hourly rate will be charged.
Hourly rates vary according to the level of seniority of each lawyer and expertise required; your instructions will be carried out at a level appropriate to providing an efficient and economic service.
Hourly charging rates are reviewed periodically and will be increased automatically at that time. When requested, we shall notify you of the current rates applicable to your work.
If you require, we can tell you when fees reach a certain level and place a limit on the level of charges that we may incur without further reference to you.
Any estimate is given only as a guide to assist you in budgeting and should not be regarded as a firm quotation unless otherwise agreed in writing.
6. Expenses and disbursements
In appointing us to act on your behalf, you are also authorising us, unless you instruct us to the contrary, to incur such expenses and disbursements as we consider necessary which you will be required to reimburse to us. We will consult you before incurring any significant expenses or disbursements.
Examples of expenses and disbursements which we may have to pay on your behalf include court and commissioner's fees and fees of barristers and other experts.
If we are dealing with a contested matter, we reserve the right to charge expenses of travel, accommodation and meals while travelling away from the office and also for photocopying costs incurred on your behalf.
7. Value Added Tax
Any estimates or quotations given by us are net of VAT (17.5%), which will be charged as applicable on our fees and on those expenses and disbursements that are liable for VAT.
8. Accounts
We will submit invoices to you at regular intervals (usually monthly) or at appropriate stages in the conduct of the matter.
We reserve the right to request payments in advance on account of fees and disbursements.
9. Payment
Payment is due upon presentation of our invoice. If an account is not paid on the due date, we shall be entitled to charge interest on the amount outstanding (including any expenses and VAT) at a rate of 1% per month, as per the Solicitors (Remuneration) Order (NI) 1977.
If an account is overdue for payment, we reserve the right to suspend work and to retain documents and papers belonging to you and your associates, irrespective of the matter to which they relate, until all sums outstanding to us are paid.
When we receive instructions from, or on behalf of, more than one person or company to deal with any particular matter, each person or company for whom we are acting will be separately responsible for payment of the full amount of our fees and disbursements.
10. Termination of instructions
You may withdraw your instructions at any time by written notice to us.
We may decline to act further by giving you written notice where we have reasonable grounds to do so (including failure by you or your associates to settle invoices in full on the due date or to make payments in advance when so requested).
11. Money Held By us
Money held by us (and accrued interest) may be taken by us in payment or part payment of our invoices, whether overdue or not. This extends to money held for your associates.
12. Litigation
If we are dealing with a contested matter there are a number of specific points that you should be aware of:
You are responsible for paying our account even if the court eventually orders another party to contribute towards your legal costs. You should be aware that there are sometimes difficulties and/or delays in assessing and recovering these costs.
The court has wide-ranging discretion to determine which party(ies) should bear the cost of the proceedings and in what proportion. This is usually exercised to order an unsuccessful litigant to pay a proportion of the successful litigant's costs. The court can order you to make immediate payment of costs at any stage in the proceedings.
Only in exceptional cases will the court make an award which gives the successful litigant a right to the full reimbursement of the costs of the proceedings. You should therefore assume that even if your action is successful there will be additional costs payable to us over and above anything recovered from the other side. In cases where another party is legally aided it is most unlikely that you will be able to recover any costs. Costs will include our fees and disbursements in preparing a bill for submission to the other side.
If you lose an action, you will be liable to pay our fees and disbursements. In addition, the court is also likely to exercise its discretion to order you to pay a proportion of your opponent's costs.
If you have legal fees insurance, you should also be aware that insurers rarely pay bills before completion of the case, and you will remain liable to pay our bills when rendered during and at the end of the case even if you have not yet been indemnified by your insurers.
If you withdraw an action, the other party is entitled to have an order made by the court for you to pay costs.
In cases before tribunals, cost orders are very rarely made against unsuccessful parties and you should not expect to recover any of our fees and disbursements even if you are successful.
In any action you will be required to disclose to the other parties anything in which information of any description is recorded, including documents, correspondence, notes, memoranda, computer databases, videos and audio tapes, which are or have been in your control and which relate in any way to the issues in the case. This duty covers records which may be prejudicial to your case but which, subject to certain 'privileged' exceptions, you are nevertheless obliged to reveal. The obligation of disclosure is ongoing until the action is over and therefore all such records must be kept in safe-keeping. This obligation is onerous and you may be liable for severe penalties including fines and/or imprisonment in cases of deliberate non-disclosure. If in any doubt as to whether to preserve records you should err on the side of preservation.
13. Confidentiality and conflicts
All information regarding your business and affairs will be regarded as, and kept confidential at all times unless you instruct us to disclose information or we are compelled to disclose it by law, for example, where money laundering is suspected or other fraud or crime is involved.
An actual or potential conflict between your interests and the interests of another client of the firm may arise during the course of a matter. If this situation arises during our dealings with you, we will discuss the position with you and determine the appropriate course of action. In order to protect your interests, our professional rules may require us to stop acting for you on that matter.
14. File storage
Files and other papers relating to your matters will be stored for such time as we judge reasonable or for such time as we are required by law to do so, after which we may destroy them. Such files or papers may be preserved on microfilm or by other means of image processing. This applies to all files and papers retained by us other than title deeds, wills and similar items.
15. Complaints
If you have any comments or concerns about the services that we provide, or, you wish to discuss any aspect of the way in which your instructions are being handled and you do not wish to raise these with the individual lawyer involved, please speak to either our Head of Debt Recovery or our Managing Partner.
16. Regulation
We are regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland and authorised by the Society to conduct investment business.
A list of our partners' names and their professional qualifications is available for inspection at the address below. Our partners are solicitors.
17. E-mail Communications
If you have the necessary facilities we will sometimes use E-mail for communication with you unless you tell us not to.
If certain communications should not be sent over the Internet please let us know.
Viruses or other harmful devices may be spread over the Internet. We take reasonable precautions to prevent these problems by use of a fire wall and virus checking software. If we are to communicate by E-mail, it is on the basis that you will do likewise.
18. Privacy Statement
This statement sets out our policy in relation to holding and using information which we may obtain from you in the course of your use of our Web site.
If you have opted to provide us with information about yourself, we may use this information to ensure that we can give you the best possible service and to contact you by E-mail or by post to send you details about our services or to send you bulletins which we believe may be of interest to you. If you do not want us to use the information in this way please inform your Account Manager.
Under the Data Protection Act, you may request details of personal information we hold about you. Please send such requests to the address below, marked for the attention of the "Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors Data Protection Compliance Officer". A fee will be payable. If you believe that any information we hold about you is incorrect or incomplete, you should write without delay to the Data Protection Compliance Officer at the same address. Any information which is found to be incorrect will be corrected promptly.
19. Associates
These terms shall apply to you and your associates, which, for the purposes of these same terms, includes all companies which you control, or, if you are a company forming part of a group, all companies in that group.
20. Jurisdiction
The High Court of Northern Ireland shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute which may arise between us. To this end, you and we irrevocably agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the High Court of Northern Ireland and irrevocably waive any objection to any action or proceedings being brought in that Court or any claim that any such action or proceeding has been brought in any inconvenient forum. Judgment in any suit, action or proceedings brought in the High Court of Northern Ireland shall be conclusive and binding and may be enforced in the courts of any other jurisdiction.
