STANDARD TERMS OF SERVICE
The basis on which I carry out professional work
1. I am the only person you are instructing and I personally will do all the work needed under this arrangement unless you agree otherwise. I am a sole practitioner, but I have relationship with other professional service providers who may be able to provide you with additional support and services. I am required to provide services to the standard of reasonable skill and care expected by my profession. I specialise in employment law and so will not be able to advise you in relation to any issues relating to tax, or other issues that fall outside my area of expertise. You agree that you have understood the areas in which I will be able to provide advice and will obtain advice from another practitioner if necessary
2. If for any reason I cannot carry out all the work you are instructing me to do, or if I want to suggest that another barrister or professional (instead of me, or as well as me) carries out the work for you I may propose this. However, another barrister or professional will not carry out the work for you unless and until you have agreed to an arrangement and have instructed the other barrister. It is possible that they will require a higher fee than you agreed with me to carry out the work. If you feel you would be happier with the services provided by an organisation (rather than an individual), you need to instruct a firm of solicitors.
3. A single case may involve several different hearings. For example a claim in the Employment Tribunal might involve a hearing to agree a timetable for the preparation of the case and / or a hearing on a preliminary issue (called a PH) a hearing on the merits and a remedy hearing, all of which take place on different days. You might initially instruct me to represent you at only one hearing, for example the PH, but if you wish me to represent you at further hearings it is necessary to reach agreement with me and you must not assume that I will be available to represent you in the absence of agreement.
The range of barrister work
4. You agree that before signing the Letter of instruction you have read the Standard Terms of Service and client care information I have sent you.
5. You understand that I am not a solicitor and cannot run the case or manager your affairs for you. I am able to only provide you with advice and assistance and to represent you at any hearing.
6. You agree that you have understood the services that I am able to provide and the services I am not able to provide and have decided that I am able to provide the services you require.
7. As you are instructing me without a solicitor, you agree that:
a. You are able to do whatever is necessary for those matters that I cannot deal with; or
b. You have an arrangement with another person of suitable competence and experience to provide these services with you. I may be able to provide you with names of firms or organisation that can help, but cannot make any promises with regard to the fees they will charge.
Circumstances when I may not be able to act for you
8. In all my professional work I must follow the Bar Code of Conduct and I may have to cease to act for you as a result of the provisions of the Code of Conduct. You agree that I may do this at my own discretion and I will not be liable for any loss or expense caused to you if I cease to act for you due to the requirements of following the Code of Conduct.
9. If I act for you under the Direct Access provisions, if I consider that a solicitor needs to be instructed in your own interests or for some other professional reason; I will no longer be able to act for you other than on the instructions of a solicitor. There may be other circumstances in which I may decide that I have to cease to act for you under the code of conduct. If I foresee that situation arising, I will give you as much notice as possible. I will not be liable for any additional expense that this may cause you.
10. If you are instructing me to appear for you in court, a tribunal, mediation or arbitration or carry out some other work on a specified day it is possible that an unforeseen clash of commitments or some other serious matter occurs (For example if I have previously appeared in court on a particular case and there is a further hearing, the courts selects a date for a further hearing without checking whether the barristers are free). These occasions are rare, but they may result in me being unable to appear for you on a particular day despite us having previously agreed that I would. You agree that I will not be liable for any loss or additional costs caused to you by this.
11. If I identify a possible clash of commitments (meaning I will not be able to work on your case) I will try my best to do the following if possible:
a. Attempt to change the date of any clashing commitments.
b. Warn you as soon as possible and ask you how you would prefer to continue. As a result it would be helpful if you would give me a phone number where I would always be able to contact you.
c. Suggest the name of another barrister (of a suitable level of seniority and expertise), who is willing to accept your case under the same terms as this agreement. You would then need to decide if you want to instruct that barrister.
d. Discuss with you the costs of using another barrister.
Documents
12. You and I agree that:
c. I am entitled to keep copies of any documents you give me for my own professional records;
d. I will return all your original documents to you when I have carried out the work you have instructed me to do;
e. I am able to charge you a reasonable amount for copying documents;
f. I am able to hold documents electronically with a third party, for example Evernote or Google; and
g. I may have to provide the documents to third party for copying or forwarding to me electronically.
13. If you instruct me to appear in a court, tribunal, arbitration or mediation it is important that you provide me with the documents sufficiently far ahead for me to be able to prepare properly. You agree to provide me with the bundle of documents and any witness statements you have agreed with the other side at least 14 working days before the start of the hearing or longer if it is agreed in the letter of instruction. If you do not do so I may at my own discretion discharge this agreement between us and will not be required to represent you. You agree that in those circumstances I will not be liable for any loss or expense caused if I cease to act for you and that I may charge you a reasonable fee for any work I have done up until that date.
14. You agree to take reasonable steps to retain copies of all relevant documents for a period of seven years.
Fees
15. Under the agreement, the client is responsible for paying my fees, unless there is an intermediary in which case the intermediary is responsible for paying my fees. If I am owed any fees, interest will be payable at 8% from 28 days of the date of the fee note.
16. My fees for representation at the tribunal or court may include the following: a retainer; a preparation fee; an attendance fee; a fixed fee. The meanings are set out below.
17. If the instructions are to represent you at a hearing I may require the payment of a retainer, to reserve time in my diary as a condition of agreeing to accept the instruction (this will usually only be if it is a long hearing). We agree that I will not reserve time in my diary for the hearing until the payment is paid if required. If the instructions are cancelled outside of the 14 day cancellation period you agree that I the retainer is not refundable.
18. The preparation fee described in the Letter of Instruction (also described as a brief fee) is to compensate me for (1) preparing for the case (2) and reserving the dates in my diary to appear in court and prepare for the case, which will make me unavailable for other work. You agree that I will not book the dates out of my diary until the preparation fee (or retainer if appropriate) is paid. Unless otherwise agreed the preparation fee is due either (1) when I receive the bundle or documents for trial (2) and / or the witness statements for trial (3) three weeks before the first day of the trial. Once the preparation fee is incurred you agree that it is not refundable.
19. The attendance fee is to compensate me for attendance at the employment tribunal or court. This will be due in advance as set out in the Letter of Instruction. If case is cancelled or does not take the number of days allocated, I will refund all or part of the preparation fee, depending on the number of days that I am no longer required and any additional work that I am required to do.
20. If the work is done under a fixed fee, this will be to cover both my preparation, attendance at the tribunal and reserving the days in my diary. Unless otherwise stated in the letter of instruction, the fixed fee is incurred 3 weeks before the first day of the hearing. Once the fixed fee is incurred, you agree it is not refundable.
21. If I am unable to represent you because of a clash of commitments I will return any fee for preparation for the hearing within 28 days.
22. Unless otherwise stated in the Letter of instruction you are liable to pay my fees within 14 days of me sending you an invoice.
23. Unless otherwise stated in the Letter of Instruction the fee for any work I do will be charged at an hourly rate of £250 + VAT or a day rate of £1,000+VAT. A day is more than 4 hours work on any given calendar day, including travel and waiting, or any hearing which is listed for a day.
Your Right to Cancel
24. After the contract is concluded you have the right to cancel the contract within 14 days and receive a refund of any money paid, save in the circumstances set out below. Any refund will be provided within 14 days of the date of cancellation.
25. If the work consisted of providing written or oral advice, drafting documents, or any form of written work and you have asked me to commence work within the 14 day period and cancelled the contract within that period I am entitled to charge a reasonable amount for any work that I have done between the date of agreeing the contract and the date of cancellation of the contract, in proportion to what work has been carried out. The work will be charged at the rate of £250 per hour + VAT if no other rate has been agreed between us for the work.
26. If the instructions are to appear in court and they are cancelled for whatever reason after the preparation fee or fixed fee is due, the preparation fee or fixed fee is still incurred in full and is not refundable. This is because I will have had to start preparation for the hearing and keep the dates in my diary. If the instructions are cancelled before the preparation or fixed fee is due I may at my discretion charge up to £250 per day of the case + VAT to compensate me for booking time out of my diary and losing other potential work. I will discuss this with you and try and agree an amount. In the absence of agreement the fee is it my discretion.
27. If you wish to cancel please send it to me in the following form:
To Kevin Harris, klh@klharris.lawyer
I/We [*] herby give notice that I/We [*] cancel my/our [*] contract for the supply of the following service [*], Ordered on [*],
Your name(s): XX Your address(s)
General obligations
28. The information which you give me will be received in professional confidence. The only exception is that statutory and other legal requirements may cause me to disclose information which I have received from you to governmental or to the regulatory authorities and to do so without first obtaining your consent to such disclosure or telling you that I have made it. Additionally, I may need to discuss certain aspects of your case with my clerks or other legal professionals order to manage my diary and administer my practice. I may also need to discuss certain aspects of your case with colleagues. For example in a situation such as para 4b above. You agree in advance that I am able to do this. If I need to take any steps to enforce the terms of this agreement, you agree I can share your details with third parties to enable me to do so. If I need to take steps to enforce this agreement you agree professional privilege between us is waived to the extent necessary for me to enforce the agreement.
29. Nothing in this agreement whether express or implied shall have the effect of causing my liability, whether in the type or extent or quantum of damage, to exceed liability at common law and in tort if no such contract were to exist.
30. In this agreement shall confer any benefit on any third party and the rights of any third party to enforce any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 is hereby excluded, except in a case where I am instructed by an intermediary on behalf of a client and in such a case rights will only extend to the lay client.
31. This document and the letter of instruction are the entire agreement between us and no representation or warrantee may be relied upon by either party if it does not appear in the letter of instruction or terms of service.
32. No variation to the letter of instruction or the terms of service shall be effective unless it is writing and signed by both parties or both parties otherwise make their agreement clear in writing.
Legal Aid and Insurance Funding
33. I shall not be advising whether you are likely to be eligible for public funding through the Legal Services Commission or whether you are covered by a policy of insurance.
34. Legal aid does not normally apply in employment and work place disputes, but you can find out more information on the www.gov.uk website:
https://www.gov.uk/community-legal-advice
If you wish to be assessed for legal aid for a civil case you can contact Community Legal Advice. This is a service which provides advice about family, debt, benefits, housing, education or employment problems. You can call them on: 0845 345 4345. You can also use their online legal aid calculator. This is a tool which allows you to check whether you can get legal aid for your case, if it is a civil case. This tool allows you to get online advice and can help you find a legal adviser near you:
http://legalaidcalculator.justice.gov.uk/calculators/eligiCalc?execution=e2s1
Insurance Policy
36. I have in place a policy of insurance of £2,500,000 and am required by my Code of Conduct to have in place insurance to cover any possible claim for professional negligence. You agree that the value of any claim or any loss or damage you may suffer in connection with the work I carry is less than £2,500,000 and that I will be entering into this agreement on the basis of that representation. If you believe the value is higher I may be able to arrange higher insurance cover, but you will need to discuss this with me. You agree my liability for professional negligence or breach of contract shall be limited to £2,500,000.
37. My insurance is only valid for working conducted in England and Wales. You agree that the instruction does not involve work outside those jurisdictions.
38. My insurance is provided by the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund. Their contact details can be found on their website:
https://www.barmutual.co.uk/
Jurisdiction
39. This agreement is made under English law and the English courts have exclusive jurisdiction in respect of any dispute as to the terms of this agreement.
Complaints
40. I hope you will be happy with the professional services I provide. However, if you are not satisfied, you should first refer the matter to me in accordance with my complaints procedure, a copy of which is attached..
41. If you are not happy with the outcome you can contact the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman is a free, impartial and independent service set up by the Government which deals with complaints about the service you have received.
42. You must complain to the Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint from myself (provided the response specifically notifies you of your right to complain to the Ombudsman and of the six month time limit). A complaint to the Ombudsman must also be made not more than six years after the act or omission complained about or not more than three years from the date when you should reasonably have known that there were grounds for complaint.
43. For further details about how to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, including guidance about the new scheme rules that came into effect on 1 February 2013, please contact the Legal Ombudsman directly at:
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Phone: 0300 555 0333
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk