Large & Gibson Solicitors in Portsmouth, Hampshire
POLICY ON INITIAL INTERVIEWS

Terms & Conditions

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY - THIS DOCUMENT SETS OUT THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ON WHICH WE WILL ACT FOR YOU

  1. About Us

    Large & Gibson is a firm of Solicitors established in 1899. We are proud of the good reputation we have built up over many years. Our contact details are as follows:

    Large & Gibson,
    49 Kent Road,
    Portsmouth,
    Hants,
    PO5 3EJ.
    Tel: 023 9229 6296
    Fax 023 9282 6134
    Email: reception@largeandgibson.co.uk

    V.A.T. Registration Number 108 5761 65

    Office hours Monday to Friday - 9:15 a.m. - 5.15 p.m. Out of hours appointments and home and hospital visits by prior arrangement.

    We are a Partnership regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) No. 00053634 and we are subject to the Solicitors Code of Conduct. Should you wish to access those rules please visit the SRA website www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/code-of-conduct.

  2. Our Service

    Our aim is to provide a competent, professional and friendly service to our Clients. We hope you will find we achieve this aim. Do bear in mind :-

    1. You can help us progress your matter by giving us prompt and clear instructions when asked for them;
    2. Sometimes the progress of your matter may be determined by factors beyond our control eg. delays in communications with third parties or by the conduct of your opponent or by Court procedures which have to be followed;
    3. You must meet your financial obligations to us in respect of interim billing and payments on account of disbursements (for details of which see below);
    4. We are bound by professional rules of ethical conduct which may affect whether we can accept your instructions to act in a particular matter or whether we can continue to act e.g. where there is a potential conflict of interest.

  3. Responsibility for the Work

    1. At the outset of the matter we will identify the person responsible for the day to day conduct of your matter ("the case worker") and his/her status.
    2. The case worker may change although we will endeavour to avoid this as far as possible.
    3. The case worker may from time to time arrange for other persons in the firm to assist in your matter in which case you will be advised before hand wherever practical.
    4. In addition, if the case worker is not a partner then a partner will be appointed to have overall responsibility for your matter, the name of this partner will be identified to you at the outset ("the supervising partner").
    5. We may in some circumstances brief a barrister to represent you in Court in which case the choice of barrister will be made in consultation with yourself beforehand if possible.

  4. Complaints

    1. In the event of your having any cause to complain about the manner in which you matter is being handled then you should first make the complaint known to the case worker dealing with your matter and if he/she cannot satisfactorily deal with it you should request the case worker to refer your matter to the supervising partner.
    2. If the case worker and supervising partner is the same person then you should request that the matter should be referred to the partner with overall responsibility for complaints, the Senior Partner, Mr Richard Wootton. If your complaint relates to Mr Richard Wootton then you should direct your complaint to Mr Peter Dymock.
    3. Although as a firm we receive few complaints, when we do we always take them seriously, indeed under our professional rules we are obliged to handle complaints in a formal manner. Our aim is to eliminate complaints and we always look to ways to improve our service. Your suggestions are always welcome. If you have a complaint which you do not feel has been satisfactorily dealt with by us internally then you can take your complaint to any independent outside body, namely the Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 15870, Birmingham, B30 9EB. Tel No 0300 555 0333. Further in formation is available at www.legalombudsman.org.uk.
    4. You are entitled to complain about the bill you received from us. There may also be a right to object to the bill by making a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman (see details above) and/or by applying for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974.

  5. Fees

    1. When we are acting for you on a private paying basis the following will apply:

      1. We will charge for the work done on our usual terms. Our charges will be calculated according to the seniority of the person dealing with the matter and by reference to the time spent in dealing with this matter, letters written, number of telephone calls etc. There is attached hereto an appendix setting out this firm's charges. No concessions apply unless expressly agreed between us in writing at the outset of your matter.
      2. You will whenever possible be provided with an estimate of our likely fees for acting for you in this matter but you should appreciate that this is necessarily approximate only depending on the amount of work done, time spent, letters written etc. Factors beyond our control may sometimes have a bearing on the progress and amount of work involved e.g. the conduct of your opponent, or by Court procedures which have to be followed. An estimate is liable to revision as the case progresses.
    2. Public Funding i.e. legal aid may be available to you in this matter. If so then your case worker will advise you about applying for Public Funding; if you are unsure of your position then you should consult with your case executive. We shall not be able to accept your instructions if we do not hold a Franchise from the Legal Services Commission (“LSC”) in the particular category of work for which you require Public Funding.
    3. To help you find a solicitor undertaking Publicly Funded work in the category of work you require you may contact Community Legal Service Direct either by calling 0845 345 4345 or log on to www.clsdirect.org.uk.

  6. Professional Indemnity Insurance

    In accordance with the disclosure requirements of the Provision of Services Regulations 2009 our professional indemnity insurer is Zurich Insurance plc. Address: Zurich Professional & Financial Lines, The London Indemnity Centre, 3 Minster Court, Mincing Lane, London EC3R 7AD. The territorial coverage of our policy is worldwide.

  7. Payments on Account

    1. It is our normal practice to ask for a payment on account of our anticipated costs and disbursements at the beginning of the case and at intervals thereafter and you will be advised of the amount of the first payment required at the beginning of your case.
    2. In addition we will at regular intervals (notified to you at the outset) during the course of the matter render to you bills of costs for work carried out. We refer to these as “interim bills”
    3. An interim bill may not reflect exactly the amount of work done to date on your case and if so you can ask us to substitute an itemised account if you prefer. Either way, interim fees billed and paid will be deducted from your final itemised bill at the end of the case.
    4. It is a condition of our continuing to act for you in this and any other matter that you should promptly settle required payments on account and bill of costs.

  8. Paying our bill

    1. Payment of all accounts is due on delivery, accounts which are outstanding (whether all or in part) for more than one month attract interest at 8% simple per annum until payment.

    2. We accept payment of our bill by any one of the following methods:

      1. cash
      2. personal cheque
      3. bankers draft or building society cheque
      4. by bank transfer/on-line banking/Fast Pay (in which case on request we will provide you with our bank details for this purpose)
      5. debit card
      6. Credit Card - we accept the following credit cards - MasterCard, Visa, Maestro, Solo (surcharge applies) - see below
    3. For payment by Credit Card only a surcharge of 3.5% (inclusive of v.a.t.) per transaction is applicable and will be shown separately on your bill if you select this payment option. The surcharge is based on the gross sum to be paid per transaction.
    4. We only accept payment by Credit Card or Debit Card for costs and disbursements.
    5. For payment by cash as a general policy we only accept payment in cash over £1000 by prior agreement.

  9. Instructions on Behalf of a Limited Company, LL.P or other Organisation

    We will accept your instructions to act on behalf of a Limited Company, LL.P or other Organisation however in consideration of our accepting your instructions so to act :

    1. You (or each one of you if more than one) thereby personally warrant

      1. that you are an officer or a representative of the Company, LL.P or other Organisation duly authorised by the Board of Directors, members of the LL.P or appropriate officers of the Organisation to give us instructions to act;
      2. that the Company, LL.P or Organisation is solvent and able to pay its debts (including the fees due to this firm) as and when they fall due;
      3. you will inform us immediately should either of the foregoing change
    2. In default of payment by the Company, LL.P or Organisation within 28 days of any invoice rendered by us, you personally (jointly and severally) guarantee and accept liability as principal debtor to pay us forthwith any unpaid professional fees and disbursements and interest thereon together with any additional legal costs incurred by us trying to recover the same from the Company.

  10. Orders for Costs

    It may be that in the event of your matter being concluded successfully you may be entitled to payment of your costs by some other party but if this is applicable you should note the following:-

    1. The above provision as to payments on account will still apply (although you may receive a refund).
    2. The other party may not be ordered to pay the full amount of your costs and/or may not be capable of paying what they have been ordered to pay in which case you are still liable for the whole of your costs not recovered and paid.

  11. Public Funding

    If you are publicly funded then you should carefully read the application forms and other literature with which you are provided and note the following:

    1. You must notify the Legal Services Commission of any material change in your personal or financial circumstances;
    2. You should cooperate with the Legal Services Commission in any assessment or reassessment of your means;
    3. You may be liable to pay a contribution towards your Legal Aid out of income (i.e. a monthly payment during the case) or out of capital depending on your resources;
    4. If as a result of being legally aided you recover or preserve any money or property then the Legal Services Commission will apply "the statutory charge" against any such money or property;
    5. If the case is won, your opponent may not be ordered to pay the full amount of your costs and may not be capable of paying what they have been ordered to pay. The effect of the statutory charge is that the amount of our fees, less any contribution paid by you or your costs paid by your opponent, will be deducted from any monies recovered or preserved. The statutory charge does not apply in every single case, there are exemptions in certain circumstances e.g. it does not apply to the first £3000 of any money or property recovered or preserved in divorce and most other family proceedings.
    6. The Legal Services Commission may agree in certain circumstances not to enforce their charged upon property e.g. where the property recovered or preserved is required as a home for the assisted person or his/her dependants but in this case the charge will become liable to interest at the rate from time to time prescribed.
    7. Even if you are publicly funded, if you lose you may still be ordered by the Court to contribute to your opponent's costs.
    8. If you are granted Emergency public funding but after an assessment of your means it is found you do not qualify for public funding you will be liable to pay the costs of preparing your case until the date your Certificate is revoked.
    9. If you fail to co-operate with the Legal Services Commission means assessment or provide information which is false your Public Funding Certificate may be revoked in which case you may be required to pay some or all of the costs of preparing your case until the date your Certificate is revoked. If there is an increase in your financial means (a) this may affect the amount of any contribution you have to pay towards your costs (b) you may no longer be eligible for Public Funding in which case your Certificate will be discharged. Thereafter you will be liable for the costs on a private paying basis assuming you wish to continue.
    10. Your Public Funding Certificate may be discharged in certain circumstances eg. because you fail to pay your contributions, or because we no longer consider your case has reasonable prospects of success (in which case we are obliged to inform the Legal Services Commission of this). In the event of discharge of your certificate, you will still be liable to pay the arrears of contributions towards your Legal Aid costs accrued to the date of discharge.

  12. Conditional Fees (so called "no win, no fee")

    1. The firm may be able to act for you under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). The facility of CFA's is available in all civil cases, except matrimonial. Whether it is possible for us to act for you under a CFA depends on assessment of the merits of your case. The prospects of success must be more than 50%.
    2. We may not be able to offer you a CFA from the outset whilst we investigate your matter (in which case you will still be liable for your legal costs and expenses on our usual terms)
    3. You will also be responsible for meeting the disbursements on your case as they are incurred.
    4. If we agree to act for you under a CFA you will need to sign the appropriate form. If you lose, although you will not have to pay your own legal costs you will be responsible for your opponent's legal costs and expenses. Insurance may be available alongside a CFA to cover all or part of the liability for your opponents costs if you lose your case. There are a number of insurers now in this market. We are familiar with a range of products and can discuss which best suits your case. We do not recommend any particular product and we do not receive a commission.

  13. Success Fee (Only applicable to CFA's - see above)

    1. At the end of your case, if you are successful under a CFA we are entitled to charge you a "success fee". This will be agreed with you at the outset and is a percentage uplift of our normal charges (not a percentage of your damages) depending on our assessment of the risk element on the evidence then available. In a successful case we should be able to recover our success fee and the CFA insurance premium from your opponents or their insurers (but see below).
    2. In CFA cases your opponent may argue the success fee is too high and / or that the insurance premium is not fully recoverable.

  14. Deductions from monies held or received by us on your behalf

    1. By giving us instructions to act in your matter, you also give us your authority to deduct and withhold from any monies (as a first charge on such monies) received by us on your behalf eg. damages due to you :-

      1. monies due to us in respect of an outstanding bill which has been delivered;
      2. any unbilled disbursements (particulars of which will be notified to you).
    2. You may be asked during your matter to sign an authority for payment of your damages to this firm (which monies will be held to your order on our Client Account subject to 10(a) above).
    3. In Publicly Funded cases the "statutory charge" may apply to monies due to you (see 7 (iv)above).
    4. We will account to you for interest accrued on monies held on your behalf on our Client Account.

  15. Confidentiality and authority to communicate with 3rd parties

    1. The duty of confidentiality is fundamental to our relationship and the circumstances which override this are rare.

    2. However, by giving us instructions to act in your particular matter you give us consent

      1. to store information about you and your case both in a paper file or computerised data retrieval system subject to the provisions of the Data Protection legislation and subject to professional rules;
      2. to communicate with third parties in the legitimate progression of your case but without our disclosing confidential information (unless you have expressly waived your right to confidentiality)
      3. where necessary to conduct negotiations with 3rd parties on your behalf but where we need your instructions to settle we would normally seek your express instructions (and wherever possible to be confirmed by you in writing)
      4. to permit inspection of your file by auditors (for the preparation of our annual accounts) or if required by our Regulatory Body or by auditors from the Legal Services Commission as part of their quality checks. The LSC has a statutory right to inspect publicly funded files and all LSC staff are obliged by law to maintain confidentiality.

  16. Money Laundering Regulations

    1. Client identification

      1. We are obliged by law to establish the identity of the client with whom we are dealing and the nature of his/her business. Save in exceptional cases we will apply the same identification and enquiry procedures to every client of the firm.
      2. You as the client must complete a Personal Details Questionnaire and submit this at the outset of your matter. If you do not do so we may be obliged to refuse to act for you. We may also be required to request more information from you from time to time as the matter progresses to satisfy the Money Laundering Regulations in which case you will be expected to provide it.
      3. We have to do this because in the event that a client is using us to commit a Money Laundering offence we may also be prosecuted for assisting in that transaction. The obligations upon us are onerous. Under the current provisions if we know or ought to have known that a Money Laundering transaction is taking place then we can also be guilty of an offence.
      4. These Regulations affect our normal duty of client confidentiality but Parliament has decided that the laundering of money from the proceeds of crime is sufficiently important to override client confidentiality.
      5. We are obliged to report to the authorities any matter which might be suspicious and we may not be able to inform you that a report has been made (or the reasons for it) because the law prohibits it.

    2. Receipt of monies from you or for your benefit

      1. Another obligation upon us is the control of funds coming into our possession.Therefore unless you have a pre-agreement with us regarding the receipt of funds into our bank account we regret that any funds arriving i.e. by BACS or CHAPS Telegraphic Transfer we will not be able to receive them and we will return them. If funds arrive in circumstances we regard as suspicious then we may also have to make a report to the SOCA and wait for consent from SOCA to return monies to you. It is therefore important that you seek our prior approval before sending any monies to our bank account.
      2. We are reluctant to accept funds in cash of any amount for various reasons including money laundering and also because of security and insurance reasons. As a general policy we will only accept payment in cash over £1,000 by prior agreement and if we are satisfied that there is a legitimate reason for payment in this way.

  17. At the end of your case

    1. Original documents and other property belonging to you will be returned if required, save for items which are by agreement to be stored by us
    2. Your case papers will be stored by us and kept for the minimum period required under professional rules, whereupon the papers may be destroyed without reference to you.
    3. Until their destruction, your case papers can be retrieved from storage only by your written authorisation addressed to this firm.
    4. We will at your request retain in safe custody any deeds or securities in our strong room. This is a free service. Deeds and securities can be retrieved from our custody only by your written authorisation addressed to this firm.
    5. We are entitled subject to professional rules to exercise a lien over your papers, deeds or securities for any unpaid costs and / or disbursements which are due to us.

  18. General

    1. These terms replace any prior terms, representations or other understanding or arrangement which may have been made or reached in relation to this or any other matter.
    2. These terms may be altered by a written notice to you.
    3. You are deemed to have accepted these terms by instructing or continuing to instruct us in connection with this or any other matter.

Revised February 2010