Useful Information

Legal Aid

Legal aid is government funding to pay for legal help for people who cannot afford a lawyer. Clients may be eligible for a grant of legal aid in respect of certain proceedings/issues.

Circumstances for eligibility are prescribed by the Legal Services Commissioner under the Legal Services Act 2011.

https://www.justice.govt.nz/courts/going-to-court/legal-aid/

AML

From the 1 July 2018 we will be required to obtain more information from you. This is part of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT).

The purpose of this Act is to prevent money laundering or the financing of any terrorism. By requiring more information from you, we have more knowledge about the transactions we are undertaking on your behalf, and are able to ensure that we are not in breach of our requirements under the Act. If we have any suspicions we have an obligation to report this.

https://www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector-policy/key-initiatives/aml-cft/info-for-businesses/lawyers-accountants/ (TBC FROM CLIENT}

Standard Terms of Engagement

FRENCH BURT PARTNERS
Standard Terms of Engagement​

These Standard Terms of Engagement (“Terms”) apply in respect of all work carried out by us for you, except to the extent that we otherwise agree with you in writing.

  1. Services

    1.1. The services we are to provide for you are outlined in our engagement letter.

  2. Financial

    2.1. Fees:
    a.  The fees we will charge or the manner in which they will be arrived at, are set out in our engagement letter.
    b. If the engagement letter specifies a fixed fee, we will charge this for the agreed scope of our services. Work which falls outside that scope will be charged on an hourly rate basis. We will advise you as soon as reasonably practicable if it becomes necessary for us to provide services outside the agreed scope and if requested, give you an estimate of the likely amount of the further costs.


    2.2.
    Disbursements and expenses: In providing services we may incur disbursements or have to make payments to third parties on your behalf.
    These will be included in our invoice to you when the expense is incurred. We may require an advance payment for the disbursements or expenses which we will be incurring on your behalf.

    2.3. GST (if any): Is payable by you on our fees and charges.

    2.4. Invoices: To help you budget we will send interim invoices to you, usually monthly and on completion of the matter, or termination of our
    engagement. We may also send you an invoice when we incur a significant expense.

    2.5. Payment: In accordance with usual practice, accounts are due for payment on the 20th day of the month following the date of the issue of our invoice, unless alternative arrangements have been made with us. We may require interest to be paid on any amount which is more than 7 days overdue. Interest will be calculated at the rate of 4% above our firm’s main trading bank’s 90-day bank bill buy rate as at the close of business on the date payment.

    2.6. Security: We may ask you to pre-pay amounts to us, or to provide security for our fees and expenses. We may also deduct from funds held on your behalf, any fees, disbursements or expenses for which we have provided an invoice. 

    2.7. Third Parties: Although you may expect to be reimbursed by a third party for our fees and expenses, and although our invoices may at your request or with your approval be directed to a third party, nevertheless you remain responsible for payment to us if the third party fails to pay us.

  3. Confidentiality

    3.1. 
    We will hold in confidence all information concerning you or your affairs that we acquire during the course of acting for you. We will not disclose any of this information to any other person except:

    a. to the extent necessary or desirable to enable us to carry out your instructions; or

    b. to the extent required by law or by the Law Society’s Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers.

    3.2. Confidential information concerning you will as far as practicable be made available only to those within our firm who are providing legal services for you.

    3.3. We will of course, not disclose to you confidential information which we have in relation to any other client.

  4. Termination

    4.1.
    You may terminate our retainer at any time.

    4.2. We may terminate our retainer in any of the circumstances set out in the Law Society’s Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers.

    4.3. If our retainer is terminated you must pay us all fees due up to the date of termination and all expenses incurred up to that date.

  5. Retention of files and documents

    5.1. 
    You authorise us (without further reference to you) to destroy all files and documents for this matter (other than any documents that we hold in safe custody for you) 7 years after our engagement ends, or earlier if we have converted those files and documents to an electronic format.

  6. Conflicts of Interest

    6.1. 
    We have procedures in place to identify and respond to conflicts of interest. If a conflict of interest arises we will advise you of this and follow the requirements and procedures set out in the Law Society’s Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers.

  7. Duty of Care

    7.1. 
    Our duty of care is to you and not to any other person. Before any other person may rely on our advice, we must expressly agree to this.

  8. Trust Account

    8.1. 
    We maintain a trust account for all funds which we receive from clients (except monies received for payment of our invoices). If we are holding significant funds on your behalf we will normally lodge those funds on interest bearing deposit with a bank. In that case we will charge an administration fee of 5% of the interest derived.

  9. General

    9.1. 
    These Terms apply to any current engagement and also to any future engagement, whether or not we send you another copy of them.

    9.2. We may change these Terms from time to time, in which case we will send you amended Terms.

    9.3. Our relationship with you is governed by New Zealand law and New Zealand courts have non-exclusive jurisdiction.
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Information For Clients

FRENCH BURT PARTNERS
Information For Clients

Set out below is the information required by the Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers of the New Zealand Law Society (“Law Society”).

      1. Fees: The basis on which fees will be charged is set out in our letter of engagement. When payment of fees is to be made is set out in our Standard Terms of Engagement.We may deduct from any funds held on your behalf in our trust account any fees, expenses or disbursements for which we have provided an invoice.
      2. Professional Indemnity Insurance: We hold professional indemnity insurance that meets or exceeds the minimum standards specified by the Law Society. We will provide you with particulars of the minimum standards upon request.
      3. Lawyers Fidelity Fund: The Law Society maintains the Lawyers Fidelity Fund for the purposes of providing clients of lawyers with protection against pecuniary loss arising from theft by lawyers. The maximum amount payable by the Fidelity Fund by way of compensation to an individual claimant is limited to $100,000. Except in certain circumstances specified in the Lawyers & Conveyancers Act 2006 the Fidelity Fund does not cover a client for any loss relating to money that a lawyer is instructed to invest on behalf of the client.
      4. Complaints: We maintain a procedure for handling any complaints by clients, designed to ensure that a complaint is dealt with promptly and fairly.If you have a complaint about our services or charges, you may refer your complaint to the person in our firm who has overall responsibility for your work. If you do not wish to refer your complaint to that person, or you are not satisfied with that person’s response to your complaint, you may refer your complaint to another partner of our firm.He/she may be contacted as follows:

        The Law Society operates the Lawyers Complaints Service and you are able to make a complaint to that service. To do so please phone 0800 261 801 and you will be connected to the nearest Complaints Service Office, which can provide information and advice about making a complaint.

      5. Persons Responsible for the Work: The names and status of the person or persons who will have the general carriage of or overall responsibility for the services we provide for you are set out in our letter of engagement.
      6. Client Care and Service: The Law Society client care and service information is set out below.
        Whatever legal services your lawyer is providing, he or she must:
        • Act competently, in a timely way, and in accordance with instructions received and arrangements made.
        • Protect and promote your interests and act for you free from compromising influences or loyalties.
        • Discuss with you your objectives and how they should best be achieved.
        • Provide you with information about the work to be done, who will do it and the way the services will be provided.
        • Charge you a fee that is fair and reasonable and let you know how and when you will be billed.
        • Give you clear information and advice.
        • Protect your privacy and ensure appropriate confidentiality.
        • Treat you fairly, respectfully and without discrimination.
        • Keep you informed about the work being done and advise you when it is completed.
        • Let you know how to make a complaint and deal with any complaint promptly and fairly.

        The obligations lawyers owe to clients are described in the Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers. Those obligations are subject to other overriding duties, including duties to the courts and to the justice system.

        If you have any questions, please visit www.lawyers.org.nz or call 0800 261 801.

      7. Limitations on extent of our Obligations or Liability
        Any limitations on the extent of our obligations to you or any limitation or exclusion of liability are set out in our letter of engagement.
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