Standard Terms of Engagement

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.lawsociety.org.nz or call 0800 261 801.

People Responsible for Your Work

Lani Gerber, Director, will be the solicitor working on your files. Please feel free to contact me at any time.

Limitation on Services

My services do not include providing you with investment, financial or tax advice or other excluded areas of advice which I advise you of from time to time either by writing to you or by placing advice of that additional limitation on my website.

The Basis of Our Charges

Unless agreed otherwise my fees are based on the range of factors applied by the NZ Law Society, including time, expertise, importance, urgency, and results achieved. A list of my fees is available on my website. I also charge for disbursements (registrations, duties/levies, etc.) and my charge for travel expenses incurred on your behalf (this will be discussed with you beforehand). These will be itemised separately, and I will notify you if any fees or disbursements need to be paid for in advance.
I am happy to discuss other fee arrangements that you may prefer.

Expenses, Disbursements & Service Fee

Separate charges will be made for expenses including courier fees, photocopying & printing (stationery), search fees, registration fees, agency fees, bank fees, telecommunications (telephone & mobile calls, facsimiles and emails), Legal Forms, etc. I charge a flat rate of $50.00 for my Service Fee. The Service Fee covers office expenses, administration & overheads including software, equipment, subscriptions, and library costs.

Billing Arrangements

To help you budget I will issue interim accounts, usually monthly, while work is in progress, with a final bill on completion. Payment terms are set out on invoices and, unless otherwise stated, are due for payment on date of issue. I may deduct from funds held on your behalf any fees, disbursements or expenses for which we have provided an invoice. If payment is not made on time, I reserve the right to charge interest on the outstanding amount at 12% per annum until payment is made, and charge you collection costs and legal costs in respect of recovery and cease our work for you immediately. Should you require an arrangement to pay your account and this exceeds 2 months, you will be required to pay an administration fee in the sum of $34.50 per month for each month the invoice remains outstanding.
If payment is not received within 28 days of the date of the invoice, and no arrangement is entered into, your account will be passed to Baycorp Debt Collection and their additional fees will be at your expense.

Professional Indemnity Insurance & Fidelity Fund

I hold professional indemnity insurance that meets or exceeds standards specified by the Law Society. The Law Society maintains the Lawyers’ Fidelity Fund for the purpose 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 $100,000.00. Except in certain circumstances specified in the Lawyers and 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 a client.

What Client Checks Will be Done?

I am required to comply with all laws binding on us in all applicable jurisdictions, including:

• • The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act); and
  • The United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, the intergovernmental agreement between the United States and New Zealand relating to it, and relevant provisions of the Tax Administration Act 1994 (together, FATCA).

I will perform client due diligence and account monitoring, keep records, and report any unusual or suspicious transactions where required by the AML/CFT Act, FATCA, or any other law.
I may also be required to assist any bank or other entity with whom I transact as your agent, or with whom I deposit money on trust for you, to comply with that entity’s legal obligations in any jurisdiction.
I will periodically advise you what information and documents are required for these purposes. These may relate to you, any other relevant person [e.g. any beneficial owner], the source of funds, the transaction, the ownership structure, tax identification details, and any other relevant matter. Please provide the information and documents promptly. I may retain the information and documents, provide them to a bank or other entity (where applicable) to deal with in accordance with their terms, and disclose them to any law enforcement or regulatory agency or court as required by law.
I or the bank or other entity (as the case may be) may:

• • Suspend, terminate, or refuse to enter into a business relationship;
  • Delay, block, or refuse to process a transaction (including by refusing to handle and deposit money on trust for you); and
  • Report a transaction,

Without notice if:

• • The required information or documents are not provided; or
  • It is suspected that the business relationship is unusual, may breach any applicable law, or may otherwise relate to conduct that is illegal or unlawful in any country.

Confidentiality

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

a to the extent necessary or desirable to enable me 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.

Confidential information concerning you will as far as practicable be made available only to those within my firm who are providing legal services for you.
I will of course, not disclose to you confidential information which I have in relation to any other client.

Termination

You may terminate our retainer at any time.
I may terminate our retainer in any of the circumstances set out in the Law Society’s Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers.
If my retainer is terminated you must pay us all fees due up to the date of termination and all expenses incurred up to that date.

Conflicts of Interest

I have procedures in place to identify and respond to conflicts of interest. If a conflict of interest arises, I 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.

Duty of Care

My duty of care is to you and not to any other person. Before any other person may rely on my advice, I must expressly agree to this.

Trust Account

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

Complaints

I 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 my services or charges, you may refer your complaint to me.
The Law Society operates the Lawyers Complaints Service and, if you feel that your complaint with Lani Law Limited has not been resolved to your satisfaction through my internal complaints procedures, you are able to make a complaint to that service. To do so, you can also contact the NZ Law Society’s Lawyers’ Complaints Service, at 26 Waring Taylor Street, PO Box 5041, Wellington 6145, Tel (04) 472 7837 or (0800) 261 801, Fax (04) 473 7909.

General

These Terms apply to any current engagement and also to any future engagement, whether or not I send you another copy of them.
I am entitled to change these Terms from time to time, in which case I will send you amended Terms.
My relationship with you is governed by New Zealand law and New Zealand courts have non-exclusive jurisdiction.

Completion

When a matter is completed, I will advise you accordingly and provide a summary of the work undertaken if I have not already done so. Where appropriate I will also identify any necessary future action that may be required.

Conclusion

I value your instructions. I also look forward to an ongoing relationship with you, so please retain these terms as the core basis of our relationship and my commitment to you to attend to your affairs diligently, with an efficient, effective and professional service.