TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Terms and Conditions of Business
| 17 Woodstock Street, London W1C 2AJ |
info@oczollp.com | www.oczollp.com
OCZO LLP a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC455850. OCZO is
authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) under SRA number 8012024. A list of members
of the firm is available for inspection at its registered address. This firm does not accept the services of legal
proceedings by email, except where expressly agreed on a case -by -case basis.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Responsibility for work carried out on your behalf
3 Charges and expenses
4 Your rights with regard to our invoices
5 Electronic mail (and other forms of electronic communication)
6 Data protection
7 Proof of Identity
8 Confidentiality, money laundering and proceeds of crime etc.
9 Insurance and Liability
10 The charges and expenses of another party
11 Storage of papers and documents
12 Cancellation or Termination of Instructions
13 Equality and diversity
14 Further Instructions
15 Third parties
16 Law and jurisdiction
17 Other points
1. Introduction
1.1. The legal services that OCZO LLP provides are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors
Regulation Authority. Our registration number with the Solicitors Regulation Authority is
8012024. These terms and conditions are set out to comply with the SRA Standards and
Regulations 2019 required by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Their other purpose is to
indicate to clients as clearly as possible the standard of service that they can expect from
us, the amounts that we will charge for the work that we do and our methods of charging.
1.2. These terms and conditions do not affect statutory and common law rules that govern
solicitors’ business. However, if there is a conflict between the terms and conditions and
such rules, the terms and conditions will prevail so far as it is possible for them to do so.
1.3. When the words ‘we’ and ‘us’ are used in these terms and conditions, they mean OCZO
LLP. OCZO is a trading name of OCZO LLP registered in England and Wales. Its company
number is OC455850 , and the registered office is situated at 17 Woodstock Street,
London, England, W1C 2AJ. A list of partners/directors is available for inspection at this
address. Any reference to a partner or member means a director of the firm. OCZO is
authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
1.4. These terms and conditions, any letter that we may send you which states that you have
instructed us and any document referred to in that letter, together represent the terms
and conditions on which we contract with you.
1.5. We aim to offer our clients quality legal advice with a personal service at a fair cost. As a
start, we hope it is helpful to you to set out in this statement the basis on which we will
provide our professional services.
1.6. Our normal opening hours at our offices are between 9.00am and 6.00pm Monday to
Thursday and 9.00am to 5.00pm on a Friday. Messages can be left on the answer phone
outside those hours and appointments can be arranged at other times when this is
essential (subject to a fee)
2. Responsibility for work carried out on your behalf
2.1. The person(s) who will carry out all or the majority of the work on your matter is or are
shown on the letter that accompanies these terms and conditions.
2.2. In certain circumstances, it may be appropriate for some work to be carried out by other
members of staff, such as paralegal, secretarial or support staff. This allows us to provide
a more efficient service to you and also to charge you the appropriate amount for the work
done. All work by such staff is performed under the supervision of a solicitor. A partner
has overall supervision of the matter.
3. Charges and expenses
3.1. How we charge
3.1.1. Our fees are based on the amount of time we spend in dealing with your matter. The time
we spend will include (but will not be limited to) the following types of activities: meetings
with you, members of your staff, experts and maybe others; drafting documents (such as
statements of case, witness statements, and letters instructing advocates and experts);
attending court; considering, preparing, reviewing and working on various documents;
correspondence; travel and waiting time when required to attend matters outside of the
office; and making and receiving telephone calls.
3.1.2. In addition to the time that we spend, we take into account various other factors including
the complexity of the issues involved in the matter, the speed at which action must be
taken, the expertise or specialist knowledge that the matter requires and, if appropriate,
the value of the property or subject matter involved. Our rates may be adjusted upwards
if, for example, the matter becomes more complex than expected or must be carried out
in an emergency or out of hours. In these circumstances, we reserve the right to charge
two times the hourly rate for any work that is required to be carried out outside our normal
office hours or on an expedited instruction.
3.1.3. If you require more information or have a concern about our rates after an annual review,
please do not hesitate to contact us.
3.2. Our current hourly rates are:
Senior Partners £650.00
Partners £500.00
Senior Associates and Consultants £375.00
Associates £300.00
Trainee Solicitors and Paralegals £175.00
3.3. Estimates of Costs
3.3.1. Please note that any estimate, quotation or other indication of costs is not intended to be
fixed by us. Please also note that charging rates may be increased, and we will notify you
1 month in advance of any increase in the hourly charging rates. If you have any query
about the level of any revised rate notified to you, please contact the person in charge of
your matter immediately.
3.3.2. In general, regarding contentious matters it is often difficult, in the first instance, to
provide an accurate estimate of the likely overall costs. Nevertheless, we try where
possible to give estimates for the overall costs of the matter concerned and more
particularly, we shall endeavor to give you estimates for each stage of the matter as the
matter proceeds and at least every six months.
3.4. VAT
We add VAT to our charges at the rate that applies when we carry out the work.
Currently this rate is 20%. Where services are supplied under Schedule 5 of the VAT Act
1994, VAT is not chargeable and this will not be added.
3.5. Disbursements
3.5.1. You must also pay for the expenses that we incur on your behalf (commonly called
‘disbursements’). These include photocopying charges, courier costs, travel expenses,
overseas telephone calls and the costs of using the services of other professionals and
other persons (such as surveyors, accountants, advocates and other agents). Fees may
also be paya ble to central and local government, regulatory and other bodies (such as
court fees, search fees, company searches and so on). VAT is normally payable on these
items. Details of any disbursements will be notified to you as soon as possible.
3.5.2. Photocopying charges and the costs of facsimile transmissions which form part of our
overheads are normally included within the service at the expense rate quoted. However,
we reserve the right to charge for these separately in the event that the amount of
photocopying and the use of facsimile transmissions or other technology reasonably
require this. Please note that we will charge 20 pence per photocopy but will discuss this
with you first.
3.5.3. Any bank transfers to be made in relation to your matter will incur an administrative
charge by us of £35.00 plus VAT which includes the bank charges except in instances
where large international payments are made. Charges on the fees of such transfers will
be advised on a case by case basis.
3.6. Additional work
If we need to carry out unforeseen additional work, we will let you know about this
(normally before we carry it out) and provide you with an estimate of the cost. This
situation can arise because of unexpected difficulties, a change in your requirements o r
a change in circumstances during the course of the matter (such an unexpected action
or inaction by the other party or parties involved in the matter).
3.7. Matter not Concluded
If your matter is not concluded, we will still charge for the time that we have spent and
the disbursements and expenses that we have incurred on your behalf. You must still
pay our charges and expenses.
3.8. Money on Account
We will normally ask you to pay certain sums in advance of us carrying out work and
incurring expenses on your behalf. From time to time, we will ask for further sums in
advance during the course of the matter. We will offset such payments made in advance
against the invoices that we send you from time to time and the final invoice. However,
you should be aware that the total charges and expenses are likely to exceed the advance
payments that you have made to us.
3.9. Cheque Clearance
We reserve the right to clear any cheques or other forms of payment that you provide to
us before carrying out any work on any aspect of your matter.
3.10. Invoices and Late Payment
3.10.1. We will send you invoices for our charges and expenses on a regular basis during the
course of the matter, normally monthly. This will enable you to budget your costs. All
invoices sent to you are statute bills unless otherwise stated.
3.10.2. Unless otherwise stated by our Client Care Letter, payment is due promptly on receipt of
our invoice and at no later than within 14 days of receipt of the invoice.
3.10.3. If all or part of an invoice remains unpaid for more than one month, we reserve the right:
(a) to charge interest on the outstanding amount at the rate applicable to judgment
debts or at the rate of 5% above Barclays Bank base rate, whichever is higher; and
(b) to stop work on any existing matter and to refuse any further instructions from you.
3.10.4. Further, we reserve the right to charge an additional 5% late payment charge for invoices
that are outstanding for more than 14 days.
3.10.5. Once an invoice has been raised and sent to you, we are entitled to immediately transfer
the fees and disbursements stated therein from monies held on the client account. In any
event, in compliance with the SRA Handbook, our fees will be transferred out of the client
account before 14 days have lapsed from the date of the invoice.
3.10.6. Please note that where you have instructed us to act for you and another party (for
example your spouse, company, director etc.) jointly then you will be jointly and severally
liable with that other party for the payment of our invoices. This means that yo u will be
responsible for payment of the full amount of our invoices should the other party choose
not to contribute for any reason.
3.10.7. Where instructions are given on behalf of a company, the instructing party (for example a
director, shareholder or beneficial owner), accepts personal responsibility for our fees
unless otherwise agreed.
3.10.8. We reserve the right, in accordance with SRA Rule 27, to offset outstanding invoices
against monies we hold on account for you, unless such funds are held specifically for
the purpose of discharging disbursements, such as counsel’s fees or court fees. In the
event that you have instructed us on multiple matters we may, where appropriate,
transfer surplus funds from one account to another in order to clear any outstanding
balance. We will however notify you of this first.
4. Your rights with regard to our invoices
4.1. If you have queries about any invoice that you receive, please contact us immediately.
4.2. If you do not agree with the amount of any of our invoices, you have the right to complain
about this and refer your complaint to Victor Okoh , our Compliance Officer for Legal
Practice (COLP). Your complaint will be dealt with under our complaints procedure as
set out in the accompanying Client Care Letter and on our website
http://www.oczollp.com For further details of your rights, please consult the Solicitors
Act 1974 Section 70.
4.3. If you use the complaints procedure or procedure under the Solicitors Act 1974 and any
part of an invoice remains unpaid, we have the right to charge interest on it (on the basis
set out in paragraph 3.10 above).
5. Electronic mail (and other forms of electronic communication)
Electronic mail and other forms of electronic communication (such as texting and
voicemail) enable us to communicate promptly with our clients (and also enable clients
to efficiently correspond with us). However, not every client finds one or more of these
methods of communication acceptable. Some have concerns about who might see the
contents of such communications and not every client has systems in place to ensure
that only the addressee of a form of electronic communication will see it. The letter which
accompanies these terms and conditions allows you to indicate whether you agree to
letting us communicate with you by email or other forms of electronic communication.
However, we cannot be responsible for the security of correspondence and documents
sent by email or fax.
6. Data Protection
6.1. In order for us to provide you with legal services you will need to provide us with
information about yourself. Although the information you provide is used primarily for the
provision of legal services, it may also be used when we carry out tasks to support the
legal services (such as administration, invoicing and keeping client records etc.). While
we are performing the legal services, we can also collect or retrieve information about
you from third parties.
6.2. We are obliged by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Money Laundering Regulations
2017 (MLR 2017) which came into force on 26th June 2017 to obtain and hold documents
which will contain your personal data in relation to which the General Data Protectio n
Regulation 2018 which came into force on 25th May 2018 will apply.
6.3. How we use this depends on four factors
6.3.1. the instructions that you provide;
6.3.2. the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018;
6.3.3. the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018; and
6.3.4. the duty of confidentiality that we owe you.
6.4. In particular circumstances, we may disclose the information that you have provided or
that we have collected or received about you to other persons and organisations. For
example, this information may be disclosed to:
6.4.1. other suppliers of professional services, such as other lawyers, accountants and expert
witnesses. For example, if we are helping you to negotiate a contract with a third party, a
lawyer may be representing that party and we will need to disclose information about you
to them during discussions about the contract;
6.4.2. the courts and governmental and regulatory authorities. For example, if we are applying
for a permit or a licence on your behalf, we must disclose relevant information about you
to the organisation that is granting permission or issuing the licence; and
6.4.3. organisations that regulate the legal profession.
6.5. You have the right to access any personal data that we hold about you. Further details
about how to do this can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office website at
www.ico.gov.uk.
6.6. You have the right to request copy of any personal data we hold about you.
6.7. If you are not satisfied with the service we provide with regard to the protection of your
data you are entitled to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office Helpline: 0303
123 1113
7. Proof of identity
7.1. We are required by law to obtain satisfactory evidence of your identity (which can include
people who are related to you). This is because criminals who want to launder money
may use solicitors who handle and deal with money and property on behalf of clients.
7.2. To comply with our duties, we must have the evidence of your identity as soon as possible
7.3. For individuals, in most cases, identification evidence will consist of the following two
documents:
7.3.1. your current valid passport; and
7.3.2. a document (such as a utility bill or a bank statement) that shows your name and your
current residential address and is dated no more than three months before the date on
which we ask for the evidence of your identity.
7.4. For companies in most cases identification will involve:
7.4.1. us carrying out checks with the Registrar of Companies as to your existence and standing
7.4.2. other checks with third party organisations in appropriate cases;
7.4.3. our inspection of your statutory registers and minute book;
7.4.4. obtaining the necessary identification evidence from those persons who we are dealing
with on your behalf, and those persons who hold a 25% or greater share of the company.
7.5. If you are unable to supply the documents listed in Paragraph 7.3 or 7.4 above please
contact us to discuss alternative ways that you can be identified.
7.6. In some cases, in order for us to properly identify you, we may need to carry out checks
or obtain searches with third parties, and as such, additional charges may be necessary
to cover our expenses for such additional searches. Any such charges will be discussed
with you in advance and will be listed under the professional charges section of our
invoice to you.
7.7. Where you cannot provide satisfactory evidence of identity then we may not be able:
7.7.1. to act for you, and/or
7.7.2. to receive any money from you; and/or
7.7.3. to pay any money to you or to a third party on your behalf.
8. Confidentiality, money laundering and proceeds of crime etc.
8.1. As solicitors, we have both a professional and a legal obligation to keep your affairs
confidential. These obligations include not disclosing the information that you provide to
us (except as otherwise provided in these terms and conditions) or details about the legal
services that we are providing to you.
8.2. These obligations of confidentiality are not absolute. In certain circumstances, we may
have a duty under the law to make a disclosure to the National Crime Agency. This duty
to make a disclosure will be triggered when we suspect or know that a transaction may
involve money laundering or terrorist financing.
8.3. If we do make a disclosure to the National Crime Agency in connection with your matter,
this is likely to mean that:
8.3.1. we cannot tell you that a disclosure has been made;
8.3.2. we must stop working on your matter for a period of time; and
8.3.3. we cannot tell you why we have stopped working on your matter.
8.4. As a result of Money Laundering Regulations 2017, OCZO:
8.4.1. Will only accept up to £500.00 in cash for any transaction. Sums in excess of that amount
will not be accepted;
8.4.2. Will insist on proof of ID and source of funds for any third-party cheques or payments;
8.4.3. May ask for more information as to your background and the transaction; and
8.4.4. May insist that all financial matters and receipts of funds are affected well in advance of
the date of expected use or requirement of those funds and refuse to exchange or
complete your contractual obligation until fully satisfied as to relevant circumsta nces
and/or deemed or actual consent to the transaction has been obtained by us from the
National Crime Agency.
8.5. If you and another person jointly instruct us on a matter, you agree that there will be no
confidentiality between you and the other joint client and that information you disclose
to us can be shared with the other joint client. We can also share informati on that you
provide in relation to a matter with a third party (such as an accountant or estate agent
and so on) who is helping with the matter, unless you instruct us otherwise. You also
permit us to disclose information about matters on which you instruct us to our insurers,
auditors and the regulatory bodies governing the work of solicitors. We will only do so in
confidence.
8.6. If a conflict of interest occurs (for example, where your interests’ conflict with those of
another joint client on the same matter or another client), we may have to stop acting for
you. A conflict of interest can arise for a number of reasons. For example:
8.6.1. if you do not wish to allow us to disclose information that you have provided to another
joint client (such as where you are buying property with a mortgage and do not wish us to
disclose certain information to the lender who is a joint client with you);
8.6.2. if you provide information to us which we must disclose to another client (in order to act
in their best interests as well as yours) but you do not wish us to do so, or the other client
provides information which we must disclose (in order to act in your best interest) but
they do not wish us to do so; or
8.6.3. if another situation develops where it would be a breach of professional rules for us to
act for both you and another client.
9. Insurance and Liability
9.1. You acknowledge and agree that if you wish to make a claim relating to or in connection
with the services provided by us, the claim can only be brought against OCZO and not
against the individual members, officers, directors or employees. We believe that this is
reasonable as it corresponds to modern business practice and OCZO has in place
indemnity insurance as required by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
9.2. ‘Claim’ means any claim whether arising out of this agreement or otherwise, and whether
such a claim is made in contract, tort, on the ground of breach of trust or on any other
basis.
9.3. Where a person is called a ‘partner’, the purpose is to indicate that person’s status. It is
not to be assumed that the person is holding himself out as a partner for the purposes of
partnership law. All partners are acting in their capacity as directors, members and
employees of OCZO.
9.4. Our maximum liability for loss or damage, breach of contract, breach of trust, negligence
or otherwise (with the exception of fraud) is £ 3 million for any one transaction/matter or
series of connected transactions/matters, unless a higher amount is stated in the letter
that accompanies these terms and conditions.
9.5. Your rights in respect of any breach on our part of this engagement shall only be
enforceable if notice in writing giving all material details of any claim shall have been
given to us on or before the second anniversary of the date appearing at the top of the
client care letter.
9.6. We will not be so liable if such losses are attributable to the provision of false, misleading
or, incomplete information or documentation or due to the acts or omissions of any
person other than us.
9.7. We will not be liable, to you or any third party, for any loss, damage, costs or expenses of
an indirect or consequential, special or exemplary nature, including without limitation
any economic loss or other loss of turnover, profits, opportunities, business or goodwill,
howsoever the indirect or consequential economic loss or damage is caused, including
our negligence but not our willful neglect.
9.8. We limit our liability as far as the law permits. We cannot limit our liability where, because
of our negligence, we cause death or personal injury to occur.
9.9. We have professional indemnity insurance in place. The original certificate of insurance
is available at our offices. Should you wish to inspect the insurance certificate, kindly let
us know and we will produce the same.
10. The charges and expenses of another party
10.1. You are responsible for paying our charges and the expenses incurred on your behalf in
all circumstances. We will discuss with you whether and when another party or person
may be legally required to pay them.
10.2. If you succeed in court proceedings or through a form of settlement another party or
person:
10.2.1. may be required to pay our charges and expenses instead of you; or
10.2.2. may be required to pay only a part of such charges and expenses.
10.3. Although another party may be required to pay all or part of our charges or expenses
incurred, they may refuse to pay or not have the funds to pay.
10.4. If another party is legally aided or has community legal funding it is unlikely that party will
be required to pay our charges and expenses incurred even if you succeed in a case
against them.
10.5. In all these circumstances you will be responsible for paying any or all of our charges and
expenses incurred which are not, in fact, paid by another party or person.
10.6. If a court requires another party or person to pay all or some of our charges and expenses
incurred, interest on these can also be claimed in addition from the date of the court
order. We will account to you for such interest to the extent that you have pa id our
charges or expenses on account. But we are entitled to the rest of that interest.
10.7. You will be responsible for paying the charges and expenses of trying to recover any
charges and expenses that the court orders the other party or person to pay.
10.8. A court may also require you to pay the legal charges and expenses incurred by another
party, usually when you are not successful in legal action against them or they are
successful in legal action against you. Such payments would be in addition to our
charges and expenses incurred.
10.9. We will discuss with you whether it is possible that our charges and expenses incurred
and any liability to pay another party's charges and expenses incurred can be covered by
insurance. Also, we will discuss with you whether you should have insurance to meet any
liability to pay another party's charges and expenses incurred, and whether you are
eligible for Legal Aid.
10.10. You should immediately check whether you have insurance policies which provide cover
for some or all of your legal costs concerning this matter. If you do, then you should
immediately notify the insurer about this matter. If you delay in informing them then they
may refuse to accept the claim, and this would mean you would be responsible for paying
all the charges and expenses incurred.
11. Storage of papers and documents
11.1. We are entitled to keep all the papers and documents generated by us or received from
you or other persons (including original documents) if some or any sums that you owe us
have not been paid at the end of our work on the matter or after the termination of the
retainer.
11.2. We normally keep papers for no more than six years (except for those that you ask us to
return to you).
11.3. We keep the papers on the understanding that at the end of six years after the date of the
final invoice we sent to you, we have your express authority to destroy the papers.
However, we will not destroy any papers that you have expressly asked us to deposit in
safe custody.
11.4. We will not charge a fee for retrieving the personal data we hold about you, however
where the request is unfounded or excessive, we may charge a reasonable fee to perform
this request. We do not usually charge for retrieving papers or documents held in storage
where you are providing continuing or new instructions. However, we may charge (based
on the time that we spend retrieving stored papers or documents) for producing them to
you or to another person at your request.
12. Cancellation or Termination of Instructions
12.1. You can terminate your instructions to us in writing at any time. However, if you have not
paid all the sums owed to us, we are entitled to keep your papers and documents until
you do so.
12.2. During the course of the matter, you may come to believe that we should stop acting for
you. This may be the case if, for example, you cannot give us clear or proper instructions
on how we should proceed, or it has become apparent that you have lost confid ence in
the way that we are carrying out work on your behalf.
12.3. We will only stop acting for you when we have a good reason to do so; for example:
12.3.1. if you do not pay one or more of our invoices;
12.3.2. if you do not make an advance payment promptly when this has been requested;
12.3.3. if you provide instructions that are unreasonable or would require us to breach a
professional rule or a duty to the court or involve the commission of a criminal offence;
or if there is a conflict of interest.
12.4. If we decide to stop acting for you, we will give you reasonable notice that this is what we
plan. The precise length of the notice will depend on the circumstances.
12.5. If you decide that you no longer wish that we act for you, you must pay us for the time that
we spend based on our hourly charges plus any expenses incurred up to the date of our
ceasing to act for you.
12.6. Where your instructions to us are as a result of an ‘off premises contract’ you have a
statutory right to cancel your instructions to us in accordance with The Consumer
Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 within
14 days. We will write to you separately concerning any such contract made with us. An
“off premises contract” is one made at a meeting between us not held at our offices or in
a situation where we do not actually meet.
12.7. You have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days without giving any reason. The
cancellation period will expire after 14 days from the day of the conclusion of the contract
(occurring when you sign our firm’s terms and conditions supplied with our Client Care
Letter). To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us at OCZO LLP, 17 Woodstock
Street, London, W1C 2AJ (tel: 020 3874 2120, email: info@oczollp.com) of your decision
to cancel this contract by a clear statement. You may use the following wording: - “I,
[insert name] of [insert address] have decided to cancel my instructions with you relating
to [insert description of matter]’’. Such wording is not obl igatory. To meet the
cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning
your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.
12.8. If you cancel this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you
provided that if you requested us to begin the performance of services during the
cancellation period, you shall pay us an amount which is equal to the cost of any work we
have carried out and the disbursements that we have paid on your behalf for the supply
of the service for the period for which it is supplied, ending with the time when we are
informed of your decision to cancel the contract. Such costs and disbursements will be
in proportion to what has been supplied, in comparison with the full estimated cost of
our services.
12.8.1. The costs are to be calculated on the basis of the total estimate in the Client Care Letter;
or
12.8.2. Our hourly rates per clauses 3.2.
12.9. We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after
the day on which we are informed about your decision to cancel this contract. We will
make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial
transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur
any fees as a result of the reimbursement save as provided above.
12.10. Unless and until either an alternative fee arrangement has been agreed and confirmed in
writing by us the basis for the calculation of our fees is described in clause 3.2 and is
mainly by reference to the time spent by the Partner and other staff dealing w ith the
transaction or case; the time charged being all time spent on your affairs.
13. Equality and diversity
We have a strong commitment to embracing as well as promoting equality and diversity
in the relationships that we have with our clients, our employees and third parties. OCZO
does not discriminate in the way that we provide services on the grounds of race, colour,
religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability or marital
status.
14. Further information
If you provide further instructions, these general terms and conditions will apply, unless
we agree otherwise
15. Third Parties
15.1. For the purposes of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999, this contract is not
intended to, and does not, give any person who is not a party to it the right to enforce any
of its provisions.
15.2. Only the person(s) named as our client or clients in the Client Care Letter accompanying
these terms and conditions can rely on any advice or assistance or other work that we
provide. If any information given as part of our advice, assistance or other work is
revealed to a third party by you (or by us), you must then inform the third party that we
accept no responsibility for it.
16. Law and Jurisdiction
This agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England
and Wales and each party agrees to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of
England and Wales.
17. Other points
17.1. Examination of our files and systems by third parties
We may need to let another organisation (such as the body that regulates solicitors, the
Solicitors Regulation Authority) examine or audit our systems and files, or produce
materials to them upon their request. In this situation, they are under a duty to maintain
confidentiality in relation to your files. If you object to your file being audited by an external
auditor kindly advise us at the outset of the matter.
17.2. Financial Services
We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Financial Services
and Markets Act 2000. If, while we are acting for you, you require advice on investments,
we may need to refer you to someone who is authorised to provide such advice. We are
able in certain circumstances to offer a limited range of investment services to clients, as
members of The Law Society of England and Wales and regulated by The Solicitors
Regulation Authority. We can provide limited investment services if they are an incidental
part of the professional services we have been engaged to provide.
17.3. Financial Services Compensation Scheme
17.3.1. Our client funds are held with Arbuthnot Latham & Co.
17.3.2. It is highly unlikely that we will be held liable for losses resulting from a banking failure.
The £120,000.00 Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) limit applies to each
individual client, so if you hold other personal monies in the same deposit- taking
institution as our client account, the limit remains £120,000.00 in total.
17.3.3. If a corporate body client Is not considered to be a small company by FSCS it will not be
eligible for compensation.
17.3.4. Some deposit-taking institutions have several brands, i.e., where the same institution is
trading under different names. You should check either with your deposit- taking
institution, the Financial Conduct Authority or a financial adviser for more information.
17.4. Interest Payments
We normally do not pay interest to clients, however if requested by a client at the outset
of a transaction, we pay interest on client monies held by us in accordance with the
Solicitors Act 1974, subject to certain minimum amounts and periods of time set out in
the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority Accounts Rules 2011. Interest will be calculated and
paid to you at the rate from time to time payable on Arbuthnot Latham & Co.’s designated
client accounts. In the event that we are holding monies to your cred it on one of your
matters and there are unpaid costs or disbursements on another of your matters, we
reserve the right to apply any such funds to discharge your liability to us.
17.5. Intellectual Property
All intellectual property rights subsisting in any documents or works created by OCZO or
any third parties in relation to your matter shall remain proprietary to the party that
created such document or work, unless otherwise agreed by OCZO or the third party in
question.
17.6. End of Year Case
When your case comes to an end, we will tell you the outcome and anything else you need
to do including whether you need to look at the matter again in the future. We will return
any of your property, unless you ask us to store it, and account to you for any outstanding
money.
17.7. Appointment
If you need to see your legal representative, please book an appointment before attending
the office. If for any reason you have difficulties contacting them or have minor queries,
then please feel free to write to us or send an email to info@oczollp.com and we will
respond without delay.
17.8. Change of Address/Telephone
If you change your address and/or telephone number, you must inform us immediately in
writing of the same, as if we are unable to contact you, your case may suffer detriment.