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Terms of engagement

TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT

1.  The purpose of this document

  • This document:
    • sets out the standard terms on which we do work for our clients;
    • explains what you can expect from us and what you agree to when we work for you;
    • includes information we are required to tell you under the New Zealand Law Society’s Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers; and
    • applies to any current work and to any future work we do for you (unless we agree in writing to change these terms).
  • We may change these terms but any changes will only apply to you from the time that we notify you of those changes.

2.  Our letter of engagement for each job

  • For each new job we do for you, we will give you a ‘letter of engagement’. The letter will outline:
    • what we will do for you on that job; and
    • the partner with overall responsibility. That partner will be the one we believe is most suited to that job and to our relationship with you.  Other members of our staff may also be involved, under that partner’s supervision, where appropriate (such as where this enables us to do the job in a more efficient and timely manner).  If we do not advise you in writing, then the person with overall responsibility will be the person you have instructed to do that job.

3.  Our duties to you

  • When we do work for you, we will:
    • 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;

subject to any overriding duties we have (e.g. to the courts and the justice system) and any legal obligations we have (e.g. to provide information to some government agencies).

  • Our duties are owed to you, the client named in our letter of engagement. Nobody else (such as family members, shareholders, directors, or related entities) can rely on our advice without our written consent.

4.  Privacy Policy

  • The information below applies to personal information (information about an identifiable individual) we, Harkness Henry, collect about you when you visit and browse our website.
  • When you visit our website, we collect some non-personal information, such as the IP address from which you accessed this website, the date and time you are visiting, the pages you accessed, the type of browser and operating system you use, and the terms you use to search for content on our site. This information cannot be used to personally identify you.  We use it for the purposes of system administration, auditing use of the site and improving it for different customer profiles and for our internal reporting.
  • Our website relies on the use of cookies, which are small files stored on the hard drive of your computer. We recommend you enable cookies in order to enjoy our website, but it is up to you whether you enable them or not. If you do not enable cookies, you may not be able to use all of the features on our site.
  • If you choose to provide us with personal information such as your email address, for example by filling out an electronic query, we will use the information only for the purposes that you authorise it to be used for. We will send you email marketing to that email address if you agree to us doing so. If you wish to unsubscribe from any email marketing communications you can:
    • follow the unsubscribe instructions in the email; or
    • phone or write to us using the contact details in that email message.
  • If you engage us for legal services, we will collect the following information from you:
    • your contact details (for example, name, address, contact phone numbers, email address, date of birth, gender and financial information;
    • correspondence with us (for example, file notes, reports, email, letters, registration forms, survey responses, other forms and any other relevant correspondence;
    • your personal identification issued by government agencies.
  • We collect this information in order to meet the New Zealand Law Society’s requirements for providing services and to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (“AML”).  Providing some information to us is optional.  If you choose not to provide all requested information, we may be unable to provide some legal services.
  • When you provide us with personal information, we are obliged to comply with the provisions of the Privacy Act 2020 (the “Act”). We will collect, hold, use and disclose that information in accordance with the principles set out in the Act.  This means we will:
    • use personal information only for the purpose we collect it for;
    • use unique identifiers such as ‘client numbers’;
    • retain that information only for so long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which we have collected it. This is for a minimum of seven years, unless it is for AML compliance for which it will be five years;
    • disclose or release it to a third party only when:
      • we are required to, or we are permitted by law to do so;
      • if you have authorised the release or disclosure; or
      • it is the purpose (or a directly related purpose) for which the information was collected. This can include sharing information overseas.
    • if your information is held in the form of physical documentation, and is destroyed, it will either be shredded onsite or be destroyed by a confidential professional destruction service;
    • information held electronically, except any required to be destroyed within a certain timeframe (such as for AML compliance), will be held indefinitely but may be deleted after 10 years.
  • If you think we have breached the Act or you would like to find out more about our obligations, information is available on the Privacy Commissioner’s website at privacy.org.nz.
  • If you wish to enquire about personal information we hold about you (if any) or make any changes to that information, you can contact us as follows: [email protected].

Disclaimer

  • The information we provide on the website is provided to you in good faith. However, it is an introduction to the services we provide only.  If you engage us to provide legal services you will be making an offer to purchase those services.  We can accept or decline that offer in our discretion.  Separate terms relating to the provision of those services will apply.
  • While we will do our best to make sure that the website is available, we cannot guarantee that it will always be uninterrupted or that your access will be error-free, or that any files available for download will be error-free or free from viruses, faults or defects.
  • Links or references to other websites are provided for your convenience only. Other websites are not under our control.  We have not reviewed them and we do not endorse or assume responsibility for the contents of any other website.
  • If you wish to link to this website, you should request our permission. To do so, contact us at harknesshenry.co.nz/contact/ or telephone us on 07 838 2399.  You must not do anything which alters our website or interferes with how it works.

Intellectual Property

  • Unless otherwise shown, we own all the copyright and other intellectual property rights on the material on this website.
  • You can use the material for your own personal, non-commercial use provided that you acknowledge the source of the material and that you do not remove any copyright, trade mark or other intellectual property notices contained in the content. You must not use the material in a misleading way.
  • You must not use any of our trade marks without our permission.

Other

  • If you post any material to our site which we believe (in our own discretion) is inappropriate for our site, we may remove it.
  • Nothing in these terms affects any rights you may have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.
  • New Zealand law governs this website.
  • Changes or updates to the content of this website may occur at any time. These terms may be changed or updated from time to time.  Changes may take the form of completely new terms.  We will post any changes on this website.  Any change applies from the date it is posted.

5. How we avoid conflicts of interest

  • When we do work for you, we will always protect and promote your interests.
  • Before we accept a job from you, we will do our best to find out if any conflict of interest exists.
  • If we find a conflict at any time, we will immediately let you know and tell you how we plan to deal with the conflict. That may mean we stop working for you, the other client, or both.

6. Scope of our work

  • We are not qualified to give:
    • investment advice – you should get that advice from a qualified financial advisor;
    • tax advice – you should get that advice from your accountant or tax advisor;
    • insurance advice – you should get that advice from your insurance broker; or
    • advice about foreign laws – we can help you to contact a lawyer in the other country.
  • Unless we agree to do so in writing, we will not:
    • remind you about dates (e.g. PPSR, lease, or consent expiry dates); or
    • update advice after it is given.

7.  Intellectual property

  • Unless we agree otherwise:
    • we retain ownership of all opinions, documents, and other intellectual property created by us; and
    • you must not provide our advice to others (such as using our opinions in any public document or statement).

8.  Emails

  • We may communicate with you by email about the work we do for you.
  • We have virus protection software and security protocols in place, however, we cannot guarantee that electronic communications will always be free from viruses or other defects, are secure, or will be received.
  • We may email you information we think is relevant and useful to you. If you do not want to receive that information, let us know.
  • Where we correspond with you using electronic communication (as defined in the Electronic Transactions Act 2002 (“the ETA”)), the rules set out in the ETA will apply except that electronic communications sent to us will be deemed to be received at the time they come to our attention.
  • Electronic communication will be used unless you advise us to the contrary.

9.  Storing records

  • We will keep a record of all material documents we receive or create for you on each instruction, on the following basis:
    • we may, at any time, keep a document electronically and destroy paper originals (this includes any original documents you give to us unless you tell us you do not want them to be destroyed, in which case, we may return the originals to you once we have made an electronic copy);
    • we will not destroy any original documents we have agreed to hold in safe custody for you (e.g. your Will);
    • we may, at any time, dispose of documents that are duplicates, do not contain substantive information, or belong to us; and
    • if you ask us to provide documents to you or another person, we are not obliged to retain copies of those documents, but we may do so for our own records.
  • We will provide you with copies of documents you are entitled to under the Privacy Act or any other law if you ask us to. We may charge you our reasonable costs to do so.
  • You authorise us (without further reference to you) to destroy, or delete in the case of electronic documents, all files and documents relating to an instruction seven years after that instruction has been completed. We may retain files and documents for longer at our option.

10. How you can help us

  • You can help us by:
    • giving us clear instructions;
    • asking if there is anything you are not sure of;
    • telling us if you have any important time limits;
    • dealing promptly with any questions we have;
    • telling us if your contact details change; and
    • keeping in touch. Please ask if you are concerned about anything or do not hear from us when expected.

11.  Who we can accept instructions from

  • Unless you let us know otherwise:
    • if you are a couple, we can accept instructions from either of you;
    • if you are a trust, we can accept instructions from any of your trustees or officers;
    • if you are a partnership, we can accept instructions from any of your partners or officers;
    • if you are a company, we can accept instructions from any of your directors or employees or any other person you have authorised to instruct us; and
    • if you are a body corporate or incorporated society, we can accept instructions from any person holding themselves out as being authorised by the officers to instruct us.

12. Verifying your identity, source of funds and credit checks

  • In some circumstances we are required by law to verify your identity and the source of funds for a transaction.
  • We may wish to carry out reasonable credit checks on you from time to time.
  • You authorise us to collect information about you (including customer due diligence information and credit reports), to obtain, exchange, hold, and use such information, and to make any other enquiries we think appropriate to:
    • confirm information provided to us about you is true;
    • undertake initial and on-going customer due diligence and monitoring in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act (AML/CFT Act);
    • enforce debt and legal obligations (including recovery of money owed to us); and
    • comply with other legal obligations we may have.
  • You authorise any person (including credit reporters) to disclose information (including credit information) to us in response to such enquiries.
  • You accept that we may use customer due diligence services (including electronic based services from a third party) to verify your identity and conduct other customer due diligence (CDD) or monitoring required under the AML/CFT Act, and that we may use credit reporting services to credit check you, and that when we use such services:
    • the other third party or credit reporter (each a Service Provider) will exchange information about you for that purpose and the Service Provider may hold information on its system and use it to provide their customer due diligence service or credit reporting service (as the case may be) to their other customers;
    • we may use the Service Provider’s services in the future for any authorised purpose (including in relation to ongoing customer due diligence or the provision of credit). This may include using the Service Provider’s monitoring services to receive updates if information held about you changes; and
    • if you default in your payment obligations to us, information about that default may be given to credit reporters and given by credit reporters to their other customers.

13. Our fees and expenses

  • We will charge you fair and reasonable fees.
  • Unless we agree with you otherwise, our fees will be calculated based on the time we spend on a job charged at our hourly rates, and adjusted where appropriate for other factors permitted by the Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers (such as the complexity, urgency, importance, specialised knowledge, responsibility and risk involved, and the results achieved). We will provide you with our hourly rates on request. Time is recorded in units of six minutes with time rounded up to the nearest unit of six minutes.
  • We will give you an estimate of fees if you ask for one. Special fee arrangements may be available for certain work (e.g. capped fees).  Any estimate or special fee arrangement for a job will be outlined in our letter of engagement.
  • If you have any questions about our fees, please ask.
  • Unless we state otherwise, our fees, estimates, and hourly rates do not include Goods and Services Tax (GST) or office expenses and disbursements, which are payable by you.
  • Our services usually incur GST. If this is the case, GST is payable by you on our fees and charges.
  • We may charge you an administration fee to cover office expenses (such as photocopying, printing, phone calls, faxing and file storage). Generally, this administration fee will be $60 and will be included in our first account to you.  We reserve the right to charge additional administration fees in subsequent accounts.  Any administration fees will be included separately in our accounts to you.
  • We may have to cover some expenses or make other payments on your behalf (such as search fees, registration fees, travel costs, court fees, and agents’ fees). You authorise us to incur these expenses, which will be shown on our account to you.
  • To enable us to comply with our legal obligations in respect of compliance under the AML/CFT Act (referred to in paragraphs 3 and 12.5 above) the administration fee for this compliance will be $45 (inclusive of GST) for each individual and $200 for trusts, companies and other entities for whom CDD is required and $25 (inclusive of GST) for each person for whom updated CDD is required.
  • Fees, hourly rates, office expenses, and disbursements may change from time to time without notice.
  • In some cases, you may be eligible for legal aid. If you want to apply for legal aid we may refer you to another firm as we do not carry out legal aid work.
  • If we receive a request for information from your auditor or accountant, you authorise us to supply the requested information and you agree to pay us our usual fee for doing so.

14. Guarantee

  • If you are a company or other incorporated entity, we may require personal guarantees from your directors, shareholders, or other officers.

15. Paying your account

  • We issue accounts monthly and on completion of a job or the ending of our engagement. We may also send you an account when we incur a significant expense.
  • Our accounts must be paid by the 20th of the month following the date of our account.
  • If you have any questions about an account, please contact us straight away.
  • If you elect to pay our account by credit card, we may charge you an additional 1.5% of the amount you pay.
  • Sometimes we may require you to pay fees, office expenses, and disbursements in advance. If we do, we will hold your payment in our trust account and only deduct our fees, office expenses, and disbursements when we issue you an account.
  • If we hold funds in our trust account on your behalf (including any judgment, sale proceeds, settlement amount, or other money), you authorise us to deduct any fees, office expenses, or disbursements we have issued you an account for.
  • We may charge interest on unpaid accounts at the rate of 1.5% per month calculated on a daily basis and charged monthly. We may take action to recover unpaid accounts and charge you the cost of that recovery.
  • Any failure or delay by us to charge interest on an unpaid account or to exercise any of our other rights will not operate as a waiver of those rights.
  • If your account is overdue we may:
    • stop work we are doing for you until our account is paid in full; and
    • require an additional payment of fees in advance or other security before starting work again.
  • At your request or with your approval, we may send our accounts to a third party to pay on your behalf. You are still responsible for payment by the due date if the third party does not pay us.

16. Money handling procedures

  • We maintain a trust account for all funds we hold on behalf of clients (except funds we receive for payment of accounts).
  • If we hold funds on your behalf, we will deposit them in an interest-bearing deposit with a bank where reasonable and practicable, subject to you first meeting our reasonable compliance requirements. We are not responsible for obtaining the best interest rate available or for any loss of interest you suffer as a result of delay in placing your funds in an interest-bearing deposit.
  • We generally charge a 6% administration fee on the gross interest earned on funds held in an interest-bearing deposit. Withholding tax will be deducted on the interest earned and paid to Inland Revenue. If we have your IRD number, you can elect to have withholding tax deducted at your applicable rate.  If we do not have your IRD number, we are required to deduct it at the default rate (which may be higher than your actual rate).
  • Where you transfer funds to our trust account in a foreign currency, we will convert those funds into New Zealand dollars at the prevailing exchange rate offered by our bank. We are not responsible for seeking or obtaining a better exchange rate.  Where you instruct that we transfer funds to a foreign country we will charge you any cost incurred by us in complying with your instructions.
  • If we hold, on your behalf, more than NZ $5.00 but less than NZ $20.01) and we have been unable to contact you to obtain your instructions in relation to those funds by email or by phone, you authorise us to pay the funds to a charity of our choice. If the amount is less than NZ $5.00, you authorise us to pay the funds to a charity of our choice without first contacting you in relation to those funds.
  • You can pay your funds to us by direct credit.
  • All payments of funds, other than to you, will only be made with your prior written authority. “Written authority” means an email from you or a letter, fax or other written document signed by you.  In the case of an email, we may verify this request either in person or by phone.  In this context, “you” means, without limitation:
    • If you are a company, one director;
    • If you are a trust, all trustees;
    • If you are a partnership, all partners;
    • If you are a couple, both of you.
  • If we receive funds for you, we will (subject to any other obligations we have) pay them to you once we are satisfied that those funds have been cleared through the banking system. This may mean that if funds are paid to us electronically you may not receive them immediately.
  • We will not issue you with a receipt unless you request one.
  • We will not use any of your funds for our own benefit. However, we may lawfully claim a set off against, or lien over, all or part of your funds (including their proceeds) for any of your debts due to us.

17. Limiting our liability to you

  • We limit our liability to you. The maximum aggregate amount that we will have to pay you is the amount set by the New Zealand Law Society as the minimum standard for the indemnity limit on our professional indemnity insurance.  We will not have to pay you more than the maximum aggregate amount for anything caused by or resulting from anything we do or do not do, or delay in doing, whether or not it is contemplated or authorised by any agreement with you.
  • The limit in clause 1 applies to the extent permitted by law, whatever you are claiming for, and however liability arises or might arise if not for this clause (whether in contract, tort (including negligence), equity, or otherwise).
  • If you are more than one person (such as a couple or partnership), this maximum is the maximum combined amount that we will have to pay you together.
  • If you engage us to do work for the purposes of a business, you agree the Consumer Guarantees Act does not apply. Otherwise, nothing in this clause 17 limits any rights you may have under the Consumer Guarantees Act.
  • We shall not be liable for any loss or liability caused or contributed to by:
    • inaccurate or incomplete information supplied by you or third parties (including public records and expert witnesses); or
    • because you did not receive or read a communication we sent you; or
    • a lack of instructions or lack of clear instructions; or
    • our ability or entitlement to refuse to act or to continue acting for you including as a result of you owing us money.

18. Third Party Providers

  • Where we recommend or suggest you engage a third party to provide you with goods or services (“third party provider”), our recommendation or suggestion will be made in good faith. Despite this, you agree that we will have no liability to you (whether in contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise) for any act or omission of such third party provider.

19. Ending our engagement

  • You may end our engagement at any time by giving us reasonable notice.
  • If we have good cause, we may decide to stop working for you, such as if you:
    • do not provide us with instructions promptly;
    • are unable to, or do not, pay our fees;
    • give us instructions that require us to breach any professional obligation, or mislead or deceive us in a material respect; or
    • against our advice, act in a way we believe is highly imprudent and may be inconsistent with our fundamental obligations as lawyers. This does not apply to litigation instructions.
  • If we decide to stop working for you, we will give you reasonable notice and help you find another lawyer.
  • Before you take your records, you need to pay our fees for the work we have done for you. We may keep a copy of any records you take.

20. Enforceability of these terms

  • The enforceability of these terms is not affected by:
    • the ending of our engagement; or
    • any changes to our partners or the incorporation of our firm.

21. New Zealand law applies

  • Our relationship is governed by New Zealand law and the New Zealand courts have exclusive jurisdiction.

22. Professional indemnity insurance and Lawyers’ Fidelity Fund

  • We hold professional indemnity insurance that exceeds the New Zealand Law Society’s minimum standards.
  • The New Zealand Law Society operates a Lawyers’ Fidelity Fund to compensate clients who suffer theft of money or property entrusted to lawyers. The Fund covers losses of up to NZ $100,000 per individual claimant. It does not cover loss where you have instructed us to invest money on your behalf (subject to limited exceptions set out in the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act).

23. How we handle complaints

  • We are committed to providing services of the highest professional standards.
  • We will deal with any complaints promptly and fairly.
  • Please contact us straight away if you have a question about an account or if you are unhappy with any other aspect of our work. You should contact:
    • the partner responsible for your work; or
    • our managing partner by phone, post, or email to [email protected].
  • The New Zealand Law Society also has a complaints service. Please telephone 0800 261 801 for information and advice about making a complaint.

24. Client care and service information

  • We are committed to complying with the New Zealand Law Society’s Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers.
  • The obligations lawyers owe to clients are described in the Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers. Those obligations are subject to overriding duties, including duties to the courts and to the justice system. If you have any questions, please visit lawsociety.org.nz or call the New Zealand Law Society on 0800 261 801.

We value our relationships with our clients. If you have any questions about these terms, please ask.

Version 27.0

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