The terms and conditions of business (the “terms of business”) for Azarmi & Company Ltd (referred to as “Azarmi & Co.” or “us” or “we”) are set out below. The accompanying client care letter containing our terms of engagement (“client care letter”), and these terms of business form the contract between us (the “contract”).
Acceptance by Azarmi & Co. of any instructions from you shall be upon these terms of business and shall override any other terms and conditions stipulated or incorporated by you in your instructions or in any negotiations (save as shall have been expressly agreed orally or in writing by us). No variation or representation will be binding on Azarmi & Co. unless confirmed in writing by our principal, Sally Azarmi.
Our terms of business will also apply retrospectively where we have started to provide services before the contract was formed.
1. Our duties
In acting for you Azarmi & Co. will: act independently and in your best interests at all times; provide prompt and clear advice aimed at finding the best way forward for you; be accessible to you and respond to correspondence promptly; provide to you the best information available to us on costs; advise on likely timescales involved in a matter; keep you regularly informed of developments and our charges; and consider risks known to us and viable options open to you throughout the time we are acting for you.
Our duty of care to you on any matters commences on receipt of your formal instructions to advise you. We do not owe any duty of care and do not accept any liability to any third party. Our clients will be advised by Sally Azarmi, but wherever necessary we will recommend qualified third party consultants who are known to Azarmi & Co. We do not charge referral fees for our recommendations.
2. Your responsibilities
To enable us to provide the best service to you we rely on you to: let us know at the outset what your expectations are and to inform us if these change; provide realistic instructions, keeping us informed in good time of your deadlines and other personal objectives; provide all relevant information and documentation promptly; not deliberately mislead us or ask us to act in an improper or unreasonable manner; and keep us informed of any changes to your contact details or any other changes which may affect the advice we are giving you.
3. Confidentiality
As solicitors we are under a professional and legal obligation to keep the affairs of our clients confidential. This obligation will not apply where you have authorised us to disclose information, or where statutory exceptions require disclosure (including money laundering and terrorist financing legislation).
Where we undertake work for you in conjunction with other advisers, or where we are instructed by a third party on your behalf, we will assume we have your authority to discuss relevant confidential information with them unless instructed otherwise. We may use non-encrypted email for communicating with you and others on the basis that you accept this method of communication and the risks involved.
4. Data protection
We use the information you provide primarily for the provision of legal services to you and for related purposes including updating and enhancing client records, analysis to help us manage our practice, statutory returns, and legal and regulatory compliance. Our use of that information is subject to your instructions, data protection law and our duty of confidentiality.
We have appointed Sally Azarmi as our representative for the purposes of the Data Protection Act. You have a right of access under data protection law to the personal data that we hold about you.
5. Fees, costs and financial matters
Our fees are usually calculated on an hourly basis. We will initially assess the work which we are to undertake on your behalf and will give you an estimate of the total time which we think this will take, and the other expenses such as disbursements, to the extent that we are able to do so. The way we calculate our fees will be set out in the initial client care letter.
Our time is recorded and calculated in six minute units. Our hourly rate and costs are exclusive of disbursements and VAT. Our bills are payable on presentation. We reserve the right to request funds on account and to submit interim bills. In immigration matters, our charges are payable whether or not the application or other matter is successful, unless otherwise agreed by us in writing.
6. Exclusion and limitation of liability
We limit our liability to you for claims for breach of contract, breach of duty, negligence and for claims otherwise arising out of or in connection with our engagement or the services we provide. Our liability to you shall be limited to £3 million or such higher amount as is set out in the letter accompanying these Terms of Business, unless a different figure is agreed in writing.
The exclusions and limitations will not operate to exclude or limit any liability which cannot lawfully be limited or excluded. In particular they do not limit liability for fraud, nor for causing death or personal injury by negligence, nor for negligence in contentious business insofar as the Solicitors Act 1974 s 60(5) precludes the exclusion of such liability.
7. Ending our services
You may end your instructions to us at any time in writing. We reserve the right to cease acting for you either on a temporary or permanent basis where we have good reason to do so, for instance where you do not pay an interim bill or do not make a payment on account requested by us. We are obliged to give you reasonable notice if we intend to cease acting for you.
8. Money laundering precautions
As a professional practice we are required to comply with money laundering legislation and to carry out identity checks and verify your identity and address. If we are unable to complete these checks we will not be able to carry out work on your behalf. We reserve the right to refuse cash deposits and are unable to accept cash payments in excess of £500.
9. Regulation, complaints and governing law
We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). If you are not happy with our service or the bill, please contact Sally Azarmi in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint you may be able to ask the Legal Ombudsman (PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH; www.legalombudsman.org.uk; Telephone: 0300 555 0333) to consider your complaint.
This agreement and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it shall be governed by the law of England and Wales, and the Courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction.
Your continuing instructions will amount to your acceptance of these terms of business. Full terms of business are provided with our client care letter when you instruct us.