FULL TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT AND CLIENT CARE SERVICES INFORMATION

PART 1 – MY DUTY TO YOU

Client Care Information

1.     As your lawyer, I am required to follow certain standards of professional behaviour. These standards are called the “Client Care Rules” and are described in the Lawyer and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 , you can read more about them here.

In conjunction with providing you with the best legal representation available, under these Client Care Rules, I will:

·       act competently, in a timely way, and in accordance with instructions received and arrangements made with you;

·       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;

·       make sure any costs incurred on your behalf are fair and reasonable;

·       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 when it is completed;

·       let you know how to make a complaint, and deal with any complaint promptly and fairly.

 These Client Care Rules are subject to my overriding duties, including my duty to the Court and the justice system. If you’d like more information about what you can expect from me, you can visit the New Zealand Law Society’s website here.

Work Undertaken Personally | Reporting

2.     I will have overall responsibility and general carriage of your legal matter. On rare occasions, due to a scheduling conflict or urgent personal circumstances I may instruct another lawyer to act as my agent, to appear for you at Court on my behalf.

3.     Should the need arise for another lawyer to act as my agent, I will attempt to contact you as soon as possible to advise you of the change.

4.     I will report directly to you in relation to the matters to which I have been assigned.

Privacy and Confidentiality

5.     I collect personal information from you, in order to provide you with effective legal representation. If I need to collect additional information about you from third parties, I will discuss this with you before approaching the third party.

6.     You have a right to request access and correction of your personal information.

7.     I 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 with your consent; or to the extent necessary or desirable to enable me to carry out your instructions; or to the extent required by law or by the Client Care Rules.

8.     Ordinarily, only I will have access to your information. However, if the need arises for another lawyer to appear as my agent, I will disclose your personal information, as well as information regarding your matter, only to the extent necessary for that agent to carry out the task that I am unable to attend to. In that situation, the agent will be required to abide the confidentiality and privacy requirements outlined here.

9.     I may also provide access to your information to third parties where any of my ancillary functions or services are outsourced, for example word processing or IT support. In these situations the privacy and confidentially of your information will be protected through my contract with the third party.

Information Technology

10.  I hold all of your information on a secure electronic cloud based database and most of my communications are via email or other electronic means.

11.  In addition, I may hold some of your information temporarily on my  computer, whilst I am actively working on your matter before uploading onto my secure database. I may also hold your contact information on my cell-phone.

12.  Whilst I actively segregate and protect your information, I do not guarantee the security of any electronic communications with you and I am not liable for any loss suffered as a result of theft, loss or a breach of security in my electronic devices or services.

Conflict of Interest

13.  As your lawyer, the Client Care Rules require me to promote your interests to the exclusion of anyone else, including myself. However, a conflict of interest may arise in a situation where for example another clients matter impacts on yours.

14.  I have a process in place to identify and deal with conflicts of interest. Should a conflict of interest occur, I will advise you of this and deal with the situation in accordance with the Client Care Rules. This may mean that I can no longer act for you in a particular matter.

Document Retention | File Retention | Intellectual Property

15.  I will keep a record of all important documents which I receive or create on your behalf electronically. If I create or obtain a physical document during the course of my work for you, I will destroy it as soon practicable for me to upload an electronic copy of that document to my legal database.

16.  For the avoidance of any doubt I do not retain any physical files, expect for where the existence of a physical document is legally important or you have given me a document for safe custody during the course of my work for you. At the conclusion of your matter, I will return any physical document that is legally important or that you have given me for safe custody.

17.  I can provide with a copy of your records, on request, in accordance with my obligations under the Privacy Act 1993.

18.  I will retain the electronic file I create for your work for a minimum of seven years after I finish working on your matter. After that time, I may delete your file without contacting you.

19.  I retain the copyright for all documents prepared for you. You are entitled to use such documents for the purposes for which they have been prepared and retain copies of the document for that purpose but not otherwise, without my express consent.

Professional Indemnity Insurance | Lawyers Fidelity Fund

20.  As a barrister, I am not permitted to hold client monies, so I do not contribute and in turn, am not covered by the Lawyers’ Fidelity Fund.

21.  I do not hold professional indemnity insurance.

PART 2 – YOUR OBLIGATIONS TO ME

22.  In order to provide you with the best possible legal representation, you need to:

·       be truthful with me;

·       provide me with the whole truth regarding the work I’m doing for you;

·       let me know of any changes to your situation;

·       make sure that I always have your latest contact numbers and addresses;

·       get back to me quickly when I need to talk you about the work I’m doing for you;

·       be on time for any Court appearances and planned meetings with me; and

·       treat me with same courtesy and respect that I extend to you.

PART 4 – GENERAL TERMS

Termination

28.  You may terminate my services at any time. If my services are terminated, you may still need to make a payment to the Ministry of Justice for my costs incurred for acting for you up to the date of termination.

29.  I may terminate my services to you in any of the circumstances set out in the Client Care Rules. The most likely reason for me to terminate my services are:

·       As discussed, in the event of a conflict of interest; and

·       If you fail to provide me with instructions in a sufficiently timely manner.

Complaints

30.  If you have a complaint about my services, I would encourage you to have a chat to me about it. Your work is important to me and it would be great to have a discussion about your concerns. Alternatively, you can also discuss the issue with my colleague, Annabel Maxwell-Scott.

31.   From there if the situation has not been resolved or you do not wish to meet with me or one my colleagues, you can contact the New Zealand Law Society at the details below:

New Zealand Law Society

PO BOX 5041,

Lambton Quay,

Wellington 6145.

Phone: 0800 261 801