TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS (PLEASE NOTE : A LARGE PRINT VERSION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST)

1. The Firm
HUSANES LLP is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (“SRA”) (number 629164) and the Rules of the Supreme Court. Full details of the regulatory framework for solicitors can be obtained from the SRA or by following the link http://www.sra.org.uk/handbook.
HUSANES LLP is a limited liability partnership registered at Companies House (OC403790). A list of the members is available on request.
“us” or “we” or “the Firm” refers to the limited liability partnership known as HUSANES LLP.


2. Conduct of Your Matter
We will advise you in writing at the outset of the partner responsible for your matter. We will also advise you of the person and their status (if different) who will be responsible for the day to day conduct of your matter. We will endeavour to ensure continuity of the conduct of your matter by the person responsible. In the event of any necessary change, we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible. On occasions, it may be appropriate for other individuals to assist where, for example, this is desirable because of a particular legal issue arising or to enable the handling of your matter in the most efficient and cost effective way.
In certain cases it may be necessary for us to arrange for third parties to be engaged on your behalf. This may include (but is not limited to) valuers, surveyors, barristers, planning consultants, brokers, financial advisers or other experts. In such cases, we will endeavour to find the most appropriate third party but cannot be responsible for their actual conduct in relation to any matters referred to them.


3. Anti-Money Laundering Regulations
3.1 Evidence of Identity
3.1.1 Solicitors and other professionals, who deal with money and property on behalf of their client, are particularly at risk of being used by criminals who wish to launder money. The law therefore requires that all solicitors, banks, building societies and other professionals take steps to prevent money laundering. This involves obtaining satisfactory evidence of the identity of their client(s) and, at times, people related to the client or their case and in some cases, further enquiries and steps may need to be taken.
3.1.2 In order to comply with the law on money laundering, we will require from you at the outset, evidence of your identity. For this we will require sight of the originals of your valid passport or photo card UK driver’s licence and two items of proof of residence (utility bill, CTB, bank statement etc) which clearly show your name and address and are no more than 3 months old. Please note that for this purpose credit card statements and mobile phone bills are not acceptable. We require this for all new clients and in some cases for existing clients, for example where we do not have ongoing work and / or have not undertaken this procedure in the past six months.
3.1.3 It is advisable to deal with the identification requirements at the outset to avoid any unnecessary delays later in the transaction. If for any reason there is a delay in you providing us with the required evidence, please note that regardless of whether or not any other work has already been done, we are not able to deal with monetary transactions unless and until we have complied with the money laundering regulations.
3.2 Costs of Additional Procedures Where you are unable to provide us with the identification evidence requested at paragraph 3.1.2, we will discuss with you alternative ways (if any) to verify your identity. There may also be circumstances where we are required to take additional steps, for example where the person being identified lives or conducts business abroad or where the funds are coming from abroad. In the event that either alternative steps are required (i.e because you are unable to comply with the requirements at paragraph 3.1.2) or additional steps are required (i.e because of a foreign aspect) this will involve additional time and costs, for which we reserve our right to make additional charges.
3.3 Exception to Client Confidentiality We owe you a professional and legal obligation to keep your affairs confidential. This obligation is overridden by the law requiring solicitors to make a disclosure to the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the event that they know or suspect that a breach of the Money Laundering Regulations or the Proceeds of Crime Act is taking or may take place. The laws on this are very wide and in addition to the obligation to report on money laundering activity and terrorist financing, they also include (but are not limited to) things such as tax evasion or benefit fraud. Where a disclosure is made in relation to your matter, we will not be able to tell you that this has been done, may have to stop working on your matter for a period of time, and will not be able to tell you why.
3.4 Right to Cease Acting We reserve the right to stop acting at any time if we are unable to comply with the regulations or there are any queries as to identification or source of funds.


4. Joint Instructions
Where we receive instructions from more than one person, firm or company those instructions will be treated as joint and several, unless otherwise varied and agreed in writing between us. When we are acting under joint instructions, we will disclose all material to the joint clients.


5. EU GDPR 2016/679 & Data Protection Act 1998 and 2018
5.1 HUSANES LLP is registered under the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 (Registration Number ZA189635). Full details can be found on the ICO website: http://www.ico.org.uk/register
5.2 We will use your information primarily for the provision of legal services to you and for related purposes including (but not limited to) updating and enhancing client records, analysis for management purposes, statutory returns and legal and regulatory requirements. Full details of our storage and use of personal information can be found on the Data Protection Register.
5.3 Our use of this information is subject to the EU GDPR and Data Protection Act 1998 and 2018, our duty of confidentiality and your instructions. In some instances, in order to comply with your instructions, we may be required to disclose information to third parties (such as expert witnesses and other professional advisers). Under data protection legislation you have a right of access to any personal data we hold about you.
5.4 The Firm operates data storage and retrieval systems in the interests of efficiency and confidentiality and by instructing HUSANES LLP, you consent to the storage of information about you and your matters in such media.
5.5 From time to time we may send to you information which we think might be of interest to you. If you do not wish to receive that information please notify us in writing.
5.6 Article 6 GDPR - General Personal Data We will only collect personal data relating to you for purposes connected with your instructions. Most of the time this will consist of your name, address and other contact details required for purposes of identifying the client and maintaining communication throughout your matter. Any such data is not stored on a central data base or file but kept in individual client matter folders. We believe this is a lawful processing under Article 6 of the GDPR.
Where we are required to handle client funds through the Firm’s Client Account, we will require information and evidence relating to the source of those funds in order to comply with UK laws and regulations on anti-money laundering (AML) and proceeds of crime. This is a legal requirement upon the Firm.
We do not share any such personal data other than where necessary for the performance of your instructions such as where we are required to pass details to Counsel, Surveyor, Lender or other third party involved in the transaction or matter.
5.7 Article 9 GDPR – Special Categories of Personal Data We do not generally collect any personal data which comes under the ‘special categories personal data’ under Article 9 of the GDPR. These include personal data on racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health and data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation. In the event that it becomes necessary to obtain from you such special categories of personal data we will explain to you what that information is needed for, seek your express written consent and give you the right to withdraw such consent.
For further information on data protection and your rights in connection with your personal data you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office : https://ico.org.uk


6. Appointments, Correspondence and Telephone Calls
6.1 We aim to provide the highest level of service at all times to all of our clients. In order to achieve this we will endeavour, where reasonably possible, to: - keep you regularly informed in writing of progress with your matter; - communicate with you in plain language; - explain to you in writing the legal work which is required as your matter progresses; - keep you informed of the cost of your matter at regular intervals; - keep you advised of the likely timescales for each stage of your matter and any material changes in those estimates.
6.2 In committing to the above standards, our aim is to respond to all communications within a reasonable period of time and without any undue delay. Where possible, we will endeavour to return routine phone calls and respond to routine emails within four working hours and reply to routine letters within two working days. If a detailed or more substantive response is required, we will endeavour to acknowledge routine calls, emails and letters within these timescales and inform you as to when a more substantive response will be provided. However, there are circumstances when this may not be possible and should such a circumstance arise, we will endeavour to inform you where reasonably possible.
6.3 Unless we are instructed to the contrary, we may leave messages on your voicemail and / or send you emails and write to you at the correspondence address you provide to us.
6.4 Attendance at our office will be by prior appointment only.


7. Your Responsibilities
In order to ensure that we are able to act in your best interests and in a timely and professional manner, you must provide us with clear, timely and accurate instructions, information, documentation and funds when requested. Any delay or inaccurate instructions, information and documentation or lack of funds may mean that we are unable to act in a timely manner or in your best interests, and in some instances may stop acting for you.


8. Fee Quotations and Estimates
8.1 Where a quotation (i.e. a fixed price) for work is given, you should take particular note of any limits of the work for which the quotation is given. The nature of legal work is such that often it may be necessary to undertake work outside any limits originally identified by you to us. In such cases, the quotation may be revised to reflect the additional work.
8.2 In areas of work where a fixed quotation is not suitable, we will try to give a realistic estimate of the cost of the legal work involved. Giving estimates can be very difficult and will usually require initial investigation of the matter and at least one meeting. We will give you an estimate in writing but it is important to be clear that this will be an estimate only and not a fixed price quotation, to assist with budgeting. However, the nature of legal work is such that matters may be more complex than originally thought. In the event that any revision is required to the original estimate of fees due to the development of or changes in your instructions, we will endeavour to inform you as soon as reasonably possible. Due to the variability of the matters on which we are asked to advise, it is not always possible to refer to an identical case and it is important to understand that any estimate is likely to provide a range of possible costs rather than give a specific figure.
8.3 Any quotation or estimate that is given is given in good faith and done so on the basis of the details known at the time of the quotation or estimate. It will be given on the assumption that the transaction will not prove to be substantially more complex or time consuming than expected, or that we will not be required to engage in protracted correspondence or negotiations on your behalf. We will of course endeavour to stay as close as possible to any estimate given and bring to your attention as soon as reasonably possible should the need arise to revise this.
8.4 One of the important elements in assessing fees is the amount of time spent by the fee earner(s) in working on your behalf. Unless a fixed quotation is given, time will be recorded to include meetings with the client, meetings with third parties, telephone discussions, incoming and outgoing correspondence (including emails), drafting and revising documents, reading, general consideration, research, court appearances, travelling time, storage and retrieval of records and information, secretarial and other clerical work and the general supervision, administration, care and control of your matter.
8.5 Fees will be assessed and charged mainly in accordance with paragraph 8.4 above but can often also include other relevant factors such as the specialist skills employed, the degree of urgency involved, the value, the complexity, difficulty or novelty of the problem and other relevant matters such as time spent outside normal office hours or out of the office dealing with the work.
8.6 The issue of fees for contentious work is even more complex. There are situations where, if successful, your opponent may be ordered to pay all or part of your costs, though not always guaranteed to be the case. In any event, the client is always responsible for their own fees in the first instance, regardless of whether or not any of these are recovered. Alternatively, we may be able to agree a “contingency fee agreement” or “conditional fee agreement” with you and these issues, where applicable, will be discussed with you at the outset.
8.7 From time to time our charging rate may be increased by a reasonable amount having regard to inflation and the increasing overhead expenditure of the Firm. In such a case you will be notified of the changed rate.


9. Other Fee Information
9.1 If a third party has agreed to pay your costs, we will make reasonable arrangements to secure that payment. We may ask for the funds to be sent in advance or for a professional undertaking from the third party’s solicitor. However, the client is responsible in the first instance for their own fees and if we are unable to obtain payment or do not receive a satisfactory undertaking, but you wish to proceed, you will remain responsible for the payment of your own costs, or any shortfall.
9.2 If you agree to pay the costs of a third party, we are likely to be asked to provide a professional undertaking to meet the agreed costs. If we are asked to provide such an undertaking, before we can do so, we must receive cleared funds from you for the full amount of the undertaking. Once an undertaking is given, the funds are non-returnable to you to the extent that we are asked to honour the undertaking. You cannot request the return of any funds as we can only return any surplus funds left after the undertaking has been fully satisfied or discharged.
9.3 We reserve the right to send interim invoices at regular or other appropriate intervals throughout the conduct of your matter. An interim invoice will not necessarily cover all aspects of the work done up to its date, but will be taken into consideration on preparation of the final account.
9.4 On most matters, funds on account will be requested and such money will be held in our client account pending the rendering of an invoice. If we are not put into funds on account when requested, then we shall be entitled to decline to act further.
9.5 We can only act in reliance upon cleared funds. In most cases we will therefore require direct bank payments into our client account. Where you wish to make payment by cheque, you must allow between 7 to 10 days for this to be banked and cleared.


10. Disbursements and Other Fees
10.1 From time to time we may be required to pay disbursements on your behalf in connection with your matter (e.g., Land Registry fees, SDLT, search fees, Court fees, barrister’s fees, expert witness fees, bank charges, courier’s fees or other expenses). We require strictly that clients put us in cleared funds for any disbursements, before these are incurred. If we pay these out of our own monies, we will invoice you for these immediately upon incurring the disbursement or, if appropriate, when rendering the subsequent account. Any monies paid on account will of course be detailed in any final invoice or statement.
10.2 The Firm reserves the right to charge an administration fee of £40 plus VAT (per transfer) where we are required to arrange a same day money transfer.


11. Value Added Tax
The Firm is registered for VAT under VAT Registration Number : 337 4823 85.


12. Interest on Fees
Fees and disbursements are due on the date of delivery of our invoice. Interest will be payable on the outstanding balance of any invoice from 14 days after the date of its delivery calculated on a daily basis at the rate currently applicable to judgment debts.


13. Monies Received
We reserve the right to apply any monies held on your behalf on our client account in discharging unpaid fees and disbursements incurred.


14. Cash and Other Financial Arrangements
14.1 Due to obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations and The Proceeds of Crime Act we will not accept cash of more than £500, unless it is for the payment of our invoice (including minor disbursements). If you try to avoid this policy by depositing cash directly with our bank, we will charge you for any additional checks we decide are necessary to prove the source of funds.
14.2 Where we have to pay money to you, it will be paid by cheque or bank transfer. It will not be paid in cash or to a third party.
14.3 We cannot accept funds from a third party on your behalf without having undertaken additional checks to verify the source of the funds and compliance with the Regulations and the Act detailed above. If we are requested to accept funds from a third party, we will charge you for the additional checks.
14.4 We cannot accept funds by way of a bank transfer from any account, other than an account at a UK clearing bank and in your name.


15. Interest on Client Account
15.1 We normally hold client monies on a general client account and will account to clients for monies held at the ordinary deposit account rate paid by the bank in which such monies are held. This is in accordance with the Solicitors’ Accounts Rules.
15.2 If you require, or where we otherwise consider this to be appropriate, monies liable to earn interest may be held on a separate designated deposit account with a nominated bank or other financial institution. If so, before we can open such a deposit account, instructions will be required in writing from you. A charge will be made for opening such an account, to cover any bank charge together with a reasonable administration fee. Subsequent transfers between the designated deposit account and the Firm’s undesignated client account in which monies may be held, will be subject to similar charges. The interest actually earned (less the charges referred to) will belong to you.
15.3 When your funds are not held in a designated deposit account, we will calculate interest due to you, on a fair and reasonable basis so as to comply with the Solicitors’ Accounts Rules. Interest will not be paid if the amount calculated is less than £20 or in certain other circumstances dependent on the amount involved and the period the funds are held.


16. Storage of Deeds and Files
16.1 We will only store deeds, wills, documents etc. by agreement with you. This service is currently free but we reserve our right to charge for any time incurred in dealing with enquiries relating to the stored deeds, wills and other documents. We will notify you if there is any change to our policy in relation to fees for this service.
16.2 We will decide at our entire discretion whether to retain correspondence files as either paper copies or store this electronically, and the paper file then destroyed. The electronic copy can, where necessary, be printed and supplied. Where the paper file has been stored or where a print of the electronic copy is required, a charge will normally be made for the production of the file or the provision of any information or copies to you or to any third party.
16.3 Where your file has been stored, physically or otherwise, it will be kept in accordance with the guidelines from the Law Society and / or the SRA, which is currently for at least 7 years. After this period the file may be destroyed without further notice.
16.4 We will be entitled to keep all your papers and documents while there is any money owed to us for fees and expenses.


17. Critical Dates
The Firm will not accept any ongoing responsibility for reminding you of critical dates in respect of matters after completion of the work. It will be your responsibility to diarise and keep a note of such matters as rent reviews, lease renewal dates, exercise of options, service of notices or counter notices within time limits etc. We will not deal with any such matters after completion, unless and until we have accepted your specific instructions to deal with such matters.


18. Copyright and other Intellectual Property Rights
We retain at all times, unless otherwise agreed in writing, the copyright and other intellectual property rights in all written or other materials prepared for and or supplied to you in respect of matters in which we are instructed. In the event that any materials prepared by us are passed on to or are disclosed by you to third parties then you accept liability for the payment of proper professional charges for the use of such documentation, and all expenses or losses incurred in enforcing our intellectual property rights.


19. Conflicts of Interest
19.1 You should ensure that the person responsible for your matter is advised of your full and correct name and address, and, in the case of corporate clients, the registered office and registered number of the company, to enable us to more accurately undertake our conflict of interest checks. All material information in relation to a matter should also be given at the earliest opportunity to the fee-earner responsible. If a conflict of interest should arise at any point, or we believe that there may be the potential for such conflict, we may be required to stop acting for both parties. Only in certain limited circumstances, we may be able to continue acting for one party with the consent of the other.
19.2 If a conflict of interests arises and we cease to act, all fees, disbursements and VAT (if any) up to the date of the termination will be charged and become due immediately.


20. Financial Services
20.1 We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”). However, sometimes certain work involving probate, trust, conveyancing, company, family or other types of work may require advice on and the arranging of investments. Should this be the case, we may refer you to someone who is authorised by the FCA to provide investment advice. As members of the Law Society of England and Wales, in certain circumstances, we are allowed to offer a limited range of investment services to clients where these are closely linked to the legal work we are doing for you.
20.2 We are also included on the register maintained by the FCA (though not authorised by the FCA) which enables us to can carry on insurance mediation activity, which is generally the advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts. This part of our work is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and includes arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong. The access the register you can visit the FCA website at: www.fca.org.uk/register/home.do
20.3 For purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, The Law Society of England and Wales is a designated professional body. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society. There is also the Legal Ombudsman which deals with complaints against lawyers. If you are unhappy with any insurance advice you receive from us, you can raise your concerns with either the SRA or the Legal Ombudsman.


21. Complaints Handling
21.1 We are committed to providing quality legal advice and client care. If you feel dissatisfied with any aspect of your matter, including the bill, we encourage you to talk or write to the person dealing with your matter firstly on an informal basis. If you do not wish to do this or wish to take it further, you should contact the partner supervising the fee earner concerned or where appropriate, Ajmal Hussain the Complaints Handling Partner of HUSANES LLP by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by post at Husanes LLP, Sutherland House, 3 Lloyds Avenue, London, EC3N 3DS.
21.2 We have a written complaints handling procedure. If you would like a copy of this, please contact the person with conduct of your case or Ajmal Hussain. We have eight weeks to consider your complaint.
21.3 You may be entitled to raise a complaint with the Legal Ombudsman, if you are not happy with our handling of your complaint. If you wish to do so, you will normally need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final written response about your complaint, or within six years of the occurrence of the act or omission about which you are complaining - or if outside of this period, within three years of when you should reasonably have been aware of it.
21.4 The right to complain includes your right to complain about your bill. If we are unable to resolve any such complaint satisfactorily, you may also have a right to object to the bill by applying to the Court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. If all or part of the bill remains unpaid, we may be entitled to charge interest.


22. Termination
22.1 You may terminate your instructions at any time by notice in writing. In this event we will render an invoice to you which will become payable in accordance with these terms for all work carried out up to or in consequence of the termination. Your papers will not be sent to you, or to any other firm instructed by you, until the fees are paid.
22.2 We will only cease to act for you when we have good reason to do so. This may include :
22.2.1 where you have failed to comply with your obligations under the Retainer; or
22.2.2 where you provide instructions which are unreasonable or which requires us to breach our duty to the court or a professional rule or involve the commission of a criminal offence; or
22.2.3 if we reasonably advise you that your case has no prospect of success and should not be pursued.
22.3 If we cease to act for you in any matter involving litigation, you agree to send to every other party and to the court, a notice stating that we no longer act for you and identifying your new solicitors. If you do not do this immediately, then you authorise us to send such notice.


23. The Cancellation of Contracts Made in a Consumer’s Home or Place of Work Regulations 2008
Certain contracts made between the Firm and a client may be subject to the above Regulations. These are contracts made outside of our normal place of business. If the Regulations do apply, then we will give you notice at the first opportunity, as required by the Regulations. You have 7 days from the date you receive the notice, in which to serve a cancellation notice. This is referred to in the Regulations as “the cancellation period”. Where these Regulations apply to this Retainer, you will find the notice attached to these terms and conditions.


24. Indemnity Insurance and Limitation of Liability
24.1 Our insurers are AmTrust Europe Limited of Market Square House St James’s Street Nottingham NG1 6FG
24.2 We will not be liable for any consequential, special, indirect or exemplary damages, costs or losses or any damages, costs or losses attributable to lost profits or opportunities.
24.3 We can only limit our liability to the extent the law allows. In particular, we cannot limit liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence.


25. Equality and Diversity
The Firm is committed to promoting equality and diversity in all of its dealings with clients, third parties, and employees. Please contact us if you would like a copy of our equality and diversity policy.


26. The Bribery Act
We are bound by the Bribery Act 2010 and operate a zero tolerance policy. A copy of our anti-bribery policy is available on request.


27. Authority to Disclose Files for Quality Marks / Audits
27.1 To ensure that we maintain the highest standards, we may apply for Quality Marks applicable to the Profession. This may include, but is not limited to, the Lexcel Quality Mark or Investors in People. If we make any such application it may be necessary from time to time for an audit of our files to be conducted by an Independent Assessor. Unless you instruct us to the contrary in writing, your continued instructions will be accepted as your consent to us disclosing your file for such purposes. There may be instances when we would not consider it appropriate to provide access to a file even if you have consented, and in such cases we would not allow inspection by an Assessor.
27.2 We are entitled to provide information concerning your matters in confidence to our auditors or professional indemnity insurers and you waive your legal professional privilege to the extent necessary for us to do so.
27.3 Should we receive requests from your accountants and / or auditors as to whether we are instructed on your behalf, our response may be addressed to them directly only where you have given us written instructions to do so. Otherwise, we will reply to you for onward transmission.


28. Acceptance of These Terms and Conditions
28.1 These terms and conditions, together with any additional terms and conditions referred to from time to time, any letter (or other written communication such as email) which we may send confirming your instructions (“Letter of Engagement”) and our Costs Information together constitute “the Retainer” which is the contract between you and the Firm.
28.2 By instructing or continuing to instruct the Firm you are deemed to have read, understood and accepted these terms and conditions of business. We reserve the right to make changes to these terms on giving you reasonable notice of such changes. Where you provide us with further instructions concerning other matters, unless we advise you to the contrary, these general terms and conditions will apply.

HUSANES LLP
Sutherland House, 3 Lloyds Avenue, London, EC3N 3DS
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.husanesllp.com