Our standard terms of trade are as follows :-

In appropriate cases we are prepared to accept negotiated variations in advance and incorporate those terms accordingly

Fees
  • The fee we will charge or the manner in which they will be arrived at are set out in our engagement letter.
  • If the engagement letter specifies a fixed  fee. We will charge this for the agreed scope of our services. Work which falls outside that scope will be charged on an hourly rate basis. We will advise you as soon as reasonable practicable. If it becomes necessary for us  to provide services outside the agreed scope and if requested, give you an estimate of the likely  amount of the further costs.
  • Where our fees are calculated on an hourly basis  Our fees will be based upon various criteria, including:
  • The time taken to carry out a task based upon the hourly rates incurred by firm members. The following Lawyers would undertake your work

             Mr. B.  Castelino: (Director- Barrister & Solicitor)

  •  We reserve the right to vary those hourly rates, or vary the fee charged taking account of those hourly rates, to take account of all relevant factors including:

Any issues of urgency

The value to the client of the transaction

The level of risk associated with the transaction

The complexity of the transaction

The outcome of the transaction

The value of assets associated with the transaction.

 Payment:
  •  To make the require payment of all invoices within 7 days. No statements for accounts will be issued unless requested and notified at the time of signing the terms of trade. Please pay upon receipt of our invoices.
  • If account is overdue the interest will be changed on overdue accounts at the greater of 15 %, or the rate charged by ASB Bank for unauthorised overdrafts.
  • We reserve the right to require personal guarantees for any tasks undertaken on behalf of private companies or other limited liability entities or  clients with limited ability to pay legal fees.
  • We reserve the right to require payment in advance, or retainers in advance. If a retainer is required we will choose either to apply that retainer  to accounts as they are incurred, or to hold the retainer in trust, and require payments of accounts in cash as they are incurred.
  • We reserve the right to certain matters to prepare invoices monthly payment.
  • We reserve the right to cease work on any file for which payment is delinquent. I will not accept responsibility for any loss incurred by a client  for which work has been suspended because of late payment of any account
 Disbursements
  • We will charge for all disbursements, as well as our own fees. Disbursements are out of pocket expenses, such as government agency search and filing fees (Companies Office, High Court, District Court, Land Information New Zealand, Personal Property Securities Registry etc), legal agency fees, barristers’ fees, bank charges, other professional and consultancy fees incurred by me in relation to a client’s affairs.
  • We are instructing a barrister or other expert we reserve the right to require payment of a fixed sum in advance to cover the anticipated cost of that expert. Please be aware that we are personally liable to meet the costs of barristers and experts, unless specifically negotiated otherwise.We therefore must take all reasonable steps to protect ourselves from exposure to pay experts’ accounts. All such payment is require to  be paid immediately before instructing a barrister or other expert.
  • We reserve the right to deduct fees and disbursements from monies held by me in trust for any invoice that has presented you for the payment.
  • We reserve the right to charge fees or commissions for the handling of client monies (all commissions and fees will be disclosed to clients).
 GST
  •  All of our accounts will be subject to New Zealand law regarding Goods and Services Tax (GST). In most instances this means that addition to fees and disbursements I will charge GST, currently at the rate of 15% on all costs. In certain cases, particularly for work carried out for overseas clients in limited circumstances, our fees will be exempt from GST.
Ethics & Conflict of Interest:
  • We will not do anything on behalf of a client that we consider to be illegal, immoral, or a breach of professional ethics.
  • We will not place our firm in a position in which we are potentially in a conflict of interest unless we have the informed consent of all parties,appropriate indemnities from all parties,and unless we have determined that thepotential risks to us are negligible, and that our position as adviser to the parties is not prejudiced by the potential conflict.
  • We reserve the right to cease acting upon a matter or for a client at any time should we consider that we are in a position of conflict of interest; if an account is delinquent; or if we determine that it is not in the best interests of the client or us to continue to act.
Retention of files and documents:
  • You authorise us (without further reference to you) to destroy all files and documents for this matter (other than any documents that we hold in safe custody for you) 7 years after our engagement ends, or earlier if we have converted those files and documents to an electronic format.
Security
  • We  obtain identification from individual clients and officers of corporate clients in order to comply with the Financial Transactions Reporting Act 1996. The Financial Transactions Reporting Act 1996 requires me to report transactions regarding cash which might be for a potentially llegal or money laundering purpose.
  • We may  ask you to pre-pay amounts to us  or to provide security for our fees and expenses. You authorise us a.To debit against amounts pre-paid by you, and
  • To deduct from any funds on your behalf in our trust account any fees, expenses or disbursements for which we have provided an invoice.
Complaint Procedure:
  • If you have any complaint about the services provided by Castlefinn Law, Lawyers they should be addressed in the first instance to Bennet Castelino. by:

            • Letter: 60 Castlefinn Drive, Auckland 2103.

            • Email: castelinob@lawyer.com

            • Telephone: +64-9-2641238

  • You will be notifying the outcome. If a complaint is unable to be resolved to your satisfaction you are entitled to refer it to the New Zealand Law Society. The New Zealand Law Society can be contacted by phone on 0800 261 801, or through its website www.lawsociety.org.nz.
  • The Law Society maintains the Lawyers’ Fidelity Fund for the purpose of providing clients of lawyers with protection against pecuniary loss arising from theft by lawyers. The maximum amount payable by the Fidelity Fund by way of compensation to an individual claimant is limited to  $100,000. Except in certain circumstances specified in the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006, the Fidelity Fund does not  cover a client for any loss relating to money that a lawyer is instructed to invest on behalf of the client.
  • Legal attendances at Castlefinn Law , Lawyers are carried out by Bennet Castelino, a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.
Duty of care:
  • The Law Society client care and service information is set out below.Whatever legal services your lawyer is providing, he or she must:

                        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.

Termination
  • You may terminate our retainer at any time
  • We may terminate our retainer in any of the circumstances set out in the Law Society’s Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers.
  • If our retainer is terminated you must pay us all fees due up to the date of termination and all expenses incurred up to that date.
 Trust Account:
  • We maintain a trust account for all funds which we received from clients except monies received for payment of our invoices) If we are  holding significant fund on your behalf we will normally lodge those funds on interest bearing deposit with a bank. In that case we will charge an administration fee of (2%) of the interest derived.
General:
  • These terms apply to any current engagement and also to any future engagement whether or not we send you another copy of them.
  • We are entitled to change these terms from time to time, in which case we will send you amendment terms
  • Our relationship with you is governed by New Zealand law and New Zealand courts have non-exclusive jurisdiction.