Instructions

1. As your Agents, we can only act on information and instructions given to us.  You should not assume that we have knowledge of any factual matters.  You can instruct us either verbally or in writing, although we may ask you to confirm verbal instructions to us.  If there is any change in your instructions, you  must notify us immediately.

2. Your business will be handled by  Mr  Adie or Mr. Hunter with assistance from any of their qualified Assistants from time to time to whom your instructions should be addressed.  He/she can be contacted during the office opening hours (Monday - Friday 9.00am - 5.00pm).  If you have any difficulty in making contact, then you should leave a message with his or her secretary who will pass it to him or her for action.  You may wish to write, email  or fax as often this can be a quicker method of communicating information.

Charges

1. Unless negotiated and agreed in advance, fees are charged on the basis of time spent on the work, together with an element for responsibility which can vary according to a number of matters, such as urgency, importance of the work to you, amount or value of money or property involved, complexity, difficulty or novelty of the matters, length number or importance of documents or papers.  If there is a negotiated or agreed fee in advance, but the transaction involves a major increase in the amount of work or  suddenly acquires some new complexity, then we reserve the right to charge an additional fee.  For example, if a house conveyance did not proceed and litigation had to be entered into, an extra fee would be charged as this would be treated as a separate legal matter.   Indicative charge out rates are as follows:-  

Partner/Consultant: £190 per hour, Associate: £150 per hour, Other qualified staff/Legal Executive: £120 per hour

2. Any estimate given will be for a probable fee based on our experience of the general amount of work involved in a typical transaction of the type involved.  If the work turns out to be more complex than normal, then our estimate may require to be amended.  You will be kept advised of any major changes.

3. Fees which are not agreed in advance are subject to independent assessment by the  Auditor of Court.  This process is known as "Taxation".  You are entitled to require our file to be taxed if your are not happy about the fee charged.  In such a case the file is passed to the Auditor who will fix what he considers to be fair and reasonable fee in all the circumstances, including those factors outlined above.    The Auditor can fix a fee higher or lower than the fee charged.  If it is lower, then we will pay the cost of taxation.  If, however, he prices a higher fee or confirms the fee as charged, then you will be responsible for that fee as well as the Auditor's costs.  In Executries we will have our fee fixed by The Auditor of  The  Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow.   The cost of this is charged to the Estate. Our fee will however be 3% of the gross estate or the sum as fixed by the Auditor, whichever is the higher.  During the course of a transaction or an Executry we reserve the right to render and charge an interim fee, especially if the matter is prolonged.

4. Along with our fee, we will issue a statement detailing financial dealings on your behalf.  This will include outlays which may have been incurred.  Where outlays have been incurred, we will require repayment of them within seven days of receipt by you of a request. We will try to estimate outlays in advance but this is usually only possible with conveyancing work.

5. We may require you to settle accounts and repay outlays during the course of transactions.    In such a case, interim statements or fees will be issued.  Large outlays will require to be paid to us before they are due to be paid out by us.

6. All telex or electronic transfers of funds will attract a charge of £25 or if greater, the Bank’s prevailing rate. In the case of electronic conveyancing certain charges of a nominal nature, i.e. around £12/£16 per transaction may be levied to cover costs and electronically processing information. In addition charges of a nominal nature may be made for electronic money laundering checks.

7. We reserve the right to sub-contract any specialist area of work if specialist knowledge is needed. For example, Crofting Law, Taxation Law or a complex point on Stamp Duty Land Tax .    In that event we will simply pass on any cost of sub-contractors to you.

Litigation

If you are involved in court proceedings you will be personally responsible for payment of our costs in full even if another party in the case has been ordered to pay the expenses. Any award of expenses granted by the court may not cover in full all of the expenses and outlays which you have incurred to us. If your opponent is legally aided you may not be able to recover any expenses from that party even although you have won your court action. Even if you are successful in your court action and obtain an award of expenses it is still necessary to recover those expenses from the other party and whether they can be recovered may depend on whether that party is financially able to make payment. It is important for you to appreciate that if you lose your case you may have to bear your opponent's expenses as well as your own. Before commencing or continuing litigation you must therefore consider whether the likelihood of success justifies the expense which will be involved. You must also consider whether it is  worthwhile proceeding with court action in circumstances where even if you are successful you may not be able to recover any sums from your opponent since the opponent may have no assets which can be attached to cover payments.

General

1. Our aim is to provide an efficient service, but if you are unhappy about any aspect, then please  discuss your concerns in the first instance with the person dealing with you.  However, if that would cause you difficulty or embarrassment please speak to any of the partners whose names appear on the notepaper.  If the matter cannot be resolved then you are always entitled to refer it to the Law Society of  Scotland, 26 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh EH3 7YR.  Our Mr. Adie is the client relations partner.

2. Information provided to us will be dealt with in confidence and will only be disclosed to parties authorised by you or as required by the Law Society of Scotland or any other authorised body.         
 
3. For the avoidance of doubt we do not hold ourselves out as offering any specific advice in relation to taxation issues and specialist advice should be taken.   The exception to this is Inheritance Tax Planning or Stamp Duty Land Tax.

4. If we invest money in designated clients account we will not necessarily pass on the exact same rate of interest as the rate which we receive, but we will always pass on to you the market rate.

5. We may add a small nominal additional amount to each Fee Note we issue to cover the ever increasing costs of Professional Indemnity Insurance.    We also reserve the right to charge additional fees in connection with completing Stamp Duty Land Tax Returns and in particular, any complicated Returns in relation to commercial property.     This may include a charge for dealing with any subsequent investigation on the part of the Revenue.

6. On instructing us you agree that any one claim or several claims for breach of contract or however arising against the firm of Adie Hunter and/or the Partners thereof shall be limited to a maximum sum in aggregate of £1,500,000.

Limited Companies

If we are given instructions by a limited company then unless otherwise agreed with you in advance, it is a condition of our accepting those instructions that we may accept instructions from any one of the Directors and that all directors are jointly and severally liable along with the company for payment of our fees and outlays and any interest thereon. It is a further condition of our accepting instructions that you agree to our instructing a company search to demonstrate that the company is in existence. The expense of such search will be payable by you. You will also be required to produce to us on request a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company.

How Long Will It Take?

The nature of legal work makes it difficult to estimate precisely, in many cases, how long something will take to complete. When we discuss your requirements at the outset we will also discuss time scales. Often however the speed at which we can complete a piece of work is directly affected by the co-operation we receive from other people outwith our control. In a matter which involves a dispute, it may well be in the other side's interest to drag out the matter for as long as possible. It is in our interest as much as yours to complete a piece of work as quickly and efficiently as possible. However it is your business, and if you have not heard recently from the person dealing with your work, then please ring , write or email and ask for some up-to-date information.

Conflict of Interest

In terms of the rules of the Law Society of Scotland we require to intimate to you that where we act for both parties in a transaction we can only do so where there is no conflict of interest and under certain circumstances. We must however advise you that in the event of any conflict of interest arising it is necessary for us to cease acting for both parties and each party must then seek separate legal advice. It is important that you advise us if any conflict of interest arises.

Money Laundering

We will require to comply with Money Laundering Regulations and we will require identity checks on all clients.     We will require to check the source of funds remitted to us.  We cannot act for you without being satisfied on these issues.     We may not settle a transaction unless you timeously provide us with the relevant information requested.    Please therefore respond to requests at once. We will not be liable for loss or delay if you do not co-operate.  (see 6 above under CHARGES).

We will not accept any large payments in cash to this firm (for example by way of a deposit in a house purchase) as this also will have adverse safety and insurance implications for us.

Amended 7.2.07