Terms of Engagement

These are the standard terms on which Foley Legal provides legal services to clients. These are the terms that will apply whenever you instruct us to act on your behalf.  

Please note that your continued instructions to us confirms your acceptance of these standard terms.

1. Client Care

When you instruct us to act on your behalf and we provide legal services, we will:

  • Identify what your needs/ objectives are and discuss how we can best achieve them.
  • Provide you with information about the work we will do, who will do it and how the work will be completed. In most instances the legal work may be broken up into several stages for practical reasons.
  • Deal with the matter competently and in a timely manner in accordance with your instructions.
  • Keep you informed of progress and the likely timeframes as to when each stage of the work will be completed.
  • Provide you with clear advice.
  • Charge you a fee that is fair and reasonable and let you know when you will be billed.
  • Deal with any complaint promptly and fairly.

2. Identity Verification

When you engage our services we are required by law to verify your identity. As such you consent to your identity being verified against any relevant source, including a New Zealand Birth Certificate, a New Zealand Passport, a New Zealand Driver’s Licence, a Companies Office search, a Foreign Passport et cetera (list non-exhaustive).

3. File Storage

We will retain all files that we open, both physical and or electronic in regards to any matter including any documents that you deposit with us for a minimum period of 6 years. Further you agree to us retaining the files and documents to the extent permitted by law. Our file storage may be kept onsite, at an external storage premises or in cloud computing services located in New Zealand or elsewhere.

4. Electronic Communications

Our primary means of communication with you and others will be by electronic messaging and we do not accept any responsibility or liability for any loss or damage caused by the corruption or interference of any electronic message.

5. Confidentiality

We will hold all personal information about you in strict confidence and will not disclose any personal information to third parties except where necessary to enable us to carry out your instructions or where required by law.

6. Fees

Our fees are based on a combination of factors including time, skill, urgency and complexity. We are happy to provide you with a fee indication at any time upon request. Please note however, that if any unforeseen circumstances should arise during the course of our legal work which are not brought about by us, we will update our fee indication accordingly and inform you immediately of the change.  

We will render our invoice at designated stages during the course of our legal work and invoices must be paid within 14 days after this date unless agreed to prior by us.

7. Professional Indemnity Insurance

We hold professional indemnity insurance that meets the minimum standards specified by the New Zealand Law Society.

8. Complaints

All complaints will be dealt with promptly and fairly. If a complaint relates to our services then it must be referred to the person at first instance who has overall responsibility for the work undertaken or alternatively the complaint can be forwarded to the director of the firm.

If at the conclusion of our investigation, you are still not satisfied with our decision, you may put your complaint in writing to us and we will refer the complaint to an independent solicitor of our choosing for mediation. This process will not incur any costs to you and we will endeavour to keep you informed of progress.

Furthermore the New Zealand Law Society also maintains a complaints service and you are at liberty to make a complaint to that service if you so choose. Their website is www.lawsociety.org.nz.

9. Termination

You are able to terminate our services at any time. However all fees including disbursements must be paid in full as at the date of termination.   

10. Overriding Obligations

Please note that the obligations that we owe to you are outlined in the Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers. However, these obligations may be subject to overriding duties that we have as Officers of the Court and the New Zealand justice system.