Client Care and Service
Whatever legal services your lawyer is providing, they 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.
- 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.
The obligations lawyers owe to clients are described more fully in the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act, 2006 (Lawyers: Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers) Rules 2008. Those obligations are subject to other overriding duties, including duties to the courts and to the justice system.
If you have any questions, please visit www.lawsociety.org.nz or call (04) 472-7837.
Persons Responsible for the Work
The names and status of the person or persons who will have the general carriage of or overall responsibility for the services we provide for you are set out in our letter of engagement.
Fees
The basis on which fees will be charged is set out in our letter of engagement. When payment of fees is to be made is set out in our standard terms of engagement.
We may deduct from any funds held on your behalf in our trust account any fees, expenses or disbursements for which we have provided an invoice.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
We hold professional indemnity insurance that exceeds the minimum standards specified. We will provide you with particulars of the minimum standards upon request.
Lawyers Fidelity Fund
The Law Society maintains the Lawyers’ Fidelity Fund for the purposes 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.
Complaints
We maintain a procedure for handling any complaints by clients, designed to ensure that a complaint is dealt with promptly and fairly.
If you have a complaint about our services or charges, you may refer your complaint to the person in our firm who has overall responsibility for your work.
If you do not wish to refer your complaint to that person, or you are not satisfied with that person’s response to your complaint, you may refer your complaint to the Chief Executive, Bethany Parlane.
She may be contacted as follows:
By letter
By email: bethany.parlane@arl-lawyers.co.nz
By telephone: 566-6777
Please note that should you have a complaint in regards to your invoice we would expect that this is raised within 14 days of the issue of the invoice.
The Law Society also maintains a complaints service and you are able to make a complaint to that service. To do so you should contact:
New Zealand Law Society
Lawyers Complaints Service
PO Box 494
Wellington 6140
Phone: 0800 261 801
Email: complaints@lawsociety.org.nz
Limitations on extent of our Obligations or Liability
Any limitations on the extent of our obligations to you or any limitation or exclusion of liability are set out in our letter of engagement.