CLIENT CARE & TERMS

1.      Client Care and Service

The Law Society Rules regarding client care and service require a Lawyer to:

• 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 and loyalties.

• Discuss with you your objectives and how they should be best achieved.

• Provide you with the information about the work to be done, who will do it and the way the services will be provided (Letter of Engagement).

• 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 properly and fairly.

These obligations are fully set out in the Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers.  These obligations are subject to other overriding duties a Lawyer has, including duties to the Courts and to the Justice system.  Further detail is available at www.lawyers.org.nz.

 

2.         Fees

The basis on which our fees are charged and the procedure and time for payment of fees is set out in our standard Terms of Engagement.  Please note 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 and/or statement.

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3.         Professional Indemnity Insurance

When acting as Lawyers, we hold Professional Indemnity Insurance that exceeds the minimum standards required by the New Zealand Law Society.

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4.         Lawyers’ Fidelity Fund

The Law Society maintains the Lawyers’ Fidelity Fund providing clients and lawyers with protection against loss arising from theft by lawyers.  The maximum payable by the Fidelity Fund to an individual claimant is limited to $100,000.00.  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.

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5.         Complaints

We maintain a procedure for dealing with complaints by clients. If you have a complaint about our services or charges, we ask that you refer the initial complaint to the person in the firm who is responsible for your work.

If you have difficulty in referring the complaint to that person or you are not satisfied with that person’s response, the firm has an alternative procedure.  Contact should be made by letter, email or telephone with the Manager of the firm.  In her absence the Managing Director can be contacted. You will be supplied with a form to complete, briefly outlining the issues of concern.  The firm will deal with this as quickly as possible and provide a formal response.

The Law Society also maintains a complaints service and you are able to make a complaint using that service.  To do so you should contact The New Zealand Law Society, PO Box 58, Auckland 1140, Ph: (09) 303 5270.

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6.        Privacy and Confidentiality

We are committed to respecting and protecting the privacy of our clients that use our services and our website.  In accordance with the Privacy Act 1993 our Privacy Statement covers:

• How we collect your personal information

• Why we collect your personal information

• How we share your personal information

• How we store your personal information

• How you can access and change your personal information

How we collect your personal information

We collect your information from:

• You, when you provide that personal information us through any contact with us e.g. e-mails, phone conversations, forms filled in etc;

• Third parties, when authorized by you; and

• Publicly available sources such as the internet.

Why we collect your personal information

We collect information concerning you for the purpose of providing legal services, to obtain credit or other references, to undertake credit management and to inform you of issues and developments that may be of interest to you.

How we share your personal information

We may at times be required to disclose your personal information for purposes such as:

• A credit reference agency for the purpose of credit checking you;

• To any business that supports our services and products, including any person that hosts/maintains our IT systems that we use;

• A person who can require us to supply your personal information (e.g. a regulatory authority)

• Any other person authorised by the Act or another law (e.g. a law enforcement agency)

• Any other person authorised by you.

How we store your personal information

Information concerning you will be held at our office and is stored, and disposed of, in accordance with the Privacy Act 1993, the Official Information Act 1982 and the Public Records Act 2005. We will take reasonable steps to keep your personal information safe from loss, unauthorised activity, or other misuse.   We keep your personal information secure through:

• Training our staff on secure handling of information, including quarterly updates

• Making regular backups of our data

• Using secure systems and servers with strong privacy standards and policies to protect data from outside sources

• Secure storage for physical information.

Information

How you can access and change your personal information

Subject to certain grounds for refusal set out in the Act, you have the right to access your readily retrievable personal information that we hold and to request a correction to you personal information.  Before you exercise this right, we will need evidence to confirm that you are the individual to whom the personal information relates.

In respect for correction, if we think the correction is reasonable and we are reasonably able to change the personal information, we will make the correction.  If we do not make the correction, we will take reasonable steps to note on the personal information that you requested the correction.

If you want to exercise either of the above rights, email us at info@lawnorth.co.nz.  Your e-mail should provide evidence of who you are and set out the details of your request (e.g. the personal information, or the correction, that you are requesting). 

We may charge reasonable costs (guided by the Act) for providing to you copies of your personal information or correcting that information.

 

Changes to this policy

We may change this policy by uploading a revised policy on this website and updating the Client Terms of Engagement.  The change will apply from the date that we upload the revised policy.

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