Terms and conditions of business

The status of this page

This page sets out our standard terms of business so that you can read them before you instruct us. It is not itself a contract, and nothing on it is an offer to act for you.

When we agree to take your matter on, we will send you a client care letter with these terms attached. That letter and those terms form the contract between us, and where anything in them differs from this page, they prevail.

Regulation and professional standards

Jemek Solicitors Limited is a recognised body authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under SRA number 627949. We are registered in England and Wales under company number 09976937, with our registered office at Branston Court, Branston Street, Birmingham B18 6BA.

As our client you have the protection of the professional rules that apply to us, which are the SRA Standards and Regulations.

They are published at sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations.

Hours and appointments

Our office is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm on weekdays, except bank holidays. Outside those hours you can leave a message and we will return your call.

Appointments are normally between 10:30am and 1:00pm and between 2:30pm and 5:00pm, and we ask you to arrange one by telephone so that we can give you a time that suits you. If your matter is urgent we will do our best to see you outside those hours, but we cannot guarantee to see anyone who arrives without an appointment.

What we will do

• Act in your best interests, subject to our overriding duty to the court.
• Explain the legal work as your matter progresses, in plain language.
• Keep you informed of progress, and keep your matter under regular review.
• Tell you if the likely cost changes, and update you on costs at least every six months.
• Review with you whether there is another way of funding your matter.
• Treat you fairly. Our equality and diversity policy is available on request.

What we ask of you

• Give us clear, accurate and timely instructions.
• Provide the documents we ask for promptly.
• Attend appointments with experts and any court hearing you are required to attend.
• Tell us straight away if your contact details change, or if you become subject to bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings.
• Not ask us to act improperly or unreasonably, and not mislead us.

Unless you tell us otherwise, we will assume we have your authority to take the reasonable steps needed to progress your matter and to incur expenses on your behalf, such as court fees, expert fees and barristers' fees.

Our charges

Unless we have agreed a fixed fee with you in writing, our charges are based on the time we spend on your matter. That includes meetings, telephone calls, correspondence, preparing and reviewing documents, and travel.

Routine letters, emails and short calls

Charged at one tenth of the relevant hourly rate.

Longer letters and calls

Anything exceeding one A4 page or the equivalent in time is charged at one half of the hourly rate.

File opening fee

£25.00

Minimum charge

£60.00

VAT

Our charges are subject to VAT at 20%.

We review our rates periodically and will tell you in advance of any change. If work becomes necessary that we did not foresee, we will tell you what it is likely to cost before we do it.

Disbursements are expenses we pay out on your behalf, such as court and tribunal fees, medical reports and barristers' fees. Smaller expenses such as bank charges, couriers, photocopying and travel are billed separately.

Billing

We usually bill every six months as your matter goes along, and more often where the work justifies it. Payment is due within fourteen days of the date of the bill. We reserve the right to charge interest on overdue bills at 4% above the base rate of Lloyds Bank plc.

If you are worried about paying, please tell us early. It is almost always possible to agree something, and much harder once a bill is long overdue.

Other ways of funding your matter

• Legal expenses insurance, which is often attached to a home, motor or mortgage policy. It is worth checking, because people frequently have cover they do not know about.
• Trade union funding, where you are a member and the matter falls within what your union supports.
• A conditional fee agreement, in the limited categories of case where one is available and appropriate.
• Legal aid, where you qualify. We will tell you if we think you might.

There is more detail on our funding your case page.

Confidentiality and your data

Everything you tell us is confidential, and much of it is privileged. We will not disclose it without your authority, except where the law requires us to, which most often arises under the money laundering regulations. Where that duty applies we may be prohibited from telling you that we have made a disclosure.

We process personal data in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Our privacy policy explains how.

Storing your file

We keep your file for six years after your matter concludes, unless we have agreed otherwise with you or we are required to keep it for longer, after which we may destroy it. We will not destroy anything you have asked us to hold in safe custody for you.

Ending the retainer

You may end our retainer at any time by telling us in writing. You remain liable for our charges and expenses up to that point.

We may stop acting for you only with good reason and on reasonable notice, for example where our bills are not paid, where you have misled us, or where continuing to act would put us in breach of our professional obligations.

If you are unhappy

Please tell us. Our complaints procedure explains how to raise a concern, what we will do about it, and your right to take an unresolved complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. Raising a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.