THE FAMILY LAW PRACTICE
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS

Professional rules laid down by the Law Society require that clients be informed of certain terms of business.
Accordingly this statement sets out the basis on which we carry out professional services on your behalf.

Responsibility for work

 You will be notified of who the person with responsibility for your case is at the outset of your matter. We will endeavour to do our very best but if any difficulty arises please bring this to the attention of Mr Michael Mills’ the firm’s principal. He will try his best to resolve the problem. If you remain dissatisfied you have the right to report the matter to the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors.

Fees

 Fees are calculated by time spent on your matter. The hourly rate is £97.50. This is reduced to £65 for travel and waiting (for example at court).  Routine letters sent and short telephone calls will be charged at one-tenth of the normal hourly rate. You are welcome to contact us at any stage of your matter and to request an estimate of costs to date.
Straightforward wills are charged at £65 for a single will and £95 for mirror wills (for couples) provided they can be dealt with in 60 minutes or 90 minutes respectively. Thereafter they will be charged at the hourly rate. Severance of joint tenancy if required is charged at £15 and home visits at £30.
To keep overheads to a minimum we ask that you make regular payments on account of costs as the matter progresses. Normally a payment on account will be required at the outset of your matter. Interim bills will be raised from time to time, normally on a 3 or 6-month basis. All work will be billed to date by 6th April in each year. We are not obliged to carry out further work where money is not paid on account in accordance with prior arrangements. Interest may be charged at 8% per annum on invoices not paid within 28 days of presentation.
Disbursements (payments made to others on your behalf) must be paid by you in advance. These might include court fees or payments for barrister’s fees.
Hourly rates may be reviewed annually to take account of changes in overheads. You will be given details of any revision of rates.
The above rates do not include VAT. VAT will be added at the appropriate rate (currently 17.5%).
Fees are payable by you regardless of the outcome of your case and whether or not any other person is ordered to pay costs. In cases where costs are ordered to be paid by someone else it is unlikely that you will recover the full amount. Further you will be responsible for the costs of any work carried out in seeking to enforce a costs order.
In the event that we are unable to agree the amount of your costs you may be entitled to apply for a remuneration certificate or seek taxation of costs through the courts.

General

 Your file may be disclosed to third parties such as the Legal Services Commission but only for the purpose of quality management audit

The Family Law Practice
1A Birmingham Road
Cowes Isle of Wight
PO31 7BH
01983 240230