Terms and Conditions

 

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT and COSTS AGREEMENT

Pursuant to Division 3 of Part 4.3 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law

Law Practice: Brand Partners Commercial Lawyers Pty Ltd ATF the Brand Partners Commercial Lawyers Unit Trust (ACN 093 585 445)
Matter: Please note that we are not qualified to give investment or taxation advice and will provide referrals for these or other issues as necessary. 

The Disclosure Statement and the Costs Agreement are to be read together and form the Agreement in this matter.

PART A – DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

 Under Division 3 of Part 4.3 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (Vic) (“Uniform Law“), we must disclose to you the following information relating to legal costs.

  1. The basis on which our legal costs will be calculated – section 174(1)(a)
    • Subject to you entering into a Costs Agreement with us, our charges are determined by hourly rates charged in 6-minute units. For example, the time charged for an attendance of up to 6 minutes will be rounded up to 6 minutes and the time charged for an attendance between 6 and 12 minutes will be rounded up to 12 minutes.
    • Our lawyers record the time they spend when they work on your matter and each lawyer has an hourly charge rate which reflects that lawyer’s skills and experience. The lawyer primarily responsible for your matter will be nominated at the time of engagement. At times, it may be appropriate to delegate some tasks to other legal, paralegal or clerical staff.  The current hourly rates of the other staff likely to be involved in working on this matter are:
Position Rate per hour (ex GST)
Directors / Principals / Partner $590.00
Consultants $550.00
Senior Associates $530.00
Fifth Year Solicitors + $490.00
Fourth Year Solicitors $440.00
Third Year Solicitors $390.00
Second Year Solicitors $360.00
First Year Solicitors $330.00
Paralegals / Trainee Solicitors $290.00
Secretaries $230.00
Court Filing / Registration Clerks $110.00

(Note:  A legal practitioner holding the position of Partner is a reflection of that legal practitioner’s high level of skill and experience only and does not mean that the Partner is part of a law firm partnership or is a ‘principal’ under the Legal Profession Uniform Law (Victoria)).

  1. Disbursements
    • In providing legal services to you, it may also be necessary to incur other fees, expenses and charges, including Court filing and issue fees, Barristers’ fees, experts’ fees, bank charges, travel expenses, stamp duty, courier fees, long distance telephone charges, photocopying fees, facsimile fees and company and other search fees. These fees, expenses and other charges we incur on your behalf are referred to as disbursements. Disbursements which may be incurred on your behalf include:
Disbursement Cost (ex GST)
Photocopying 60c per page
Courier / Delivery Cost charged by provider of service
other disbursements if known e.g. Court filing fees, land titles fees, search fees etc
  • We will charge you at cost for any disbursements we incur on your behalf. You must pay reasonable disbursements, including GST (Goods and Services Tax), incurred by us on your behalf either on demand or at the conclusion of this matter. If there are disbursements to be incurred that are unusual, we will seek your instructions before incurring the expense.
  • We may also request that you provide us with payment in advance of us incurring a disbursement on your behalf. These funds will be held in our trust account until payment of the disbursement is required.

 

  1. Our estimated total legal costs – section 174(1)(a)
  • We WILL estimate that total legal costs, including our charges, disbursements and GST.
  • This estimate of total legal costs is NOT BINDING on us, as the work required may change, but is our best advice at this point in time. The estimate is based on our current understanding of the present circumstances of this matter. If the scope of this matter or your instructions to us change in a way that results in a significant change to anything we have previously disclosed, including this estimate, we will revise the estimate as soon as practicable.

 

  1. Recovery of costs from another party in litigious matters

If your matter is a litigious matter, and if you are successful, it is likely that the Court will order the other party to pay some of your legal costs. These costs are usually calculated by applying the relevant Court scale of costs applicable to your matter. If the Court orders the other party to pay your costs, we estimate that you will recover between [insert dollar or percentage range here] of your total legal costs.

An order for costs in your favour does not affect your liability to pay all our charges and all disbursements. The costs you may recover from another party are unlikely to cover the whole of the legal costs that you must pay us. If you cannot recover legal costs from the other party (if for example the party goes into liquidation or becomes bankrupt), you will still be liable for your total legal costs.

 

  1. Your liability for the costs of another party in litigious matters

If your matter is a litigious matter, and if you are unsuccessful, it is likely that the Court will order you to pay some of the other party’s legal costs. These costs are usually calculated by applying the relevant Court scale of costs applicable to your matter. We estimate that this amount could range between [insert dollar or percentage range here] of your total legal costs.

You will still be responsible for payment of our legal costs. Please note that your liability for the costs of another party, if ordered by the Court, applies regardless of whether you entered into a Costs Agreement with us.

 

  1. Your rights – section 174(2)
    • You have a right to negotiate a Costs Agreement with us.
    • You have a right to negotiate the billing method with us.
    • You have a right to receive a Bill of Costs from us.
    • You have a right to request an itemised Bill of Costs after receiving a bill that is not itemised, or is only partially itemised, from us. You must make the request within 30 days after the date our fees become payable – s 187(2) Uniform Law. However, if you request an itemised bill and the total amount specified in the itemised bill exceeds the amount previously specified in the lump sum bill for the same matter, then we may be able to recover the higher costs should the matter proceed to a costs assessment under s 198 or a binding determination under s 292 of the Uniform Law.
    • You have a right to be notified of any significant change to the basis on which legal costs will be calculated or any significant change to the estimate of total legal costs.
    • You have the right to seek the assistance of the designated local regulatory authority (Victorian Legal Services Commissioner) in the event of a dispute about legal costs.

 

  1. Our accounts

We will send you a bill at suitable breaks in the matter and at the end of this matter.  We may ask you to pay an amount in advance to cover expenses or on account of our charges.  Our bill is payable when you receive it. If you do not pay our bill, we may be entitled to exercise a common law right known as a solicitor’s lien. The lien allows us to retain your documents until our bill is paid.

 

  1. Interest on unpaid accounts – section 195(1)

If a bill remains unpaid 30 days after we gave it to you, we may charge you interest at a rate not exceeding the Cash Rate Target, as fixed by the Reserve Bank of Australia, plus 2 per cent, at the date the bill is issued.

 

  1. Your right to request a written report on legal costs – section 190(1)

You have a right to request a written report of the legal costs incurred to date or since our last bill (if any), and we must provide such a report within a reasonable period and without charge.

 

  1. If you have a concern about our legal costs – section 174(3)

If you have any concerns about our legal costs, please do not hesitate to contact Jeremy Brand, Jane Good, Terence O’Brien, Tammie Moorhouse or Adam Cooke on (03) 9602 5800. This is because it is important to us that, in consenting to the proposed course of action for the conduct of your matter (in particular the proposed costs), you are informed and understand the issues involved.

 

  1. Your documents

Your documents may be destroyed after seven years from the date of our final bill unless you write to us requesting retention for a longer period. You hereby authorise us to destroy your documents after 7 years. However, you may at any time during the 7 year period ask that we provide our file to you instead of destroying it, in which case you agree to us keeping a photocopy for our records.  At the end of the matter, and provided our invoices are paid in full, we will release your file and your documents as you direct. You hereby agree that we may charge you the reasonable cost of provision to you of your file, including reimbursement of charges for retrieving documents from storage and for delivery of those documents to you.

We will not destroy any document you have asked us to keep in our safe.

 

  1. Jurisdiction

The Uniform Law as applied in Victoria is applicable to legal costs in this matter.

 

  1. Engagement of another lawyer or law practice – section 175

In providing legal services for you, it may be necessary to engage another law practice (including Barristers) to provide specialist advice or services. We will consult you about the terms of these engagements before incurring the expense. We will provide you with a statement setting out the rates and estimated costs of any other law practice we propose to engage as soon as the retained law practice provides this information to us.

 

PART B – COSTS AGREEMENT 

Division 4 of Part 4.3 of the Uniform Law allows a law practice and you (the client) to agree on how the law practice’s charges are to be calculated and paid. It is called a “Costs Agreement”, and it may be enforced in the same way as any other contract. This document is an offer to enter into a Costs Agreement in accordance with the information contained in the Disclosure Statement (Part A) given to you in compliance with Division 3 of Part 4.3 of the Uniform Law.

If you accept these terms, the Disclosure Statement and this document will make up the complete Agreement between us for this matter.

You may accept the Agreement by writing to us indicating your acceptance, by returning a signed copy of this document as provided in the Acknowledgement at the end of this document or by continuing to give us instructions in this matter. Please note: You provide us with instructions when you request our advice or ask us to undertake any work on your behalf. Instructions can be made in writing (email, letters, facsimile etc) or orally (via telephone calls or in person).

 

  1. The basis on which our charges will be calculated

Our charges will be calculated in accordance with our hourly rates as detailed in the Disclosure Statement (Part A) that forms part of this Agreement with you.

 

  1. Payment of our charges

Interim Bills of Costs will be given to you at suitable breaks in the matter and a final Bill of Costs will be given to you at the conclusion of the matter. Our accounts are immediately due and payable. If a bill remains unpaid 30 days after you receive it, we may charge you interest at a rate not exceeding the Cash Rate Target, as fixed by the Reserve Bank of Australia, plus 2 per cent, at the date the bill is issued. If you do not pay our bill, we may be entitled to exercise a common law right known as a “solicitor’s lien”. The lien allows us to retain your documents until our bill is paid. We accept payment of our accounts by cash, direct debit, Visa and MasterCard.

 

  1. Payment of GST and disbursements

We will charge you at cost for any disbursements we incur on your behalf. You must pay disbursements, including GST, incurred by us on your behalf either on demand or at the conclusion of this matter.

We may also request that you provide us with payment in advance of us incurring a disbursement on your behalf. These funds will be held in our trust account until payment of the disbursement is required.

 

  1. Trust money

If we receive money into our trust account on your behalf, you authorise us to draw on that money to pay any amount due to us in accordance with the provisions of the Uniform Law and the Legal Profession Uniform General Rules 2015 relating to the withdrawal of trust money for legal costs. A trust statement will be forwarded to you upon completion of the matter.

Generally, we have our clients deposit money in our trust account to secure barrister’s fees, cost of disbursements, engagement of other specialists and our own fees. It will be a condition of entering into this Costs Agreement that we ask you to pay is paid into our trust account a sum that will secure payment to begin work on your matter.  Brand Partners may cease acting if this condition is not met.

 

  1. Bills

We may give bills to you in any way specified in Rule 73 of the Legal Profession Uniform General Rules 2015. For the purposes of Rule 73, you consent to receiving bills:

  • by fax to the number specified by you;
  • by email address or mobile phone number to the address or number specified by you; or
  • by any other means of electronic transmission agreed to by you and us.

 

  1. Your obligations

We require you to, and you agree to:

  • provide full and honest instructions relevant to your matter and any material change in your circumstances that might impact on your matter while we continue to act for you;
  • co-operate in the matter and do all that we reasonably request of you in a timely manner;
  • accept and follow our reasonable legal advice; and
  • provide funds in advance in accordance with this Costs Agreement or some later arrangement.

If you fail to comply with any of these conditions, we have the option to terminate this Costs Agreement by advising you of termination in writing.

 

  1. If we cease to act for you or you stop using this law practice
    • Circumstances may arise (such as a conflict of interest) that make it impossible for us to continue to act for you. We may also cease acting for you if you breach your obligations as set out above. We will notify you immediately if any of the above matters arise.
    • If we cease to act for you:
      • we will take steps to remove our name from the Court record in any Court proceedings;
      • you will receive a final account which will include all outstanding legal costs;
      • you must pay our legal costs up until the date we cease to act; and
      • we may retain your file and keep your documents until we are paid, subject to any other statutory requirements.
    • If this law practice ceases to act for you during the course of this matter and before there is an outcome, then all legal costs incurred up to the date of the termination will be charged.
    • You may end our engagement by written notice at any time. If this occurs then all legal costs incurred up to the date of the termination will be charged and become immediately payable. Depending on circumstances, we may be entitled to exercise our right to a solicitor’s lien by retaining documents related to any matters we are conducting on your behalf.

 

  1. Guarantee

In consideration of our supply or continued supply of legal services to you at the request of the company director/s who signs this costs agreement below (“Guarantor”), the Guarantor agrees to guarantee the due and punctual payment by the company of all money which is or becomes payable by the company to us under this costs agreement or on any other account (“Secured Money”).  The Guarantor also agrees to pay to us on demand the Secured Money without the need for us to have made any prior demand on the company or to have taken any other steps against the company to recover the Secured Money.

 

  1. Payment of award or settlement

You agree that if any money is claimed, or is reasonably likely to be claimed, by us (whether on our own account, or that of another party) in relation to goods or services provided by us (or another party, if applicable, and whether under this Agreement or otherwise), then you agree in relation to any payment of monies connected to the work performed by us under this Agreement, whether such monies are by way of settlement or award and whether they are in respect of compensation, costs, interest or for any other reason and howsoever such monies are described (“the Monies”), that:

  • as so long as we act for you, the Monies shall be paid into our Trust Account prior to any payment onwards to yourself or other parties; and
  • that in the event of a dispute as to the amount claimed by us (or another party) that, pending the resolution of such dispute, at least sufficient funds to cover the amount claimed shall be retained from the Monies in our Trust Account.

This clause is in addition to and shall not derogate from the general law in relation to solicitor’s liens.

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

  1. We will ask you to ACKNOWLEDGE that you have:
    • received a Disclosure Statement (Part A) pursuant to Division 3 of Part 4.3 of the Uniform Law; and
    • read, understood and approved this Agreement (Parts A & B); and
    • agreed that you may sign and return this Costs Agreement in any of the following ways:
  • sign the Agreement and return it to the law practice by hand, post, electronically or other method;
  • reply electronically to the law practice stating that I agree to the terms and acknowledgements set out in this Agreement received and for the email which contains my printed name or signature to be my signature in the Agreement;
  • type my name into the Agreement and confirm by email to the law practice that it should stand as my signature in the Agreement; or
  • any other method in writing that would identify me as the client and my intention that I wish for my signature to be noted as being applied in the Agreement.