1.1 These Terms of Engagement (“Terms”) apply to all work carried out by MacDonald Lewis Law for you except to the extent we have otherwise agreed in writing. By instructing us you are deemed to have accepted these Terms. We may, from time to time, change these Terms. If we do we will let you know in writing and the new Terms will apply to all future work which we carry out for you. 

2.1 Our understanding of your instructions will initially be set out in our initial engagement letter which we provide to you before we commence work. Any future legal services we provide to you will be as instructed by you from time to time. 

2.2 The person(s) who will be working with you will be named in our initial engagement letter or as advised to you from time to time. 

2.3 We don’t provide tax advice on the effect of any transactions which will form part of your instructions. It is your responsibility to ascertain the tax effect of these transactions. 

2.4 Any legal services we provide to you can only be relied on by you and not by any other person. If a person wishes to rely on any work we have done they will need to instruct us accordingly. 

2.5 Sometimes when we provide legal services we rely on information provided by or obtained from external sources, for example company searches of the Companies Office website. We are not liable for any errors or omissions in that third party information. 

3.1 Unless we specifically advise otherwise our fees will base on the applicable hourly rate applicable to the individual(s) who are providing the legal services. The hourly rates of the relevant individuals will be advised in our initial engagement letter and we will advise you, if there are any changes to these hourly rates. 

3.2 Our fees may also take into account other factors as allowed under the Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers issued by the New Zealand Law Society (“the Rules of Conduct”). These factors include the following: 

 (a) The urgency and circumstances in which the matter is undertaken and any time limitations imposed; 

(b) The complexity of the matter and the difficulty or novelty of the questions involved 

(c) The skill, specialised knowledge and responsibility required to perform the services properly 

3.3 We record our time we spend on a matter in 6 minute units and any time spent is rounded up to the next unit of 6 minutes. 

3.4 Any indication we give you of the fees which may be payable in respect of a particular matter are (unless we otherwise specifically agree in writing) estimates only and not quotes. Our final fees will be based on the actual time we spend on a matter. If we believe our fees will exceed any estimate given to you we will let you know. 

3.5 Our fees do not include GST which (if applicable) is payable in addition. 

 4.1 General office services such as photocopying, mobile phone calls, company searches are charged at the rate of $50.00 (incl of GST) for fees up to $1,000.00 and $75.00 (incl of GST) for fees over this amount. However, we reserve the right to charge an additional amount where a matter requires extensive office services such as photocopying and mobile or toll calls. The general office services rate is reviewed and may change from time to time. If it does, the revised rate will generally apply from the date of the change without notice. 

5.1 We charge separately for out of pocket expenses which we incur on your behalf and which are payable to third parties. These expenses are called disbursements and include such items as courier charges, LINZ registration and search fees, company incorporation fees, trademark registration fees and any barrister fees. 

5.2 Where a matter is likely to incur significant disbursements we may ask you to pay for these disbursements in advance. 

6.1 Where a matter is ongoing over a period of more than a month we will provide you with an invoice each month until the matter is completed. Otherwise we will provide you with an invoice when we have completed our services. If our services are in respect of the sale or purchase of land or a property or a business, payment of our fees is required on settlement of the transaction unless the transaction does not proceed in which case our fees are payable on termination of the transaction. 

6.2 Payment of our fees is required within 7 days of the date of our invoice. If you are unable to make payment of our fees within this period please let us know and we may agree to other payment options. 

6.3 Unless we agree otherwise payment of fees is to be made in cleared funds. Direct credit into our trust account is preferred. 

6.4 If you are a new customer to us we may require you to pay to us a certain amount in advance payment of fees for our services. 

6.5 We reserve the right to charge default interest of 12% per annum (calculated on a daily basis) in respect of our fees which are not paid by the due date. You must reimburse us for all debt collection costs (include legal costs) which we or our contractors incur as a result of obtaining or attempting to obtain payment from you. 

6.6 If you make payment to us by Visa or MasterCard we reserve the right to require you to reimburse us for the charge imposed on us by Visa or MasterCard which is around 2.8% on top of our fee charged to you. 

6.7 If the client is a trust unless otherwise agreed by us each trustee is personally liable for our fees. 

6.8 You will remain liable to pay our fees even if you have asked us to address our invoice to another person. 

7.1 We operate a trust account into which all amounts received from clients are deposited into. 

7.2 We may deposit funds which we hold on your behalf (except those funds for payment of fees) into an interest bearing trust account. 

7.3 We are not responsible for obtaining the best interest rate available at the time your funds are deposited into an interest bearing trust account. 

7.4 We are not liable if there is a delay in depositing funds into an interest bearing trust account and are also not liable for any losses you may suffer as a result of the act, negligence or omission of any institution into which we deposit amounts on your behalf. 

7.5 We may charge an admin fee of 5% of any net interest achieved. 

7.6 If you do no provide us with a copy of you IRD number or a copy of your Resident Withholding Tax Exemption Certificate Resident withholding Tax will be deducted at the non-declaration rate. 

8.1 Where you are a company we may require a personal guarantee from your directors and or shareholders.