Terms of Business

  1. Basis of Charging

    1. We generally charge on the basis of an hourly rate.

    2. Travel is charged at half rate. We may not charge for travel out of office hours depending on circumstance.

    3. Disbursements charges will usually be travel expenses, photocopying, courier and communications, official searches and government fees.

    4. We can undertake work on a fixed cost, lump sum, retainer or project basis for our fees and we are happy to discuss these arrangements with clients. We can work under a combination of hourly rate and fixed cost for discrete aspects of an assignment.

    5. Our fees and disbursements are normally invoiced in Pounds Sterling, however, if the client requires the invoices in US Dollars and/or Euros this can be discussed.

  2. Payment of Fees & Disbursements

    1. We do not normally ask for money on account. However, we are a small enterprise and so we ask that our disbursements are paid on presentation and our fee invoices promptly and in any event within 30 days of presentation. We reserve the right to charge 5% over Bank of England base rate for late payments

    2. Payments may be made by cheque on a UK Bank, BACS, or Electronic transfer. In all cases, all charges must be paid by the client. If we are charged for your transfer, we reserve the right to recharge you double the amount.

    3. We prefer to invoice regularly for large projects. We will discuss and agree with the client the level of our fees before we render our invoice

    4. Prior to invoicing we will confirm with the client the full style of the paying party and the type and amount of information required in our invoice.

  3. Travel & Accommodation

    1. All travel expenses are billed to the client at cost. We generally fly business class for comfort and flexibility and use modest business class accommodation with reasonable communications.

    2. We bill foreign currency expenditure to clients in the Sterling equivalent. however, if you require these to be reflected on the invoices in US Dollars and/or Euros, this can be discussed.

  4. Acceptance of Instructions

    1. We are independent consultants and are free to accept instructions from any party unless we are already acting in relation to the same matter. Instructions are accepted on a “first come, first served” basis.

    2. If for any reason we consider we will be unable to provide a satisfactory level of service on a particular matter or will be unable to complete work within the required time frame we will decline the instruction.

  5. Undertaking Work

    1. Unless specifically instructed not to do so, we may outsource parts of the work in order to resolve the matter. We will use our network of contacts, unless the client specify a particular one to be used.

    2. We will establish at the outset the nature of the work, the extent of our authority and the work product required and will confirm our understanding in writing (letter, fax or e-mail) as soon as practicable.

    3. We will agree with the client the frequency and modes of reporting.

    4. We will give our best estimate of the time and costs involved in a given instruction once we have confirmed our understanding of the instruction and will use our best endeavours to complete the work in line with our estimates. Such estimates are not guarantees and are not to be taken as any guarantee or warranty whatsoever.

  6. Retention of Documents

    1. The client agrees that we may retain for our personal use and reference, copies of documents provided to us in relation to a specific matter or instruction. Any such documents will remain confidential.

  7. Place of Contract

    1. Under the Laws of England