INTRODUCTION
This Guide has been prepared for our clients to provide them with an understanding of our costs and issues relating to legal costs. It does not contain our fee rates, which are published in our Legal Cost Guides and are available on request.
As a general rule, our fees are calculated on an hourly basis in keeping with the prevailing professional cost scales (“Cost Scales”). The Cost Scales are a schedule of charges fixed by the Legal Costs Committee. The Legal Costs Committee is independent of the Law Society and the Courts. It is composed of lawyers and community representatives.
A copy of the Cost Scales is available upon request.
The cost of our services will depend upon a number of factors including the complexity of the work that we are required to undertake and the time necessary to complete it.
TIME COSTING
We charge for our service on the basis of the actual time spent carrying out instructions. This may include telephone calls, letters, reviewing documents, considering the law and formulating advice and, from time to time, reporting on the status and progress of instructions.
The time spent by us is recorded in a Professional Activity Statement, which will generally accompany a tax invoice. If not, a Professional Activity Statement is available upon request.
For invoicing purposes, each hour is broken into six 10 minute units and the work that we carry out is recorded as a proportion of a 10 minute unit. For example, a half hour meeting would be recorded as “3.0 Units” and a three minute review of incoming correspondence would be recorded as “0.3 Units”. Whilst this system may appear unusual, because of programming limitations in most commercial cost accounting computer software packages, it is the most convenient way for us to record actual time spent carrying out instructions rather than billing according to ‘artificial’ time units, the latter inevitably resulting in the “rounding off” of time into fixed units and, therefore, higher fees.
The effect of the manner in which we record our time is that clients are billed for actual time spent carrying out instructions, according to the prevailing hourly rate. There is no “rounding off” of time or costs unless it is in our clients’ favour.
ESTIMATES
We provide estimates before undertaking any work except for certain occasions, for example, when we are dealing with clients who are familiar with our fee structure for ‘routine’ work. Written estimate are available upon request.
Cost estimates are not quotes. They are often provided at a time when it is very difficult to anticipate all the work that will be required. As instructions progress, the circumstances, including those relating to costs, can change. If so, we notify our clients in advance. Clients may request revised cost estimates from time to time.
ACCOUNTS
We invoice regularly, usually at monthly intervals, when a particular milestone is achieved or as agreed. Our tax invoices are usually accompanied by a Professional Activity Summary that summarises the work done, the time taken to do it, and the amount charged for it.
We welcome and are pleased to deal with any queries concerning costs or invoices. It is important that our clients understand our costs, how they are calculated and have confidence that our accounts are fair and reasonable.
Clients have the right to request that any account issued by us is itemised within 30 days. Clients also have the right to request that an account be lodged for taxation (scrutiny) in the Supreme Court.
TRADING TERMS
If it is necessary to make arrangements for the payment of legal fees, this should be done in advance. We are pleased to make favourable arrangements in appropriate circumstances. Unless arrangements are made to the contrary, our trading terms are usually 14 days from date of invoice.
GST and TAX DEDUCTIBILITY
Work carried out as and from 1 July 2000 attracts Goods and Services Tax (“GST”) which will be detailed on each account. We only accept instructions on the basis that clients are liable to pay the GST.
All clients must make their own enquiries as to:
- any credits that they may be entitled to for any GST that is paid; and
- the tax deductibility or otherwise of any amounts paid to us during the course of our instructions irrespective of whether the payment:
I. Is to or concerns a third party (whether by way of settlement of a legal claim, consultancies or agency fees, disbursements or otherwise); and
II. Is on account of our legal fees.
Unless:
1. We have been instructed to consider and advise in relation to the taxation or financial implications of any instructions that we receive;
2. we have acknowledged those instructions; and
3. provided that advice in writing,
we do not provide advice in relation to taxation or financial issues arising from instructions.
FEEDBACK
We welcome feed back in relation to this Guide. Please contact us during normal business hours if you have any queries or comments.
VINCENT PARTNERS
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