Terms of Business (NI)

CASE MANAGEMENT
General Arrangements.
You have instructed us to act on your behalf in relation to your case.
As agreed, we will contact you as and when we require your instructions and will update you as your case progresses. We will also contact you if we receive information that affects our current views. We will seek your instructions and give you a written review upon request on the issues at that point. You should bear in mind that as a case develops, the length of time it takes to resolve and the way in which it is progressed, is influenced not just by what we decide to do together but also how others decide to deal with your case.
If there is any new information that might affect your instructions, it is important that you tell us about it as soon as possible. It is useful to receive written confirmation of that information, either by letter or email.

Conduct of Proceedings.
We will not issue any legal (or Arbitration/Mediation) proceedings without first obtaining your express authority, but once legal proceedings have been instituted it is important that you understand that we are entitled to take steps which are usually taken in proceedings of this nature. Apart from our duty to you, we have obligations to the Court and/or Tribunal as Officers of the Court. It is important that you respond promptly to requests for information or instructions as failure to do so could prejudice your case. It is also important that you abide by any advice given by counsel or us.

MONEY LAUNDERING: GOVERNMENT RULES
We are required by the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 to verify your identity before we can act or continue to act on your behalf in connection with this matter. You have already satisfied us as to your identity and due to the nature of this case we therefore do not require any further information from you. If however we require copies of identity documents (passports, drivers licence etc) at a later stage we will contact you.

FEE STRUCTURES
Our fees will normally be calculated with reference to the time spent by members of staff involved in the matter. Mr Mallon’s time will be charged at £200 per hour subject to annual review. We are unable to estimate the total number of hours at this stage but we will be able to provide you with historical details of time taken on request. This does not include expenses which will be incurred in your case such as Barristers Fees, Medial Report, Expert fees, witness expenses and Stamp Duty. This list is not exhaustive and does not allow for opponents costs should your case be unsuccessful.
We shall assume that we have your authority to incur routine expenditure e.g. police and medical reports etc as and when necessary. We will, however, revert to you as regards incurring any expenditure of an unusual nature such as retaining Senior Counsel or the services of an expert or specialist.
When your case is concluded and we are holding money on your behalf, we will deduct our fees and expenses from the monies due to you and pay you the balance. You will receive a copy of our costs as well as a note of all outlays expended in your case.

ENDING THE RETAINER
You may terminate our engagement on this matter in writing at any time. You will have to pay all outstanding fees and expenses up to the date of termination. We may retain all documents, deeds and other papers until payment of all monies due to us. This does not affect your rights to Taxation or your ability to seek a Certificate of Reasonableness from the Law Society for the fees levied for work we have done.
We may at some time consider that we ought to stop acting for you, for example, if you did not respond to any requests for information or did not abide by or accept any advice given.
We cannot act where there is an existing (or arising) conflict of interest. You will be responsible for all the fees and expenses incurred to the date we cease to act and we may retain all documents, deeds and other papers until payment of all monies due. On the termination of the retainer we will notify all relevant parties accordingly and if appropriate, apply to the court to come off record on your behalf.

DATA PROTECTION
It may be necessary for us to retain personal data about you on our files and/or computer records. Examples can include photographic ID, passport, drivers licence, financial information, bank details, sensitive personal data and medical records/reports. In accepting these Terms of Business you confirm that we may receive and hold confidential and/or sensitive personal data in relation to you and that, where appropriate, this may need to be disclosed to others, such as counsel/solicitor advocates, experts and other parties. In some cases, certain sensitive documents, such as medical history, bank accounts and other personal matters may have to be discovered or shared with your opponents. If you have a concern about disclosure of any particular sensitive personal or commercial data please raise this with us at an early stage.

COMPLAINTS
A leaflet or written details explaining the complaints procedure is available on request, but in the event that you need to complain, please write to me setting out your concerns and we will endeavour to reply as soon as Possible. We anticipate that we will be able to resolve your concerns through our internal procedures. However if we do not, our leaflet/written details explains what else you may do.

Contact details for the solicitor primarily responsible for dealing with you case:

Telephone Number: 028 3026 8522
Fax Number: 028 3026 0747
E-mail address:  info@ianmallon.com
Office hours: Mon – Fri 9-5pm (Closed 1=2pm)

Please post all correspondence to 49 Patrick Street, Newry County Down, BT35 8EB.

It is important that you keep your contact details up-to-date. Please therefore notify us of changes to telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and postal addresses in changes in writing.

Further copies of these terms are available on our website.
These Terms of Business are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Northern Ireland.
www.ianmallon.com