Client Care and Service Information
In providing legal services as your lawyer, we will:
Act competently, in a timely way, and in accordance with any arrangements made.
Protect and promote your interests and act for you free from compromising influences or loyalties.
Discuss with you your objectives and how they should best be achieved.
Provide you with information about the work to be done, who will do it and the way the services will be provided.
Charge you a fee that is fair and reasonable and let you know when you will be billed.
Give you clear information and advice.
Protect your privacy and ensure appropriate confidentiality.
Treat you fairly, respectfully and without discrimination.
Keep you informed about the work being done and advise you when it is completed.
Let you know how to make a complaint and deal with any complaint promptly and fairly.
Person responsible for the work
The names and status of the person or persons who will have the general carriage of or overall responsibility for the services we provide for you are set out in our letter of engagement.
Fees
Fees will be charged on the basis set out in the JAG Legal Terms of Engagement. Please ensure you have a copy of that document or request we send one to you.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
JAG Legal holds professional indemnity insurance that meets or exceeds the minimum standards specified by the Law Society. We will provide you with particulars of the minimum standards upon request.
Lawyers Fidelity Fund
The Law Society maintains the Lawyers Fidelity Fund for the purposes of providing clients of lawyers with protection against pecuniary loss arising from theft by lawyers. The maximum amount payable by the Fidelity Fund by way of compensation to an individual claimant is limited to $100,000. Except in certain circumstances specified in the Lawyers & Conveyancers Act 2006 the Fidelity Fund does not cover a client for any loss relating to money that a lawyer is instructed to invest on behalf of the client.
Additionals
We are linked to Landonline and therefore can complete property transactions quickly and efficiently for clients.
Whenever clients enter into an agreement to purchase land, we recommend the agreement should always be subject to a search of the title unless we have had the opportunity to search the title and report on it to our client prior to the agreement being signed.
Complaints
We maintain a procedure for handling any complaints by clients, designed to ensure that a complaint is dealt with promptly and fairly. If you have a complaint about our services or charges, you may refer your complaint to the person in our firm who has overall responsibility for your work.
If you do not wish to refer your complaint to that person, or you are not satisfied with that person’s response to your complaint, you may refer your complaint to either Merv Gaskin or Nicola Jones. He/she may be contacted as follows:
by letter;
by email at merv.gaskin@jaglegal.co.nz or nicola.jones@jaglegal.co.nz as the case may be;
by telephoning him/her at (04) 9392366.
The Law Society also maintains a complaints service and you are able to make a complaint to that service. To do so you should contact the Law Society.
The New Zealand Law Society address is P O Box 5041, Wellington 6011 and their phone number is 4727837.
Consent to Disclosure of Personal Information
In the event that your account remains unpaid for longer than 7 days then JAG Legal, may at its sole discretion, refer the account to a collection agency. All costs incurred in collection will be added to your outstanding account. In the event that your outstanding account is referred to a collection agency, by acceptance of these terms, you consent to disclosure of your personal information to that collection agency. That personal information shall include (but not be limited to) your full name, date of birth, residential address and place of work. Limitations on extent of our Obligations or Liability Any limitations on the extent of our obligations to you or any limitation or exclusion of liability are set out in our letter of engagement.