Gibson Sheat

Business Terms

1. The purpose of this document

1.1 This document:

sets out the standard terms on which we do work for our clients. It explains what you can expect from us and what you agree to when we work for you
includes information we are required to tell you under the Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers (Conduct and Client Care Rules)
applies to your current work and to any future work that we do for you, unless we agree in writing to change these terms.

1.2 Occasionally we may change these terms. If we make changes, we will notify you. You can also view our current terms on our website www.gibsonsheat.com.

2. We will outline the work we will do for each job

2.1 For each new job we do for you, we will give you a letter of engagement outlining:

what work we will do
which person we believe is most suited to the job and to our relationship with you, and who will have overall responsibility for the work.

The letter of engagement may be in the form of a letter or other written communication to you and will be sent to you by electronic means.

2.2 When appropriate, other staff may also be involved under that person’s supervision (such as where involving another staff member enables us to do the work more efficiently, quickly, and at a lower cost to you).

3. Who we can accept instructions from

3.1 Unless you let us know differently, you agree that we can accept instructions from any of the following:

any person you have authorised to instruct us
if you are a couple, from either of you
if you are a trust, from any of the trustees or officers of that trust
if you are a partnership, from any of your partners or officers of that partnership
if you are a company, from any of your directors or employees or any other person you have authorised to instruct us
if you are a body corporate or incorporated society, from any person holding themselves out as being authorised by the officers to instruct us.

4. Our duties to you

4.1 The obligations lawyers owe to clients are described in the Conduct and Client Care Rules. Those obligations are subject to other overriding duties, including duties to the courts and to the justice system.

4.2 Whatever legal services your lawyer is providing, they must:

act competently, in a timely way, and according to instructions received and arrangements made
protect and promote your interests and act for you free from compromising influences or loyalties
discuss with you your objectives and how best to achieve them
give you 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 how and 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.

4.3 Our duties are owed to you, the client named in our letter of engagement. Nobody else (such as family members, shareholders, directors, or related entities) can rely on our advice without our written consent.

5. Customer checks we may do

5.1 You authorise us to collect information about you, and make enquiries we think appropriate to:

carry out reasonable credit checks on you
confirm information provided to us about you is true
undertake due diligence and monitoring according to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML), and to our obligations under the Tax Administration Act 1994 in relation to the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS)
enforce debt and legal obligations (including recovering money owed to us)
comply with other legal obligations we may have.

Verifying identity and source of funds

5.2 We are required by AML to verify your identity, address and sometimes your source of funds or wealth for a transaction. We may also require this information from others connected with you.

5.3 If you, or any person connected with you, does not provide all the requested information, or if the information is unable to be verified, then we will be unable to act for you.

5.4 We use third-party services to verify your identity and conduct other due diligence or monitoring required under AML, and for credit checking.

5.5 For AML-related service providers, you agree that:

we can give our service provider your contact details and any information required for AML purposes
you will provide us with AML-related information about you, and you agree to us holding that information as long as required by law.

5.6 For AML-related service providers and other service providers, you agree that:

each service provider can exchange information about you which they may hold on their system and use to provide their specific service to other customers
we may use a service provider in the future for any authorised purpose.

5.7 We may provide information to credit agencies about any account you have failed to pay by the due date.

6. Your privacy and confidentiality

6.1 We consider client confidentiality extremely important. We will treat all information we hold about you as private and confidential. We will not use it or share it unless:

you agree or ask us to
we need to so that we can carry out our work for you
the law requires us to.

6.2 Our Privacy Policy sets out how we may collect and use your personal information and whom we may disclose it to.

7. How we avoid conflicts of interest

7.1 A conflict of interest means we have duties to someone else that might lessen our ability to act wholly in your best interests.

7.2 Before we agree to do work for you we will do our best to find out if any conflict exists.

7.3 If we find a conflict at any time we will notify you immediately and explain how we will deal with it.

8. Scope of our work

8.1 Unless we say otherwise, we are not qualified to give:

investment advice
tax advice
insurance advice
advice about foreign laws.

8.2 Unless we agree to do so in writing we will not remind you about important dates or update advice after it has been given.

9. Our intellectual property

We retain ownership of all opinions, documents and intellectual property created by us.
You must not provide our advice to others without our written consent.

10. Guarantee

10.1 If you are a company or incorporated entity we may require personal guarantees from directors or shareholders.

11. How you can help us

giving clear instructions
asking questions if you are unsure
telling us about important time limits
responding promptly to requests
telling us if contact details change
keeping in touch.

12. Our email correspondence with you

You authorise us to use any email address you provide to communicate with you about your work.

13. Our legal fees and expenses

We charge a fair and reasonable fee. Fees are generally based on factors such as time spent, complexity, urgency, responsibility and results achieved.

Unless otherwise stated our fees do not include GST, expenses or disbursements.

14. Our money handling procedures

We maintain a trust account for funds held on behalf of clients. Funds held for longer periods may be placed in an interest-bearing account.

15. Paying our account

Accounts are generally issued monthly and are payable within 14 days unless otherwise agreed.

16. Professional Indemnity Insurance and the Lawyers’ Fidelity Fund

We hold professional indemnity insurance exceeding the New Zealand Law Society minimum standards.

17. Limits of our liability

Unless otherwise agreed our liability is limited to the greatest of the amount available under our insurance, NZ$1,000,000, or five times our fee (up to NZ$2,000,000).

18. Complaints

If you have concerns please contact the partner responsible for your work or our Chief Executive at complaints@gibsonsheat.com.

19. Ending our engagement

You may end our engagement at any time by giving reasonable notice.

20. Enforceability

These terms remain enforceable after our engagement ends.

21. Destroying files

You authorise us to destroy files and documents seven years after work is completed unless agreed otherwise.

22. New Zealand law applies

22.1 Our relationship is governed by New Zealand law and the New Zealand Courts have exclusive jurisdiction.