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Accept CookiesThank you for instructing us to provide immigration advice to you, specifically an Initial Consultation
We have set out below our Agreement for Legal Services (“Agreement”). This sets out the basis on which we accept your instructions and the basis of our relationship for these services and for any other future instructions.
I will have day to day responsibility for your work but may delegate some day-to-day responsibility to a suitably experienced employee at various points in the case.
Our fee for the initial consultation is $425.00NZD
The services to be provided by this firm are limited to initial advice in regard to immigration to New Zealand including:
Before an application is made:
Attendances do not include advice in respect of, or assessment of eligibility criteria for, or attendances relating to gathering documentation or making application for other temporary permits while this application is in process.
If you wish this firm to obtain further temporary permits, you will need to specifically instruct us to do so and a separate agreement outlining the services to be provided by this firm will be issued.
In addition to time, a file management and administration fee may be charged on each invoice we render. The file management and administration fee will be calculated at up to 2.5% of the legal fee charged (subject to a minimum of $50.00). This fee will typically include any internal disbursements such as photocopying, faxes, national or international telephone toll calls and mobile telephone calls.
All Fees are payable upon receipt of an invoice. Production of an invoice is authority to debit any funds held on your behalf in our trust account for the amount stated on the invoice, or debit using any credit card details provided to this firm.
If you ask us to issue an invoice in the name of another entity you will remain liable for payment of that invoice.
If you decide to withdraw your instructions at any time no refund is available unless we, in our absolute discretion, agree to offer one. There will be no refund if you have provided us with false information or documents, or if your application fails due to a change in Government law or policy.
For a variety of reasons some instructions are not or cannot be completed. If this occurs or your instructions are not completed due to a failure to provide us with instructions, we will charge you for the work undertaken and costs incurred up to the time of termination.
In compliance with the Secret Commissions Act 1910, agents, if applicable, may be entitled to commission payments from our fees.
The Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers of the New Zealand Law Society require that in all events, subject to the duties of us and its members to the courts and to the justice system, we and each of our lawyers must:
We DO NOT guarantee the outcome. We will do our utmost to make sure you have a clear understanding of the likely outcome but immigration policy in New Zealand is subject to change and sometimes there is very little notice of changes to Government Immigration Policy. Sudden changes can have a negative effect on applications. That is something we cannot control.
If any account remains unpaid we reserve the right to suspend work for you and retain possession of documents and files.
You will be liable for all costs associated with the collection and recovery of your overdue and unpaid account.
Information you have provided to us may be used to assist in collecting an overdue account.
If the account is not paid within 30 days of the account date, we may charge interest on the unpaid portion, from the due date until the date of payment in full. The interest rate will be 4% (400 basis points) above the rate charged to us by our bankers for overdraft accommodation.
In the event our invoice is disputed through the New Zealand Law Society or any other judicial process, and your disputed is found to be without foundation, interest will be calculated and payable from the due date until payment is made in full.
In matters where you provide us with instructions for and on behalf of a related party or entity, a third party or jointly with another party, or instructions are received directly from a related party or entity, both you and your company (as the case may be) and the related entity or other party (as the case may be) and the other person who instructs us (or on whose behalf we are instructed) will be bound by these Terms of Engagement.
All such parties will be jointly and severally liable to pay for our services, including disbursements, in accordance with these terms.
Professional conduct rules require us to avoid acting for clients if we have a conflict of interest. We will undertake an internal inquiry to confirm there is no conflict arising from your instructions each time we receive instructions. If a conflict should arise in relation to a particular matter, we will notify you immediately and make suitable arrangements including, if necessary, the termination of our engagement.
The contents of emails (and attachments) sent by us may contain copyright material of this company or third parties. You should only reproduce or distribute the material if you are expressly authorized by us to do so.
If material contained in emails is of a kind that might attract legal professional privilege, it is possible that privilege may be lost by the act of electronic dissemination.
Our emails are not encrypted and therefore may be open to access by “hackers”. If this is of concern to you, please do not email particularly sensitive material to us and instruct us to avoid the use of emails for communications with you.
We do not represent or warrant that files attached to our emails are free from computer viruses or other defects. Any attached files are provided, and may only be used, on the basis that the user assumes all responsibility for any loss or damage resulting directly or indirectly from such use. Our liability is limited in any such event to either the re-supply of the attached files or the cost of having the attached files re-supplied.
By forwarding any emails (and attachments) to us, you agree that we may copy, distribute or disclose such emails (and attachments) to other third parties for the purpose of providing our services to you. For example, we may forward your emails (and attachments) to our agents, consultants or barristers who are assisting us in providing services to you.
We do not provide any advice on taxation, accounting, or investment matters, because these are not areas in which we claim to have expertise. You should obtain taxation, accounting or investment advice on all your transactions without the requirement for us to recommend you to do so.
We may terminate the engagement at any time by written notice to you, in any of the circumstances set out in the New Zealand Law Society’s Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers.
If you wish to terminate our services or significantly modify your instructions, please advise us in writing as soon as possible. Until we receive this written notification we may continue with our original instructions and you may incur further costs as we do so. Where you give us any instruction and we rely on that instruction (for example, by giving an undertaking to a third party) you may not revoke that instruction.
While we will always work to the best of our ability and with the information provided to us, there can be no guarantees regarding outcomes. Discussions on likely outcomes are based on our experience and professional judgment.
Regardless of who terminates our engagement you will be liable to pay our fees and the disbursements we incur (even if not paid by us prior to the termination date), up to and including the termination date. In some circumstances we may be required to incur additional time or expense following the completion or termination of a matter. We will charge for this in the normal way.
We have no continuing obligation to provide you with additional advice following completion of a matter.
We may retain copies of any of your documents and information on our files following completion of a matter and/or termination of our engagement.
Our estimated professional fees do not include Visa application fees, translation costs, courier charges or any other form of disbursement charged by a third party supplier. Any such disbursements will be paid directly by you to the supplier or by deposit of funds with this firm for the express purpose of paying any such supplier.
Where an independent professional advisor is required to be engaged, it is expected that this fee will be paid by you prior to their engagement; or an independent arrangement made between you and the independent professional concerned. In the event that your matter proceeds to court, we will require an advance payment to cover the preparation and time in court
Subject to any legal requirement, we will retain the file that we create for your work on any one matter for a minimum of 7 years after we finish working for you on that matter. We may hold that file electronically rather than physically. After that time we may destroy that file without contacting you.
We will hold in confidence all information concerning you and your affairs that we acquire during the course of acting for you. We will not disclose any of this information to any other person except:
To the extent necessary or desirable to enable us to carry out your instructions;
Or
To the extent required by law or by the New Zealand Law Society’s Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers.
We will, of course, not disclose to you confidential information which we have in relation to any other client.
Any dispute concerning these Terms of Engagement, or our work for you, is to be resolved in New Zealand Courts under New Zealand Law.
In these Terms of Engagement, “we” and “us” mean Immigration Law Limited. “You” means our client. Our duties are owed only to you. Unless otherwise agreed in writing or required by law, those duties will not extend to others, including for example associated parties such as shareholders, or related companies, directors or employees, or family members. If any such parties wish to retain us they should do so by separate agreement. Our advice is given for your benefit and in your interests. If any other parties wish to rely on the advice we give you, they can only do so if you and we agree in writing.
We hold indemnity insurance that exceeds the minimum standards specified by the Law Society.
We have a complaints procedure. Any complaint you have about our dealings with you must be made initially to Aaron Martin, who then must discuss the complaint in detail with you at the earliest opportunity.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the initial discussion, then you must write to us setting out your complaint and reasons for dissatisfaction, as well as your reasoned proposal for resolution of the complaint.
On receipt of a written complaint the Principal of the firm will review and advise of our decision.
If you are unsatisfied with the result of our complaint procedures, then you have the right to lodge a written complaint with the New Zealand Law Society’s complaints service
The Lawyers Complaints Service
Phone: 0800 261 801
Website: www.lawsociety.org.nz/for-the-community/lawyers-complaints-service/concerns-form
Email: complaints@lawsociety.org.nz
If the instructions involve or result in us being entrusted by you with money or other valuable property, you are protected by the Lawyers’ Fidelity Fund if the money or property is taken by theft by us or any of our employees or agents. Claims on that Fund are limited to $100,000 for any one theft.
