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Fees & Services

Our clients appreciate knowing exactly where they stand on legal fees and costs.

We provide you written terms of our services and fees as soon as possible after you notify you want to hire us.

"Fees" (for professional services) depend on the quantity of work we need to do.

"Costs" (for expenses incurred) are the amounts we pay others (including government, search agents, contractors, barristers etc).

"Office charges" are the amounts we charge you to reimburse us for expenses related to your transaction like phone calls, postage, stationery and printing.

Professional fees are billed in a number of ways:

• Fixed fee packages: we offer several services under a fixed fee package, e.g. property & conveyancing.
• Fees for work done (time basis): work done is billed at legal rates that start at $100/hr for some junior assistants to $375/hr for partners. Here are our 2007/08 charge rates ..
• Fees for work done (scale basis): work done is billed on a "scale" basis which includes some items related to time expended, but he's not solely time based. Here is our 2007/08 scale ..

Our billing terms require payment in full within 30 days of invoice date. For some types of work for clients who are prepared to do what we need them to do throughout the conduct of their transaction, we may offer the following special terms:

• No-win No-charge: (in Personal Injury compensation) - payment is deferred and you are only charged if and when we win or settle your claim.
• Guaranteed fees: (in Personal Injury compensation) - payment is deferred and your fees will not exceed a specified amount which reduces down depending on the extent of damages recovered.
• Capped fees: in litigation, we may offer to conduct the case on the basis that if you lose, your fees will be limited to a specified capped amount, payment of which may be deferred.

GST: we bill GST to you so that if you are registered, you can claim a credit for the tax paid.

We will give you as soon as possible after you contact us a notice specifying a number of things relating to the rights of a client, before they commence acting for a client called Important Notice to Client.

You must sign and return the Client Agreement we send you as soon as possible after you receive it. Please don't hesitate to call if you require any information or clarification. Here is a sample client agreement for you to consider.

We do not accept the responsibility associated with legally representing you (including protecting relevant time limits) until you sign and return the Client Agreement and provide all initial information we have requested from you.