OPENING HOURS
The legal offices of Douglas & Collins are open between 9:00 am and 5:30 pm on Monday to Friday inclusive.
COSTS
The Legal Profession Act 1993 requires that before being retained by a client to provide legal services a legal practitioner must give the prospective client a written statement about the cost of the legal services they may be asked to provide.
The cost of your legal services will depend on the nature of the services you require. Douglas & Collins provides a large range of legal services. The method of costing our legal services is explained below. Whatever type of work you ask us to perform you may negotiate an agreement with us about the amount of your legal costs and how they are to be calculated. If you retain us you will be sent a statement which sets out:
- the name of the person who will primarily perform your work;
- whether someone who is not a legal practitioner will perform some of your work;
- an estimate of your costs, if reasonably practicable, or a range of costs and an explanation of the factors which may affect the amount of your costs;
- if your case involves litigation an estimate of the costs you may recover if your case is successful and the range of costs you may be ordered to pay if it is not;
- your right to progress reports;
- details of what you may do if you have a complaint about costs or the legal services we provide.
Usually you will be sent an account for legal services at the conclusion of the work you engage us to do. Sometimes however it is appropriate to send you an interim account and we reserve the right to do this in all cases. This occurs when a matter may take some time to complete or when substantial costs have been incurred in the course of the matter. You are entitled to ask for an account from us at any time. If after you receive an account you wish it to be itemised you may request this within thirty (30) days of receipt of the account.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing our terms for payment are strictly seven (7) days. Interest is payable on outstanding accounts at ten (10) per cent in accordance with Section 137 of the Legal Profession Act 1993.
Our policy is to destroy a client's file seven (7) years after it has been closed. If you wish to retain the file after finalisation of your matter you should notify us at that time.
