Terms of Engagement

1.         Agreement and Scope of Services

Unless we agree otherwise in writing, these terms of engagement and information will apply to all services that Reflective Construction Law Limited (we or us) provides to you. By instructing us to act for you, you will be deemed to have agreed to them and will apply to any current engagement and any future engagement, whether or not we send you another copy of them.

Our client for any particular matter will be the party identified at the start of any services (client or you). Where we agree to provide services to a person who is related to or associated with you, those services will be provided on the same terms and, in receiving the benefit of our advice, your associate will be deemed to have accepted these terms.

We are experienced and specialist construction and project lawyers dealing in all aspects of construction law from front-end contract drafting and project advice to the resolution of disputes as projects are completed. A key focus for our business is ensuring we understand your business closely. We can provide further details of our experience if requested.

We will provide you with advice on legal matters which fall within the scope of your instructions. If you would like us to undertake any services in addition to those we have discussed, or to clarify any matter, please let us know as soon as possible.

Our advice is limited to the matters as stated by us and is subject to any changes in law or in circumstances. When your instructions are completed, our engagement will end, and we will only advise you on changes to relevant law or other issues relating to the matter if you specifically engage us to do so.

2.         Fees and Disbursements

We will charge a fee which is reasonable for the services we provide to you, the basis for our fees will be set out at the start of any matter and may include:

  1. Where we agree to a fixed fee, we will charge this for the agreed scope of the services.  Work which falls outside that scope will be charged on an hourly rate basis.  We will advise you as soon as reasonably practicable if it becomes necessary for us to provide services outside of the agreed scope and, if requested, give you an estimate of the likely amount of the further costs.

  2. Where our fees are calculated on an hourly basis, this will be at a reasonable hourly rate, a copy of our current rates is available on request.

  3. Hourly fees may be adjusted (upwards or downwards) to ensure the fee is fair and reasonable to take into account matters such as the complexity, urgency, value and importance of the Services.  Full details of the relevant fee factors are set out in Rule 9 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 (Rules).

You agree that we can incur necessary disbursements in carrying out the services, we will advise you of any disbursements prior to incurring costs wherever practical. This may include costs for other lawyers or barristers where the services require additional resource. Any disbursements or other third party expenses that we incur providing services to you will be charged to you at cost and included in our invoice.

3.         Billing and Accounts

We will invoice you on a monthly basis or otherwise as agreed.  GST, if applicable, will be charged and payable in addition to the amount of any fee, quote or estimate. Payment is due in full within 7 calendar days of the date of our invoice. If an invoice is not paid you will be responsible for all our costs of recovering our fee from you, including interest compounding at 2% per month and any costs incurred (whether our own fees or third parties), together with our termination rights set out below.

We do not operate a trust account. Any money transactions will be facilitated through an agreed third party firm of solicitors.

4.         Conflicts

We will not (without your informed consent) act for another client against your interests on the same or a closely related matter. If a conflict of interest arises, we will tell you and, where required, will terminate our engagement with you.

5.         Liability

You are the only party who may rely on our advice. We accept and owe no liability to any other party (including directors, shareholders, associated companies, employees or family members unless agreed in writing). Our advice is opinion only, based on the facts known to us and provided by you, the current law, and our professional judgement. Our advice relates only to the particular matter in respect of which you engage us. We owe no duty whatsoever for any other matter or any related matter.

In undertaking the services, we may rely on, or provide you with, third party information. This information may not be accurate or complete and we do not accept any responsibility or liability caused by errors or omissions in such third party information.  

Our aggregate liability to you (under contract, tort or otherwise) is limited to the lesser of NZD200,000 or five times our fee related to that matter, for direct costs only. We are not liable to you for any loss of profit, or any indirect or consequential costs, expenses, charges, third party claims, or similar. We hold professional indemnity insurance that meets the standards required by the Law Society.

We attach the information required by the rules of conduct and client care for lawyers, pursuant to the Rules.

6.         Communication and Records

We will conduct most communications with you by email. We are not responsible for any loss or delay caused by failure of electronic communications.

We may produce electronic newsletters from time to time. We may add you to our database so that you will receive newsletters that we consider might be of interest to you. However, please let us know if you do not want to receive any such correspondence.

Our policy is to retain files in electronic and/or paper form for 6 years from the commencement of our engagement with you.

7.         Use of Technology

You acknowledge and agree that we may, at our discretion, use artificial intelligence and other technology tools to assist with the delivery of our legal services. These tools may be used for tasks such as document review, legal research, drafting, data analysis, training and administrative support. Unless we advise otherwise, outputs generated by technology tools are reviewed by our legal professionals.

Where we use third party providers to handle data or provide technology tools, we will use reasonable care to have appropriate security and data controls in place. However, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of data handled by third-party providers and make no representation or warranty with respect to the security of their systems.

8.         Intellectual Property

We own all intellectual property rights in all documents or work we create in the course of performing the services but grant you a non-exclusive licence to use and copy the documents as you see fit for your own personal or commercial use. However, you may not permit any third party to copy, adapt or use the documents without our written consent.

9.         Confidentiality and Privacy

We will not disclose or use any confidential information (including personal information, as defined in the Privacy Act 2020) unless we are required by law, or you authorise us, to do so or unless disclosure is made in accordance with the Rules. During our engagement we may collect and hold personal information concerning you. You consent to us processing personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy on our website and you have the right to access, and correct, your personal information held by us.

If necessary, you authorise us to collect, hold, use and disclose information as required for any regulatory purpose, including in relation to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009.

10.       Termination

You may terminate our engagement at any time by written notice to us. We may terminate the engagement if you misrepresent or fail to disclose any relevant facts, you mislead or deceive us in a material respect, you adopt a course of action which we believe may be inconsistent with our professional obligations, a conflict of interest arises, you do not pay our invoices by the due date, or another matter arises pursuant to the Rules which justifies termination. You agree to pay all fees and expenses in relation to our service up to the date of termination.

11.       Complaints

If you have any complaints about our services, please contact us immediately. If we cannot resolve the complaint with you, you may refer your complaint to the Law Society, Complaints Service, PO Box 5041, Wellington, 0800 261 801, complaints@lawsociety.org.nz.

We look forward to working with you.

Arie Moore

Director
Reflective Construction Law Limited

Rules of conduct and client care for lawyers

Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008

Client care and service information

Whatever legal services your lawyer is providing, he or she must—

  • act competently, in a timely way, and in accordance with 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 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 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.

The obligations lawyers owe to clients are described in the Rules of conduct and client care for lawyers (the rules). Those obligations are subject to other overriding duties, including duties to the courts and to the justice system.

If you have any questions, please visit www.lawsociety.org.nz or call 0800 261 801.