TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT FOR McCARTHY LEGAL
This document sets out the terms and conditions upon which McCarthy Legal agrees to act on your behalf, as a Client. Your acceptance of any quote or any of McCarthy Legal’s services indicates your explicit or tacit acceptance of the terms of engagement listed below.
- AUTHORITY
1.1. McCarthy Legal is a legal agency and NOT a legal practice registered with any law society in terms of the Attorneys Act 53 of 1979, as amended.
1.2. You give McCarthy Legal the authority to act on your instruction and incur the expenses which it considers reasonably necessary for the proper fulfillment of your instruction.
- PROFESSIONAL DUTIES
Throughout the instruction, McCarthy Legal will conduct itself in a professional and consistent manner. However, it will be your responsibility to provide all necessary, accurate and clear instructions, documents and/or information to McCarthy Legal.
- CONFIDENTIALITY AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST
3.1. McCarthy Legal will –
3.1.1. treat your instructions, identity and incidental information you provide to us as strictly confidential. We will not disclose to any third party any confidential information or knowledge that we obtain as a result of us acting on your behalf;
3.1.2. protect the information you provide to us with a reasonable standard of care; and
3.1.3. advise you if there is a material conflict of interest between yourself and another client and take the appropriate steps to ensure the conflict is resolved.
3.2. In situations of dispute –
3.2.1. McCarthy Legal practices collaborative law, which aims to amicably resolve disputes without formal litigation. Where the disputing parties are McCarthy Legal clients, McCarthy Legal offers to act as mediator to assist resolving the dispute in a collaborative manner as an independent party; and
3.2.2. you choose McCarthy Legal to mediate on the above understanding.
- FEES AND DISBURSEMENTS
4.1. McCarthy Legal will charge a fair and reasonable fee for acting on each instruction that we receive from you.
4.2. Where reasonably possible, McCarthy Legal will provide a quote before acting on an instruction. Estimates of fees and disbursements are given for guidance purposes only on the basis of information provided by you.
These should not be regarded as final and may be subject to change due to unforeseen complexity, time spent, disbursements and/or hidden costs.
4.3. Should no quote be requested, McCarthy Legal’s prevailing hourly rates range between R650.00 (six hundred and fifty Rand) and R1 500.00 (one thousand five hundred Rand) depending on the level of the employee and nature of the work conducted.
4.4. Disbursements incurred by McCarthy Legal on your behalf, such as third party administration, penalty or bank fees, will be charged in addition to our fees. Where you require McCarthy Legal to source external professional services, McCarthy Legal will communicate the relevant fees for this service to you.
4.5. Invoices will reflect fees and disbursements, exclusive of Value Added Tax. Value Added Tax will be charged at the rate applicable, when necessary.
- CANCELLATION OR VARIATIONS
5.1. Upon your acceptance of a quote and our acceptance of your instruction, you will be liable for the full quoted fee.
5.2. If, after McCarthy Legal has accepted your instruction, you require a variation of the instruction, McCarthy Legal will provide a quotation for the variation.
If accepted by you, this amount will be added to the final invoice. If you do not accept the quotation, McCarthy Legal is not obliged to implement the variation.
- CONSULTATIONS AND ADVICE
6.1. Consultations and legal advice are billed at an hourly rate. Should you request legal advice over the
phone, in person or via email, time will be recorded and you will be charged according to the fees laid out in clause 4.3 above.
6.2. McCarthy Legal will charge an hourly rate for initial consultations. We will then quote you on the services you require. Should you proceed with the quotation, McCarthy Legal may in its sole discretion waive the initial consultation fee.
6.3. McCarthy Legal may in its sole discretion charge for an hour of consultation, if you cancel the consultation with less than 24 (twenty-four) hours’ notice.
- NEGOTIATIONS WITH A THIRD PARTY
Where a contract drafted by McCarthy Legal is sent to a third party during a negotiation process, and you require McCarthy Legal to assist with the negotiation process or make amendments to a contract on your behalf or based on the third party’s feedback, an hourly rate will be charged.
- LEGAL OPINIONS
If McCarthy Legal is requested to explain, review or give an opinion on a third party contract, we will charge our hourly rate.
- REGISTRATION AND APPLICATIONS
9.1. Should you instruct McCarthy Legal to register yourself, your entity, business and/or related product and/or service with various entities:
9.1.1. once we have received instructions from you to proceed with an application, a date will be given by which information or documentation is required from you; and
9.1.2. should you fail or delay to provide any documentation or information required for your application, it may result in your application being rejected or you incurring a penalty fee and/or additional costs.
9.2. McCarthy Legal will not be responsible for any loss or delay suffered as a result of the above.
You understand that McCarthy Legal acts only as your agent and that any fees, delay or harm incurred as a result of the unsuccessful application will be your responsibility.
- PRESENTATION OF WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS
10.1. Any documentation provided by McCarthy Legal to you as part of your instruction will ordinarily be presented according to the following procedure:
10.1.1. McCarthy Legal will send you the first draft, as proposed in the quote. You are required to provide any outstanding information and can give feedback on the content (“the first presentation”).
10.1.2. McCarthy Legal will then revise the written content, based on your feedback and present the final draft to you (“the final presentation”).
10.2. If you require additional amendments after the final presentation, McCarthy Legal has the discretion to charge its hourly rate for those amendments. We will notify you before incurring further costs.
10.3. Unless otherwise discussed with McCarthy Legal, the instruction may be considered complete if you do not request additional amendments within 10 (ten) business days of a presentation.
- PAYMENT TERMS
Consultation Fee
11.1. For new clients, the consultation fee must be paid to McCarthy Legal on or before the consultation date.
11.2. For existing clients, the consultation fee may, at McCarthy Legal’s discretion, be delayed until presentation of an invoice.
Instruction Fee
11.3. Once a quote has been accepted for an instruction, 50% (fifty percent) of the fee must be paid in order for McCarthy Legal to begin the instruction.
11.4. Unless otherwise discussed with McCarthy Legal, the remainder of the fee can be paid on presentation of the completed instruction by McCarthy Legal or within 30 (thirty) calendar days from the initial instruction given by the Client, whichever date is earlier.
Invoice Procedure
11.5. All invoices are due and payable upon presentation.
11.6. Any invoice not paid within the calendar month in which it is sent will accumulate interest at a rate equal to the published prime overdraft rate, determined on the first day of each month and debited monthly in arrears.
- INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
You are NOT permitted to share, sell, assign or licence any document drafted for you by McCarthy Legal with any other party, except in the ordinary course of business and for the purpose which the document was requested.
- INDEMNIFICATION
13.1. Apart from instances of dishonesty or gross negligence, McCarthy Legal will not be liable for:
13.1.1. any loss or damage caused by any delay in the completion of the McCarthy Legal services;
13.1.2. any loss of profits suffered by you or a third party in connection with the McCarthy Legal services;
13.1.3. any indirect or consequential loss of whatever nature;
13.1.4. any loss arising directly or indirectly due to any negligence on the part of McCarthy Legal, its employees or agents; or
13.1.5. any third party liability.
13.2. You agree to hold harmless and indemnify McCarthy Legal against any losses, expenses or claims by yourself or any third party arising as a result of the provision of McCarthy Legal services.
McCarthy Legal and/or its employees shall never be liable to you and/or your customers, employees, suppliers and contractors in respect of consequential, indirect or special losses and/or damages (including loss of profits).
13.3. You understand and agree that any legal product produced for you is based on currently applicable South African laws only, and as such, should these laws change, McCarthy Legal can no longer warrant that the work produced for you is still compliant and/or correct.
- NON-SOLICITATION
14.1. You will not, within 12 (twelve) calendar months of any instruction or dealing with McCarthy Legal, directly or indirectly solicit, offer employment to, employ or contract in any manner with any McCarthy Legal employee.
14.2. In the event of a breach of clause 14, you will be liable to pay McCarthy Legal a placement fee equivalent to 25% (twenty-five percent) of the annual salary or income of that McCarthy Legal employee at his/her new placement.
You agree that this placement fee is fair and reasonable and any reduction in the placement fee will be within McCarthy Legal’ sole discretion.
- TERMINATION OF INSTRUCTION
15.1. Without prejudice to its other rights and remedies, McCarthy Legal will have the right to cease work and/or terminate any instruction by giving you notice by email, should we determine in our sole discretion that we are not able to properly perform the instruction or should you fail to pay your account or provide us with the necessary information which we request.
15.2. Should your instruction be terminated by McCarthy Legal, you grant McCarthy Legal the right to keep possession of any documentation, goods or material owned by you until your account is paid in full.
For and on behalf of
………………………………………………………..
Warranting that s/he is duly authorised hereto
Name: ………………………………………………..
Designation: …………………………………………
Date: ………………………………………………….