Our Terms of Business

MPR Solicitors LLP - Terms of Business v3.0 - August 2026

About these Terms
1. These Terms of Business apply to all work undertaken by MPR Solicitors LLP for you unless we agree a written variation. They are incorporated into and should be read with the Letter of Engagement for the particular matter and any later written supplementary scope or fee agreement.
2. The Letter of Engagement contains the terms specific to your matter. A later written agreement, including an email agreeing or confirming an additional stage or charging arrangement, may supplement the Letter of Engagement. If there is any inconsistency, the more specific later written agreement will prevail only to the extent of that inconsistency.
3. References to "you" include each person or organisation identified as our client in the Letter of Engagement. References to "we", "us" or "MPR" mean MPR Solicitors LLP.
Joint clients and joint liability
1. Where we act for two or more clients jointly, each client is jointly and severally liable for all of our fees, disbursements, expenses and other sums properly payable under the retainer. This means that we may recover the whole amount due from any one or more of you, irrespective of any arrangement between you as to how our costs are to be shared.
2. Unless we agree otherwise, information received from one joint client in relation to the joint matter may be shared with the other joint client or clients. If a material conflict arises between joint clients, we may be unable to continue acting for one or all of you.
About MPR Solicitors LLP and regulatory status
1. MPR Solicitors LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales under number OC327477 and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, SRA number 464584. Our registered office is 8 Red Lion Court, Alexandra Road, Hounslow, Middlesex TW3 1JS.
2. We use the word "partner" to refer to a member of the LLP or an employee or consultant with equivalent standing and qualifications. A reference to a partner does not imply a partnership for the purposes of the Partnership Act 1890.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
1. MPR is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion in its professional dealings and does not unlawfully discriminate. Reasonable adjustments will be considered where required and reasonably practicable.
2. Your contractual relationship is with MPR Solicitors LLP alone. No individual member, partner, employee, consultant or agent of MPR assumes personal liability to you merely because that person carries out work, signs correspondence or communicates with you.
Limitation of liability and time for claims
1. To the fullest extent permitted by law, our aggregate liability to you arising from or in connection with any one matter, whether in contract, tort, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of confidence, data protection, misrepresentation or otherwise, is limited to £3,000,000 inclusive of damages, interest and costs other than our own defence costs.
2. No claim may be brought against any member, partner, employee, consultant or agent of MPR personally. Any claim must be brought against MPR Solicitors LLP. Each member, partner, employee, consultant and agent is expressly entitled to the benefit of, and may enforce, this paragraph under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
3. To the fullest extent permitted by law, no action or proceedings arising out of or in connection with our services may be commenced more than two years after the cause of action accrued. This contractual period is subject to any statutory provision which mandatorily requires a longer period or any rule of law which prevents or restricts the operation of this clause.
4. Nothing in these Terms excludes or restricts liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability which cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted. If any limitation is found unenforceable, the remainder will continue to apply so far as lawful.
5. Where we are jointly and severally liable with another person, our liability is limited to the proportion of the loss which is fair and reasonable having regard to our responsibility for it, regardless of any inability to recover from another responsible person.
6. If any part of these Terms of Business which excludes, limits or restricts liability, including any limitation as to amount or time for bringing a claim, is found to be unlawful, unreasonable, void or otherwise unenforceable, that provision shall be ineffective only to the extent necessary and the remaining provisions of these Terms of Business shall continue to apply so far as lawful.
Scope of our responsibility and professional judgment
1. We will provide legal services with reasonable care and skill within the scope stated in the Letter of Engagement. We are not responsible for advising on matters outside that scope unless we expressly agree to do so in writing.
2. Within the agreed scope, you authorise us to take routine procedural, administrative and case-management steps which we reasonably consider necessary or appropriate to protect or progress your position without seeking separate approval for every step. We will seek your instructions on material strategic decisions where reasonably practicable.
3. We will keep you informed of material developments at intervals reasonably appropriate to the nature, stage and activity of the matter. We are not required to send repetitive updates where there has been no material development.
4. Unless expressly included in the agreed scope, we do not advise on tax, accounting, financial planning, investments, pensions or other specialist financial matters. Where regulated or specialist advice is required, you should obtain advice from an appropriately qualified or authorised adviser.
5. We have a duty to act on your lawful and reasonable instructions, subject always to our duties to the court, the administration of justice, our regulator and the law. You instruct us to exercise independent professional judgment as to how best to conduct the work within the agreed scope.
6. We are not required to advance a factual assertion, argument, allegation, application, defence, appeal ground, submission or proposed course merely because you request us to do so. We may decline to advance anything which, in our professional judgment, is irrelevant, unsupported by evidence, legally misconceived, improper, misleading, contrary to your interests, contrary to our duties to the court or administration of justice, or otherwise inconsistent with our professional obligations. Our refusal to advance such a matter will not constitute a failure to follow your instructions.
7. Your instructions determine the objectives which you ask us to pursue. The legal, evidential and procedural means by which those objectives are pursued are matters upon which MPR and any Counsel instructed must exercise independent professional judgment. Where we advise that a proposed course should not be pursued, you remain entitled to seek independent legal advice or terminate our retainer, subject to any applicable costs and procedural consequences.
8. Legal proceedings and investigations involve uncertainty. We cannot and do not guarantee any particular outcome, sentence, decision, costs order, charging decision, acquittal, discontinuance, appeal result or other result.
9. Our advice is based on the law, procedural rules, guidance and information reasonably available at the time it is given. Unless we remain instructed to advise on a particular issue, we are not responsible for notifying you of later changes in law, procedure, guidance or practice after our retainer has ended or after final advice on that issue has been given.
10. While we remain instructed on the relevant issue, we will take account of material changes in law, procedure or guidance of which we are reasonably aware and which are relevant to the agreed scope. We do not undertake continuous monitoring of unrelated legal developments and have no obligation to update advice after the relevant work or retainer has ended unless we separately agree to do so.
Draft documents and preliminary work
1. Any draft letter, representation, statement, proof of evidence, defence statement, grounds of appeal, advice, pleading, application or other document supplied to you is a working document unless we expressly confirm that it is final. A draft may change following further instructions, evidence, legal research, Counsel's advice, professional review or procedural developments. You must not file, serve, publish, circulate or otherwise rely upon a draft as our final advice or final work product unless we have expressly confirmed that it is final.
2. Informal, provisional or preliminary comments are not intended to replace considered advice where we make clear that further information, evidence, research or review is required. Where our final written advice or final approved document differs from an earlier draft or preliminary view, the final version prevails.
Your instructions, information and responsibilities
1. You must provide clear, full, honest, accurate, complete and timely instructions and all documents and information which are or may be relevant, including material which may be adverse to your position. If you are unsure whether information is accurate or complete, you must tell us. You must notify us immediately if anything previously provided was inaccurate or incomplete, or if your instructions, circumstances or relevant information change. We are entitled to rely upon information and documents supplied by you or on your behalf unless there is a reason why we should not do so.
2. You must not ask us to mislead a court, prosecutor, police officer, investigator, regulator, expert, witness or any other person. You must not knowingly provide false, altered, fabricated or misleading information or documentation, conceal information which you are legally required to disclose, interfere with witnesses or evidence, or ask us to advance a factual case which you know to be untrue. You must not alter, destroy, fabricate, conceal or procure the alteration, destruction, fabrication or concealment of evidence. If we become unable to act consistently with our legal or professional duties, we may cease acting.
3. You must preserve relevant documents, messages, recordings, devices, social-media material and other evidence and comply with court orders, bail conditions and other legal obligations. You must notify us promptly of any change of address, telephone number, email address, prison location, bail status or other contact information.
4. You must provide information, documents, instructions, decisions, payment and assistance requested by us promptly and within any deadline we specify. Litigation, criminal proceedings and investigations are subject to strict procedural and evidential deadlines. Where delay, additional work or prejudice results from your failure to respond in sufficient time, you may be charged for the additional work and, subject to our professional obligations, we will not be responsible for resulting prejudice which could reasonably have been avoided.
Client conduct and unreasonable behaviour
1. We expect communications and dealings with our partners, employees, consultants, Counsel, experts and other persons instructed by us to remain reasonable and respectful. Threatening, abusive, discriminatory, intimidating, persistently unreasonable or excessive behaviour will not be accepted.
2. Examples of conduct which may be unacceptable include attempting to mislead us or another person involved in the matter; making demands which are unlawful, improper or inconsistent with our professional duties; repeatedly requiring work or advice which is unnecessary or has already been provided; obstructing our ability to progress the matter; excessive or disproportionate communications; harassment; threats; abuse; or conduct which undermines the relationship of trust and confidence necessary for us to act.
3. Where conduct is serious or persistent, we may impose reasonable communication arrangements, require communications to be in writing or through a nominated contact, charge for additional work outside an agreed fixed-fee scope, or terminate the retainer where there is good reason and our professional obligations permit.
People who work on your matter
1. The Letter of Engagement identifies the person with day-to-day conduct and the supervising partner. Work may be delegated to solicitors, barristers, trainees, legal assistants, caseworkers or other personnel of appropriate skill and seniority and will be supervised as required.
2. We may change the person dealing with your matter where reasonably necessary. We will ordinarily tell you if there is a material change in responsibility.
Delegation, outsourcing and support services
1. We may delegate work internally or, where reasonably appropriate, use carefully selected agents, agency advocates, correspondent lawyers, transcription providers, document-processing providers, experts, consultants, IT providers or other external service providers. We may also arrange external court or hearing cover where this is appropriate.
2. Where confidential information or personal data is provided to an external service provider, we will require appropriate confidentiality, contractual and security safeguards. We remain responsible for supervision and professional obligations to the extent required by law and regulation. Unless the nature of the work or professional rules require specific consent, you authorise reasonable delegation and outsourcing for the efficient conduct of the matter.
3. Where an external solicitor, agency advocate, locum or other lawyer is engaged as part of our delivery team rather than as separately instructed Counsel, their work may be charged at the MPR hourly rate applicable to the equivalent grade or treated as a disbursement, as appropriate and as notified to you. This does not increase any agreed fixed fee unless the work falls outside its scope or the fixed-fee terms otherwise permit an additional charge.
Charging on an hourly basis
1. Unless a fixed fee or other charging arrangement is expressly agreed in writing, our fees are calculated by reference to time reasonably spent at the applicable hourly rates notified to you. Time is recorded in units of six minutes.
2. Chargeable work may include meetings and conferences, preparation, reviewing and analysing papers and evidence, legal research, drafting, correspondence, telephone and electronic communications, attendance at court or other hearings, waiting time, liaison with Counsel, experts and third parties, travel where reasonably required, file administration arising from your instructions, and work required to comply with legal, regulatory and professional obligations.
3. Our hourly rates may be reviewed periodically. We will notify you of a material change. Unless otherwise agreed, a revised rate applies to work undertaken after the notified effective date.
Estimates, costs limits and cost effectiveness
1. Any estimate is given in good faith on the information reasonably available at the time. An estimate is not a fixed fee, quotation or contractual cap unless we expressly state in writing that it is. If it becomes apparent that an estimate is likely to be materially exceeded, we will provide a revised estimate where reasonably practicable.
2. You may ask us to agree a limit or cap on fees or expenditure. No limit or cap applies unless we expressly agree it in writing. If an agreed limit is reached and you do not authorise further expenditure, we may suspend work or cease acting where professionally permitted. Subject to our professional duties, we are not responsible for consequences caused by work which you instructed us not to undertake because an agreed limit had been reached.
3. You should consider throughout the matter whether the likely legal expenditure remains proportionate to the outcome you are seeking. We will provide costs information and advice where reasonably appropriate, but the decision whether to continue incurring private legal expenditure remains yours.
Fixed fees
1. A fixed fee applies only to the work and stage expressly identified in the Letter of Engagement or later written supplementary agreement. It is calculated by reference to the nature and scope of the work instructed and the work which would ordinarily and reasonably be required for a matter of that nature, on the basis of the information then available and the assumptions stated in the Letter of Engagement and these Terms. Work of a different nature or extent, additional or adjourned hearings, separate proceedings, appeals, ancillary applications, new allegations, substantial additional evidence or disclosure, significant changes of instructions or circumstances, or other work outside the agreed scope are not included unless expressly stated.
2. Unless expressly agreed otherwise, a fixed fee is agreed on the assumption that the matter proceeds substantially as reasonably anticipated when the fee was agreed and that your instructions, communications, conferences and attendances remain reasonable and proportionate to the nature, complexity and stage of the matter. A fixed fee is not an agreement to provide unlimited advice, correspondence, telephone calls, conferences, attendances, document review or reconsideration of advice already provided.
3. Unusually frequent, lengthy, repetitive, duplicative or excessive communications; repeated requests for advice which has already been provided in the absence of materially new information; substantial additional instructions; material changes to your instructions or circumstances; and work generated by matters outside the agreed scope may constitute additional work. This includes substantial volumes of correspondence generated, assisted or reproduced through artificial intelligence, templates, automated tools or other means where the volume, repetition or nature of that material creates work which could not reasonably have been anticipated when the fixed fee was agreed.
4. Where such communications or circumstances generate material additional work beyond that reasonably contemplated by the fixed fee, we may treat that work as outside the fixed-fee scope and charge it separately at our standard hourly rates. We will notify you before incurring material additional charges where reasonably practicable. Time necessarily spent reading, analysing, categorising or triaging material before its extent or relevance can reasonably be assessed may itself constitute chargeable additional work. Where we have already provided clear advice on an issue, repeated reconsideration, restatement or further explanation of the same advice is not ordinarily included unless materially new information or a material change of circumstances requires the advice properly to be reconsidered.
5. If additional work is required, we may agree a further fixed fee or charge at our standard hourly rates. We may require payment before undertaking additional work.
6. If a fixed-fee retainer ends, is terminated or the agreed work becomes unnecessary before completion for any reason, however that occurs and subject to any overriding statutory right, the fixed-fee basis will cease to apply to work already undertaken. We will calculate our fees for work actually carried out at our standard hourly rates applicable to the matter, together with any Counsel fees properly incurred or payable and any disbursements. Where the agreed fixed fee did not include Counsel, MPR's recalculated professional fees for work falling within the original fixed-fee scope will not exceed the original fixed fee. Where the fixed fee was a global fee including Counsel, the following clause applies.
7. Where the original fixed fee was a global fee which included Counsel, any fees paid or payable to Counsel for work undertaken, preparation, reserved hearing time or cancellation will be included in the recalculation. The combined professional charges of MPR and Counsel for the agreed fixed-fee scope will not exceed the original global fixed fee, save for disbursements and third-party charges which were stated to be additional to the fixed fee or which arise from circumstances outside the original scope.
8. The purpose of the preceding clause is to ensure that, where a competitive fixed fee was agreed on the basis that MPR would undertake the whole stage of work, neither party obtains an unintended windfall if the retainer ends early. You pay only for work actually undertaken or third-party fees properly incurred or payable, subject to the agreed cap.

Short-notice instructions and cancellation

Where you instruct us at short notice for a hearing, interview, application, meeting, deadline or other time-sensitive work, you authorise us to commence the agreed work immediately and to undertake such preparation as we reasonably consider necessary within the agreed scope. We may also reserve fee-earner or advocate time and incur commitments to Counsel, advocates, experts or other third parties.
If, after we have commenced work, you cancel our instructions, decide that you no longer require us to act, instruct another firm, decide to represent yourself or otherwise bring the retainer to an end before the agreed work is completed, you remain liable for the work actually undertaken at our standard hourly rates and for any Counsel's fees, advocate fees, cancellation fees, disbursements or other third-party costs properly incurred or payable, subject to the fixed-fee cap and the other provisions of this clause 14.
This applies whether the instructions were accepted weeks in advance or only shortly before the relevant hearing, interview or deadline and whether or not it would have been possible for you to give any particular period of notice.
Where the hearing or appointment is merely adjourned or rescheduled and we remain instructed, we may continue the fixed-fee arrangement where appropriate. Any additional work caused by the adjournment, relisting or change of date may be charged separately in accordance with these Terms and the agreed scope.
Nothing in this clause affects any statutory cancellation right which cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.

Further instructions and supplementary fee agreements
1. During the course of a matter we may agree to undertake additional work, a further stage of work or separate related work. The additional scope and charging arrangements may be agreed or confirmed in writing, including by email, by a Partner or other person authorised by the firm.
2. Any such written agreement supplements the Letter of Engagement and these Terms. Unless expressly stated otherwise, these Terms and the original Letter of Engagement will continue to apply. Where there is an inconsistency concerning the specific additional scope or charging basis, the later written agreement will prevail only to the extent of that inconsistency.
3. Your written acceptance, payment of an agreed fee or requested funds on account, or instruction to commence work after receipt of the written terms may constitute acceptance of the supplementary scope and charging arrangements, subject to any statutory rights which apply.
4. No oral discussion, informal conversation, unilateral instruction from you or communication from a third party extends or varies the scope of our retainer or obliges us to undertake additional work unless subsequently agreed or confirmed in writing by a Partner or other person authorised by the firm.
VAT and disbursements
1. Unless expressly stated otherwise, our fees and estimates are exclusive of VAT, which will be charged at the rate applicable from time to time.
2. You are responsible for disbursements and third-party costs incurred on your behalf, including Counsel, experts, medical reports, transcription, court fees, couriers, travel, accommodation, printing, binding, electronic media and specialist service providers, unless expressly included in a global fixed fee. We may require funds on account before incurring them.
3. Routine office overheads are included in our professional charges. We may charge separately for substantial or non-routine copying, printing, binding, scanning, electronic media, specialist document production, couriers, postage, translation, data hosting or other exceptional administrative or third-party costs where reasonably incurred and not already included in an agreed fee.
Travel and accommodation
1. Where travel is reasonably required for your matter, travel and waiting time may be charged at the applicable hourly rate unless otherwise agreed. Travel, accommodation, parking, tolls, public transport, taxis and similar expenses may be charged as disbursements. Mileage may be charged at the firm's prevailing mileage rate, currently £0.55 per mile, unless a different rate is stated in the Letter of Engagement.
Funds on account, client money and interest
1. We may require money on account of anticipated fees and disbursements. Money which constitutes client money will be held and dealt with in accordance with the SRA Accounts Rules unless a lawful alternative arrangement is expressly agreed.
2. We may transfer money held for you from client account to our business account in payment of a properly delivered bill or disbursement in accordance with the SRA Accounts Rules. Where money is not held for a specific purpose and the rules permit, we may apply money held for you against properly rendered bills due from you on this or another matter.
3. Under Rule 7 of the SRA Accounts Rules we are required to account for a fair sum of interest on client money, but a different written arrangement may be agreed where sufficient information is provided. By accepting these Terms you agree that, because we generally hold relatively modest sums for short periods and the administrative cost of calculating and processing small payments is disproportionate, we will not account to you for interest where the amount which would otherwise be payable is £50 or less. Where the amount exceeds £50, we will account to you for a fair sum calculated under our client account interest policy. You may ask us for further information about the policy before agreeing to this arrangement. Your signature of these Terms, together with the specific acknowledgement in the Letter of Engagement where used, is intended to record your informed written agreement to this alternative arrangement for the purposes of Rule 7.2.
4. Client money will be returned promptly when there is no longer a proper reason to hold it, subject to our right to apply money against properly rendered invoices and any lawful lien or other entitlement.
5. If, after reasonable steps, we are unable to return a small residual client balance, we may deal with it in accordance with the SRA Accounts Rules, including payment to an appropriate charity where the rules and any required authorisation permit.
6. Client money is normally held in one or more general client accounts with banks or building societies selected by us. We exercise reasonable care in selecting banking institutions but do not guarantee the solvency of any bank or building society and are not responsible for loss caused solely by the failure of an authorised deposit-taking institution, except to the extent that liability cannot lawfully be excluded. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme may provide protection subject to its eligibility requirements and compensation limits, which may aggregate money you hold personally with the same banking group. Further information is available from the FSCS.
Cleared funds, transfers and payment methods
1. We are not obliged to make a payment, transfer money, incur a liability or release funds against uncleared funds. Any CHAPS, international transfer, currency conversion or other exceptional banking charge reasonably incurred on your instructions may be charged to you.
2. We may accept approved credit or debit card and online payments. Card payments are subject to authorisation and clearance by the card issuer and applicable payment-provider terms. We may require confirmation that the person making payment is authorised to use the card. Where practicable and appropriate, a refund of a card payment may be made to the original payment method.
3. We do not accept cash payments. We may refuse, return or delay dealing with any payment where required by law, regulation, sanctions requirements, anti-money laundering obligations or firm policy, and we may carry out appropriate checks before accepting or returning funds.
4. We do not guarantee that funds will clear by any particular time and are not responsible for delay caused by the banking system, a card issuer, payment provider or compliance checks outside our reasonable control.
Invoices, payment and interest on unpaid fees
1. We may render interim invoices periodically, including monthly, at agreed stages, when funds on account require replenishment, or at other reasonable intervals, and a final invoice at or after completion. The Letter of Engagement may specify a different billing arrangement.
2. Invoices are ordinarily payable within 7 days of delivery unless the Letter of Engagement or invoice states another period. Delivery by email or other agreed electronic method constitutes delivery when sent, subject to any mandatory legal requirement.
3. If you dispute any invoice, you should notify us promptly and wherever possible within 14 days of delivery, identifying the particular item or amount disputed and the reasons for the dispute. This does not remove any statutory right to challenge or seek assessment of a bill. Unless we agree otherwise, any undisputed part remains payable in accordance with the invoice.
4. If an invoice remains unpaid after the due date, we may charge interest from the due date until payment at the rate applicable from time to time to judgment debts in the High Court. We may also recover reasonable court fees, debt-recovery charges and other costs of enforcing payment to the extent legally recoverable. Time reasonably spent by fee earners dealing with recovery may be charged where permitted by law and our retainer.
5. We may instruct solicitors, debt-collection agencies or other recovery providers to pursue unpaid sums and may disclose to them information reasonably necessary for that lawful purpose, subject to our duties of confidentiality and applicable data protection law. You remain liable for recoverable enforcement costs to the extent permitted by law and this retainer.
6. If a bill or request for funds on account is not paid when due, we may suspend work, decline to undertake further work, refrain from incurring disbursements or cease acting where professionally permitted. We will not be responsible for consequences caused by non-payment where we have acted consistently with our professional obligations.
7. Unless an invoice expressly states that it is an interim bill on account, it may constitute a final statute bill for the work or period identified, with any applicable statutory time limits running from delivery.
8. Where an insurer, funder, accountant, auditor or other service provider appointed by you requires reports, billing information, document review or other work beyond that ordinarily required to conduct your matter, we may charge for the reasonable additional work and disbursements involved unless we have agreed otherwise. If privileged or confidential material is requested, we will not disclose it without appropriate authority unless disclosure is required by law or professional obligation, and reasonable time spent reviewing privilege, confidentiality and disclosure issues may be charged. This does not apply to our handling of a complaint by you, which is free of charge, or to work which we are legally or professionally required to undertake without charge.
Cancelled or missed appointments
1. Where an appointment, consultation or conference has been reserved for you and you cancel with less than 24 hours' notice, or fail to attend, we may charge for the time reserved or actually lost, up to one hour at the applicable hourly rate, together with any non-refundable Counsel's fee, expert fee, travel time, travel expense or other disbursement reasonably incurred.
2. Where a longer conference, hearing preparation session or specialist attendance has been specifically reserved, any separate cancellation terms notified to you or imposed by Counsel, an expert or another external professional will apply. This clause does not affect any statutory consumer cancellation right which applies.
Counsel, experts and other external professionals
1. Where reasonably required we may, after consultation where appropriate, instruct Counsel, experts, investigators, correspondent lawyers, agents, interpreters, transcription providers or other specialists on your behalf.
2. Counsel, experts and other external professionals exercise their own independent professional judgment. We remain responsible for exercising reasonable care and skill in their selection, instruction and management where those matters are within our responsibility. We do not, however, guarantee the correctness of an independent professional opinion, the outcome of their work, or performance of matters outside our reasonable control.
3. You are responsible for fees and cancellation charges properly incurred in relation to external professionals, subject to any global fixed fee expressly agreed. We may require payment in advance. If Counsel, an expert or another external professional has reserved time or accepted instructions on terms under which all or part of a brief fee, refresher, preparation fee or cancellation fee remains payable notwithstanding cancellation, settlement, discontinuance, adjournment or termination of our retainer, you remain liable for that amount to the extent it is properly payable under the agreed retainer and these Terms. Where Counsel's fees form part of a global fixed fee, the fixed-fee recalculation provisions apply.
Third-party payers and authorised contacts
1. If another person agrees to pay all or part of your legal costs, you remain liable for all charges and disbursements unless we expressly agree otherwise in writing. A third-party payer does not become our client merely by making payment.
2. We will not disclose confidential or privileged information to a third-party payer unless you authorise us or disclosure is otherwise permitted or required by law. You may authorise us to provide a payer with information about invoices, payment requirements and general progress. You may revoke that authority in writing.
3. If you authorise a family member, partner, employee, accountant or other person to communicate with us on your behalf, we may rely on that authority until you revoke it in writing, but we may require instructions directly from you where we consider this necessary. Unless we expressly agree otherwise in writing, authority to communicate does not authorise that person to make substantive decisions for you or alter your instructions. Decisions concerning plea, admissions, factual account, evidence, settlement, appeal, waiver of privilege or other material case strategy must come directly from you unless a different arrangement has been expressly agreed and is professionally permissible.
Confidentiality and legal professional privilege
1. We will keep information concerning you and your matter confidential except where disclosure is authorised by you, reasonably necessary to carry out your instructions, permitted by professional rules, required by law, required for insurance, audit, regulatory, quality-control, risk-management or legal proceedings, or otherwise lawfully justified.
2. We may disclose information on a confidential basis to Counsel, experts, service providers, IT and case-management providers, auditors, quality-assurance bodies, professional indemnity insurers, Legal Ombudsman, regulators and others reasonably involved in the provision or protection of our services. Where legal aid applies, information may also be supplied to the Legal Aid Agency and its auditors or contractors where required or permitted. Where a third party acts as our processor or service provider, we will require appropriate contractual and security safeguards.
3. If we are required by law, court order, regulator, insurer or other lawful process to consider or make disclosure, or if you instruct us to object to or resist disclosure, work reasonably required beyond the ordinary conduct of the matter may be charged at the applicable hourly rates unless the law or professional rules require us to act without charge.
4. Legal professional privilege belongs to the client and may be waived or lost if privileged material is voluntarily disclosed outside a privileged relationship. You should not forward, publish, reproduce or disclose our advice, Counsel's advice or privileged communications to any third party without first discussing this with us. Subject to our legal duties, we are not responsible for consequences arising from your voluntary disclosure or publication of privileged or confidential material contrary to our advice.
Data protection
1. MPR Solicitors LLP is a controller of personal data processed in connection with our legal services. We process personal data in accordance with the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 as amended, including amendments made by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, and other applicable data protection legislation.
2. We may process ordinary personal data, special category data and criminal offence data where necessary for the provision of legal services, the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, compliance with legal and regulatory obligations, safeguarding our legitimate interests and those of our clients, and other lawful purposes. Depending on the matter, this may include identity, contact, financial, medical, employment, family, criminal, evidential and communications data.
3. We may obtain information from you and from courts, prosecutors, police, prisons, regulators, experts, witnesses, other lawyers, public authorities, public sources and other persons or organisations involved in the matter. We may share information where necessary for the conduct of the matter or as permitted or required by law.
4. Where personal data is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we will use an appropriate lawful transfer mechanism and safeguards where required.
5. Our Data Protection Notice forms part of the information we provide about processing and is available at https://www.mprsolicitors.co.uk/site/help/data-protection-policy The firm’s Data Protection Manager is Abdullah Al-Yunusi and may be contacted through law@mprsolicitors.co.uk.
6. You have rights under applicable data protection legislation which may include rights of access, rectification and, in appropriate circumstances, restriction, objection, erasure and data portability. These rights are subject to statutory exemptions, including exemptions relevant to legal proceedings, regulatory obligations and legal professional privilege. You may complain to the Information Commissioner's Office about the way personal data is processed. Further information is contained in our Data Protection Notice and at www.ico.org.uk
Approved technology, recording and artificial intelligence
1. Telephone calls and email communications to and from MPR may be recorded or retained. Recordings and communications may be used for case management, attendance notes, training, supervision, quality assurance, complaints, regulatory compliance, security and evidential purposes, subject to applicable law.
2. We may use approved AI meeting assistants or transcription tools to facilitate audio capture, transcription and preparation of attendance notes or summaries. We will only use systems which meet our Information and Data Governance and AI Policy requirements at the time of use, including UK or EU server location, AES encryption, deletion of source audio or processing files after processing in accordance with our policy, and assurance that client data is not used by third parties to train their models or algorithms.
3. Any AI-assisted output used in the conduct of your matter remains subject to human review and professional responsibility. The final attendance note or approved work product may be stored on our case-management system as part of your file.
Electronic communications and cybersecurity
1. We routinely communicate by email, telephone, video conference and other approved electronic means. Electronic communications carry inherent risks, including interception, delay, corruption, impersonation and fraud. You accept those ordinary risks unless you tell us in writing that a particular method is not acceptable.
2. Electronic communications may be corrupted, altered, delayed or intercepted after dispatch. Except to the extent caused by our breach of duty or where liability cannot lawfully be excluded, we are not responsible for changes made to a communication after it has left systems under our control. You are responsible for maintaining reasonable anti-virus, anti-malware and security protection on your own devices and for checking attachments before opening them.
3. Our bank details are not expected to change during a matter and we will never notify a change to bank details by email alone. You must verify any purported change by telephoning us using a number already known to you or independently obtained from our official website.
4. If you send money to an account other than the account we have notified without first carrying out the verification required above, you do so at your own risk and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, we accept no responsibility for resulting loss except where caused by our fraud or where liability cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.
5. You are responsible for maintaining reasonable security over your own email accounts, devices, passwords and communications and for notifying us promptly if you suspect compromise or unauthorised access.
Anti-money laundering, proceeds of crime, sanctions and identity checks
1. The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 apply only to work within their statutory scope. Criminal litigation is generally outside that scope, but particular services or ancillary work may fall within scope. Whether or not a matter is within the Regulations, MPR maintains firm-wide policies designed to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions breaches, fraud and misuse of legal services.
2. The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, Terrorism Act 2000, sanctions legislation and professional obligations may apply regardless of whether the Money Laundering Regulations apply to the particular matter. These obligations may require us to make checks, seek information, refuse or delay a transaction, make a report or cease acting. In some circumstances the law may prohibit us from explaining what we have done or why.
3. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for delay, inability to act, non-disclosure to you, reporting, refusal to receive or release funds, or termination of the retainer which results from our good-faith compliance, or reasonable belief that we are required to comply, with anti-money laundering, proceeds of crime, counter-terrorism, sanctions or other legal or regulatory obligations. Even where a competent authority permits a transaction or permits us to continue acting, we may still cease to act where we reasonably consider that continuing would expose the firm or its personnel to legal, regulatory, professional or unacceptable risk.
4. As a matter of firm policy and where required by law, we may verify identity, address, beneficial ownership, source of funds and source of wealth and may use electronic verification providers and public or commercial databases. You must provide information and documents reasonably requested for these purposes.
5. You should provide compliance information and information about the source and destination of funds sufficiently in advance of any proposed transaction or payment. Where material source-of-funds, source-of-wealth, identity or sanctions checks are required, you should normally provide the requested information at least 14 days before any proposed completion, transfer, release of money or other time-critical step. We may agree a shorter period at our discretion but do not guarantee that checks can be completed within it. We are not responsible for delay or inability to act caused by information being provided late, inconsistently or from an unexpected source.
6. We may use electronic identity-verification services and public or commercial databases to verify information supplied to us. A record of the verification may be retained on our file. Where the Money Laundering Regulations or other legislation require specified compliance records to be retained for a minimum period, we will retain those records for at least that period notwithstanding any request for earlier destruction or transfer, subject to applicable law.
7. We do not accept cash. We may decline to receive money from an unidentified or unexpected third party or return funds only after completing checks required by law or our regulatory obligations. We are not responsible for delay caused by lawful compliance with these requirements.
Bribery, improper payments and benefits
1. You must not offer, give, request or arrange any gift, payment, hospitality or other benefit to or through MPR, its personnel, Counsel, experts, witnesses, public officials or any person involved in your matter where it is unlawful, improper or intended to influence the performance of professional, official or evidential duties. We may refuse or return any inappropriate benefit and may cease acting or make any report required by law.
Conflicts of interest
1. We carry out conflict checks before and during a retainer. If a conflict or significant risk of conflict arises, we may be required to cease acting for you or another client. Where professional rules permit us to continue with informed consent and appropriate safeguards, we will discuss the position with you.
2. In the limited circumstances in which professional rules permit us to act for more than one client whose interests involve competition for the same objective, we will only do so if the applicable conditions are satisfied and any informed written consent required by the professional rules is obtained for that specific matter. Acceptance of these general Terms alone is not treated as such matter-specific consent.
Publicity, anonymised information and know-how
1. We will not identify you or disclose confidential information for publicity, marketing or educational purposes without your specific consent or another lawful basis.
2. We may use genuinely anonymised and non-identifiable information derived from matters for internal training, know-how, precedent development, professional education, statistical purposes or publicity, provided that neither you nor any other person can reasonably be identified and confidentiality is preserved.
Copyright, intellectual property and know-how
1. Unless otherwise agreed or provided by law, copyright and other intellectual property rights in documents, templates, precedents, written advice and other original work created by MPR remain vested in MPR. You have a non-exclusive licence to use work supplied to you for the purpose for which it was prepared.
2. You may not commercially reproduce, publish, sell, adapt or use our work for an unrelated purpose without our written consent. We may retain and reuse legal know-how, templates, research and genuinely anonymised material derived from our work provided that confidentiality is preserved and no client or other person is reasonably identifiable.
Disclosure, preservation of documents and evidence
1. In civil and other proceedings involving disclosure, you may be required to preserve and disclose documents which assist your case, adversely affect your case or support another party's case. Once litigation is contemplated or underway, you must not destroy, alter or conceal potentially disclosable material and should seek our advice before deleting or disposing of potentially relevant documents or data.
2. In criminal investigations and proceedings, you must preserve potentially relevant documents, messages, recordings, devices and other evidence. Depending on the proceedings, you may be required or advised to serve a defence statement or other document based on your instructions and evidence. Destroying, fabricating, altering or concealing evidence may constitute a criminal offence or otherwise seriously prejudice your case.
3. Material disclosed or supplied in criminal proceedings can be highly sensitive and may be subject to statutory restrictions, court orders, reporting restrictions, confidentiality obligations and data protection requirements. Material disclosed under the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 must not be used or disclosed except as permitted by law. Other prosecution or court material may also be subject to specific restrictions or directions. You must therefore treat all case material supplied to you as being for the preparation and conduct of your defence unless we advise you otherwise.
4. You must use case material only for the proper preparation and conduct of your defence unless we advise otherwise. You must not post, forward, upload, livestream, publish or circulate any witness statement, complainant material, body-worn video, CCTV, 999 or emergency-call recording, police interview audio or video, photograph, exhibit, private message, medical material or other prosecution or court evidence. This includes publication or circulation through TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, X, Snapchat, WhatsApp or Telegram groups, other social-media or messaging services, public websites, file-sharing sites and online forums.
5. You must not give, show or forward copies of case material to friends, relatives, journalists, witnesses or any other third party unless we have first confirmed that doing so is lawful and appropriate for the preparation or conduct of your case.
6. You must not make screenshots, screen recordings, photographs, audio recordings or additional copies of restricted material for onward circulation. You must not use another device to record evidence displayed on a secure portal or during a supervised viewing.
7. You must not upload prosecution or court evidence, witness material, confidential material or privileged legal advice to ChatGPT, another public or consumer AI service, an online transcription service, document-sharing platform or other third-party system unless we have expressly approved that use for your matter.
8. If you wish another person, expert or adviser to see particular material, you should ask us first so that we can consider the lawful and appropriate means by which it may be provided. If material is supplied through a secure portal or subject to viewing, copying or other restrictions, you must comply with those restrictions.
9. Misuse or unauthorised circulation of evidence may prejudice your case, expose or intimidate witnesses, breach a court order, reporting restriction or statutory prohibition and, depending upon the circumstances, lead to contempt proceedings, investigation, arrest or prosecution. If you are uncertain whether material may lawfully be shown or supplied to another person, you must ask us before doing so.
Storage, retention and destruction of documents
1. We may maintain your file wholly or partly in electronic form and may scan original documents and destroy paper copies where it is reasonable and lawful to do so. We are not obliged to retain duplicate paper and electronic versions of the same material.
2. We will retain files and records for the period required by our retention policy, legal and regulatory obligations, insurance requirements and reasonable risk-management needs. Files will ordinarily be retained for at least six years after closure, but serious, complex, appellate, confiscation, regulatory or other matters may be retained for longer where we consider this reasonably necessary. We may securely destroy material after the applicable retention period without further notice unless we have agreed otherwise in writing or are required to retain it.
3. After the substantive file has been destroyed, we may retain limited identifying and matter information, such as your name, date of birth, contact details, matter description, parties and conflict data, for longer where reasonably necessary and lawful for conflict checking, regulatory, insurance, fraud-prevention, complaints and risk-management purposes.
4. Original deeds, securities, identity documents, physical exhibits, discs, devices or other items which we do not reasonably need to retain should be collected when requested. If you fail to collect an item after reasonable notice, we may return it by secure post or courier at your expense, store it at your expense, scan it where appropriate, or destroy it where lawful and reasonable.
5. If special physical storage, retrieval or delivery is required after the retainer has ended, we may charge a reasonable storage, retrieval, courier or delivery fee together with the reasonable staff time involved, unless the law or professional rules require us to act without charge.
Ownership, retrieval, copies and transfer of papers
1. A client is not automatically entitled to every document held on a solicitor's file. Ownership and entitlement depend on the nature and purpose of the document and applicable law. Documents created for our own purposes, including internal administrative records, risk and compliance material, internal communications, some drafts, working papers and copies created for our own use, may belong to MPR and need not be supplied to you.
2. During the retainer we will ordinarily provide material documents reasonably required to keep you informed and conduct the matter. If, during or after the retainer, you ask us to provide, reproduce or transfer all or a substantial part of the papers to which you are entitled, whether to you, another solicitor or another authorised person, we may charge the reasonable time and expense involved in complying with that request unless the law or professional rules require us to act without charge.
3. Chargeable work may include locating and retrieving paper or electronic material; restoring archived material; determining ownership and entitlement; reviewing confidentiality, privilege, third-party information and legal restrictions; redacting; collating; indexing; converting file formats; downloading or exporting data; scanning; copying; printing; binding; preparing encrypted media or secure transfers; correspondence concerning the request; and postage, courier or specialist IT costs.
4. Administrative file preparation will, where practicable, be undertaken by an appropriate member of staff at the lowest reasonable charging rate. Where the volume of material is substantial, we may provide an estimate and request payment on account before undertaking the work, provided that this would not breach a legal or professional obligation or improperly prejudice an ongoing transfer of representation.
5. Where papers or material have already been supplied to you and you request duplicate or replacement copies, we may make a reasonable charge for reproducing and supplying them.
6. A subject access request is a request for personal data and is not necessarily an entitlement to a complete copy of the solicitor's file. Subject access requests will be dealt with separately under applicable data protection law. Nothing in this clause authorises a fee where the law requires information to be supplied without charge.
Lien over papers and property
1. Subject to our professional obligations, applicable law and any court order, we may exercise a lien over papers, money or property lawfully held by us until outstanding fees and disbursements are paid or satisfactory security is provided. We will consider the exercise of a lien on a case-by-case basis, particularly where an ongoing matter may be prejudiced.
Ending our relationship
1. You may terminate our instructions at any time by written notice. In litigation or other proceedings, the court or tribunal may need to permit us to come off the record and you remain liable for reasonable work required until that occurs.
2. We may terminate our retainer for good reason and on reasonable notice where practicable. Good reason may include non-payment or failure to provide funds on account; failure to give adequate, truthful or timely instructions; failure to provide required identification, source-of-funds or other compliance information; loss of confidence or breakdown in the professional relationship; conflict of interest; serious or persistent unreasonable, abusive or threatening behaviour; an attempt to mislead us or another person; instructions which we cannot professionally follow; legal, regulatory, sanctions, insurance or professional restrictions; insolvency; or circumstances which, acting reasonably and having regard to our legal, regulatory and professional obligations, mean that continuing to act would expose MPR or its personnel to an unacceptable legal, regulatory, professional or reputational risk or otherwise make continued representation improper or impracticable.
3. On termination you remain liable for all fees and disbursements properly due. Where the retainer was on a fixed-fee basis, the recalculation provisions in the Fixed Fees clause apply.
Contentious work and costs payable to or by another party
1. Unless expressly agreed otherwise, you are responsible for our fees and disbursements regardless of the outcome and regardless of whether another person is ordered or agrees to contribute to them.
2. In civil or other proceedings where costs shifting applies, an order or agreement for another party to pay costs will rarely result in recovery of every pound you have paid or owe us. Recoverable costs may be assessed and reduced, recovery depends on the court's discretion and the terms of any order or settlement, and practical recovery may depend on the other party's ability to pay. If the other party is legally aided or otherwise protected, recovery may be restricted. You remain responsible for any shortfall.
3. If you are ordered to pay another party's costs, that liability is separate from your liability to pay us.
Defence costs in criminal proceedings
1. Recovery of privately funded criminal defence costs from central funds is restricted by statute and regulations. You should not assume that acquittal, discontinuance or a successful appeal will result in reimbursement of your private fees. Private fees incurred for police station representation, pre-charge advice, pre-charge engagement and other investigatory work are not ordinarily recoverable from central funds.
2. In Magistrates' Court proceedings and qualifying appeals to the Crown Court, a Defendant's Costs Order may permit recovery in appropriate circumstances. Where defence legal costs are claimed under a Defendant's Costs Order in qualifying proceedings, they are payable only in accordance with the prescribed rates and scales set by the Lord Chancellor, commonly described as notional legal aid rates, rather than our private charging rates. Those rates are substantially lower and the amount may be further reduced on assessment. As a broad practical indication only, our experience is that recovery in many privately funded matters may be in the region of approximately 15-20% of the private fees actually incurred, but this is not a promise or guarantee and actual recovery may be lower or higher.
3. In Crown Court proceedings on indictment, a privately funded individual defendant who is acquitted will generally only be entitled to recover legal costs from central funds where an application for criminal legal aid was made and the Legal Aid Agency determined that the defendant was financially ineligible. If you choose not to apply for legal aid, you may therefore lose any entitlement to recover privately funded Crown Court defence costs. Corporate defendants and some categories of proceedings have different or more restricted rights.
4. Different statutory costs provisions may apply to certain proceedings in the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court or other appellate proceedings. We will advise separately if this is relevant to your matter. Unless expressly included in our agreed scope, advice on or pursuit of any such costs claim is separate work and the costs-recovery charging provisions below apply.
5. Where you are granted criminal legal aid and are required to make contributions, contributions may be repaid or otherwise dealt with under the applicable legal aid rules if the proceedings conclude in your favour. The position depends on the applicable legal aid regime and circumstances of the case.
6. A Defendant's Costs Order does not itself determine the amount payable. A separate claim and assessment process is required. Current Criminal Cases Unit guidance generally requires a central funds claim to be submitted within three months of the conclusion of the proceedings. Unless we expressly agree in writing to prepare and pursue that claim, costs-recovery work and monitoring of the claim deadline are outside our retainer and remain your responsibility.
7. If you ask us to prepare, submit, pursue, review, redetermine or challenge a Defendant's Costs Order claim, that work is not included in the substantive criminal retainer unless expressly stated. Unless we agree otherwise, it will be charged at the firm's standard hourly rate applicable to a Trainee Solicitor / Paralegal / Legal Assistant from time to time, plus VAT and any disbursements, subject to a minimum charge equivalent to one hour at that rate. The cost of preparing or pursuing the claim may itself not be recoverable from central funds.
Prosecution costs in criminal and regulatory proceedings
1. If you plead guilty or are convicted, the court may order you to pay prosecution costs in addition to any fine, compensation, surcharge, confiscation order or other financial order. Any such liability is separate from your liability to pay our fees and disbursements.
Regulatory status and financial services
1. MPR is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Unless expressly agreed and lawfully permitted, we do not provide regulated financial or investment advice. Where such advice is required, you should obtain advice from an appropriately authorised adviser.
Complaints
1. We aim to provide a high standard of service. If you are dissatisfied with our service or a bill, please complain to the person conducting your matter in the first instance. We will record and investigate the complaint promptly and free of charge.
2. If the issue is not resolved, the complaint will be considered by the supervising or complaints partner. If you remain dissatisfied, you may request a further internal review and, where appropriate, we will arrange for another partner who has had no previous involvement to review the decision. We will provide the firm's final position within eight weeks of the complaint being received, unless we agree an earlier resolution.
3. If you remain dissatisfied after our final response, or if eight weeks have elapsed without resolution, you may be entitled to complain to the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman generally expects complaints within one year of the act or omission complained of, or within one year of when you realised or should reasonably have realised there was cause for complaint, and within six months of our final response where our final response properly explains that requirement.
4. Legal Ombudsman contact details: PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH; telephone 0300 555 0333; email enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk; website www.legalombudsman.org.uk.
5. If you believe a solicitor has been dishonest or you have concerns about professional conduct or integrity, you may also contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority at www.sra.org.uk or 0370 606 2555. The SRA does not ordinarily determine complaints about poor service, which are generally matters for the Legal Ombudsman.
6. Where our internal complaints procedure has been exhausted, our final written response will also contain any additional information about alternative dispute resolution which we are required by the SRA Code of Conduct to provide, including the name and website of an approved ADR body and whether MPR agrees to use that scheme.
Assessment of bills
1. Nothing in these Terms removes any right you may have to apply to the court for assessment of a solicitor's bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. Statutory time limits and consequences apply and you should obtain independent advice if you are considering such an application. Interest may continue to accrue on unpaid sums where permitted.
Assignment and transfer of our business
1. You may not assign or transfer your rights under our retainer without our prior written consent, except where the law provides otherwise.
2. If MPR merges, restructures or transfers all or a substantial part of its business to a successor practice, you agree that we may transfer the retainer and relevant records to that successor on substantially equivalent terms, subject to applicable professional and data protection obligations. We will notify you where required.
Third-party rights
1. Except where expressly stated, including the express right of MPR personnel to enforce the personal-liability protection in these Terms, no person other than you and MPR has any right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of our retainer.
2. Our advice and work are prepared solely for you, for the purpose of the particular matter and on the basis of the facts, law and instructions applicable at the time. They may not be relied upon by any other person or for any other purpose without our express written agreement. We accept no duty of care or responsibility to any third party merely because our advice or work has been shown, forwarded or supplied to them.
Waiver, severability and entire agreement
1. A failure or delay by us in enforcing a term does not waive that term or prevent later enforcement.
2. If any term is found invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary where possible and the remaining terms will continue in force.
3. The Letter of Engagement, these Terms and any later written supplementary scope or fee agreement record the agreement between us in relation to the matter and supersede prior discussions, representations or arrangements concerning the same subject. Nothing in this clause excludes or restricts liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation or any other misrepresentation or liability which cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted. An additional scope of work, further stage or variation to charging arrangements may be agreed or confirmed in writing, including by email, by a Partner or other person authorised by the firm. No oral discussion, unilateral instruction or communication from a third party varies our retainer unless subsequently agreed or confirmed by us in writing.
Amendment of these Terms
1. We may amend these Terms on at least one month's written notice to reflect changes in law, regulation, professional requirements, insurance, cybersecurity, technology, banking arrangements or our reasonable business practices. An amendment will not retrospectively increase charges for work already undertaken. Where a proposed amendment materially changes your rights or obligations and the law requires your agreement, it will take effect only to the extent lawfully permitted.
Governing law and jurisdiction
1. The Letter of Engagement, these Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them, including non-contractual disputes or claims, are governed by the law of England and Wales.
2. Subject to any mandatory jurisdictional right which cannot lawfully be excluded, the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. You and we irrevocably submit to that jurisdiction. Where proceedings are required to be commenced in a particular court by statute or procedural rule, that requirement will apply.
Consumer cancellation rights for distance and off-premises contracts
1. This clause applies only where you are a consumer and the retainer is a distance contract or an off-premises contract within the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. Where the Regulations apply, you normally have 14 days from conclusion of the contract in which to cancel without giving a reason.
2. To cancel, you must inform us by a clear statement, for example by letter or email. You may use the model cancellation form below, but you do not have to. A cancellation sent before expiry of the cancellation period is sufficient even if received later.
3. You should retain evidence showing when and how any cancellation notice was sent, in case the timing of cancellation is later disputed.
4. We will not begin supplying services during the cancellation period unless you make an express request for us to do so. If you ask us to start work during the cancellation period and then cancel before the service is fully performed, you must pay an amount proportionate to the services supplied up to the time we are informed of cancellation, calculated in accordance with the Regulations. For a fixed-fee retainer, the calculation will be based on the agreed total price and the proportion of the contracted service actually supplied, subject to the Regulations.
5. If you expressly request us to begin work during the cancellation period and acknowledge that you will lose the right to cancel once the service has been fully performed, your cancellation right will cease once we have fully performed the service.
6. Nothing in the ordinary fixed-fee termination provisions overrides a statutory cancellation right. Where the Regulations apply during the cancellation period, the statutory calculation and consequences take priority.
7. Where you validly exercise a statutory right to cancel, we will reimburse payments which the Regulations require us to reimburse, less any amount properly payable for services supplied at your express request before cancellation. Any reimbursement due will be made without undue delay and within the period prescribed by law, ordinarily using the same means of payment unless otherwise agreed, subject to any lawful exception.

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