Call now - 0333 577 2999 (24hr)

Call now - 0333 577 2999 (24hr)

Terms & Conditions

Contact us

Standard Terms & Conditions of Business

The acceptance of instructions to act on behalf of any individual or corporate body is at the discretion of JSP Law. If we accept your instructions then we will send you a letter of engagement which sets out who will be responsible for acting on your behalf and the following standard terms and conditions apply:

  • 1. Funding

    JSP Law accepts instructions from clients on a private paying basis and, for those eligible, under the terms of the legal aid scheme.

    If you are funding your representation under the terms of the legal aid scheme then the fees payable are set by Parliament under the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 and all subsequent amendments. All claims for costs are submitted to the Legal Aid Agency at the end of your case and are subject to assessment.

    If you are funding your representation privately then you will be charged at our standard hourly rates which are published on our website. Such rates are subject to annual review. We can, at our discretion, agree to reduce our hourly rates or agree a fixed fee for a particular item of work but in the absence of written confirmation that we have agreed to this, the rate applied will be the published hourly rate.

  • 2. Payment of fees

    Bills may be paid by way of cheque, banker’s draft, telegraphic transfer or by debit or credit card. JSP Law does not accept payment of fees in cash unless it is under £500.00.

  • 3. Disbursements & Expenses

    We are likely to incur disbursements and expenses whilst acting on your behalf. You agree to reimburse us for all disbursements and expenses that represent usual costs and expenses reasonably incurred. Examples of such disbursements and expenses are travel fares, counsel’ fees, expert’s fees and external photocopying costs.

    We will always try to notify you in advance of any disbursements and expenses to seek your authorisation, particularly if they are unusual or unanticipated. However, where this is not practicable we reserve the right to exercise our discretion.

  • 4. Client money & payments on account of fees

    JSP Law holds a client account with HSBC in order to hold client funds. We do not provide banking facilities and only accept client monies to the extent that they are required to meet anticipated costs and expenses for acting on your behalf.

    We will normally request payment on account of costs and expenses, including our own. Such payments will be held in our client account until such time that you have been invoiced for them.

    You agree that we may deduct our costs and expenses from any funds held in our client account upon you being invoiced and you having had 48 hours to consider such an invoice.

    If, at the conclusion of proceedings, we have a positive balance it will be repaid when it is fair an reasonable, in accordance with the Solicitors Accounts Rules 2019.

    We reserve the right to refuse to continue to represent you if you have not placed us in sufficient funds to do so.

  • 5. Client account interest

    Funds held in our client account will be subject to interest at a rate set by HSBC. Interest will be calculated from the date that payment is received until such time as funds are paid to a third party or returned to you in the event of a positive balance.

    Interest is payable when it exceeds a de minimis amount of £20.

  • 6. Anti Money Laundering checks

    We are required by law to comply with The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017.

    You agree to provide us with 2 forms of identification so that we can keep a record of your identity before making any payment on account. If you fail to do this we reserve the right to decline your instructions.

    You also agree to fully co-operate with any inquiry we may need to make as to the source of funding and the identity of the payee, to include bank account details.

    Whilst we are under a professional obligation to maintain client confidentiality, there is an exception to this when it is known or suspected that a transaction is money laundering. In such circumstances we are obliged to make a disclosure to the National Crime Agency.

    If we do have to make a disclosure to the National Crime Agency, we are unable to inform you of this because it could be “tipping off” which is a criminal offence. It may also mean that we have to cease working on your matter for a period of time. In such circumstances you agree that we are not liable for any losses, costs or penalties that you may incur due to our compliance with our professional and legal obligations.

  • 7. How we handle your information & Confidentiality

    We use the information you provide primarily for the provision of legal services to you and for related purposes including:
    ● Updating and enhancing client records● Analysis to help us manage our practice● Statutory returns● Legal and regulatory compliance
    Our use of that information is subject to your instructions, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679, and our duty of confidentiality. Please note that our work for you may require us to give information to third parties such as expert witnesses and other professional advisers. You have a right of access under the GDPR to the personal data that we hold about you. The person responsible for your data protection is Mr. Vinesh Patel who a director and solicitor at the firm. Please contact Mr. Vinesh Patel on 0333 577 2999 or email ku.oc.walpsj%40hseniv or by post to JSP Law, Suite 225, Kings Court, London Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 2NG should you require access to your personal data. Any data that is provided by the firm on request shall be provided in a readily accessible portable format.
    If you would like to discuss the way JSP Law processes your data as part of the performance of our contract with you, or update or amend your personal data please contact Mr. Vinesh Patel on the above contact details.
    You also have the right to lodge a complaint about our processing of your data with the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The procedure on complaining to the ICO can be found at www.ico.org.uk
    We may from time to time send you information which we may think might be of interest to you, If you do not wish to receive that information please notify our office in writing.
    We will not act where we have a conflict of interest except with your consent and where the SRA rules permit us to do so. This is only in very limited circumstances and if such a situation were to arise, we agree to disclose this to you.
    You agree and acknowledge that we may hold confidential information about another client or prospective client which might reasonably be expected to be material to the matter or matters upon which we act on your behalf. In the same way that we owe a duty of confidentiality to you, you accept and respect that we also have a duty of confidentiality to other clients and we therefore do not have a duty to disclose matters to you if no conflict of interests arises from continuing to act for both parties.

  • 8. Means of correspondence

    Where possible and appropriate, our primary means of communication will be by email. However, you may direct us to communicate via another means should you wish.

    Emails are routinely sent in a secure and encrypted format using Egress software. Emails sent in this format may not be viewed on a smart phone or tablet.

    Whether emails are sent in a secure and encrypted format or not, emails are an internet communication and carry associated risks. We accept no responsibility where emails are corrupted or changed after they are sent by us. It is your responsibility to conduct a virus check on any attachments received by us.

    If you do not consent to the associated risks of email correspondence then you should notify us in writing, nominate another means of communication and ensure that you do not use email to correspond with us.

  • 9. File reviews

    Our files may need to be examined by our insurers, external auditors (for quality purposes) or external advisers (who assist the firm in maintaining quality and risk). In particular, our files may need to be assessed for quality purposes by the SRA, the Legal Aid Agency or a Lexcel assessor.

    Third parties are required to maintain confidentiality in relation to your files. Your file may be one of a sample which is to be assessed. You consent to your file being reviewed in this way. As the majority of our clients do not object to this, we would ordinarily propose to presume to have your consent unless you notify us in writing to the contrary. If you wish to withhold your consent, please let me know as soon as possible.

  • 10. Recovery of costs

    If you have funded your case privately, it may be possible to recover your costs in the event that the case is decided in your favour.

    In criminal proceedings, the amount that you can recover is limited to the hourly rates payable under the Legal Aid Scheme. These hourly rates are significantly less than our private hourly rates and any claim for reimbursement of costs can only be made if you have made an unsuccessful application for legal aid due to your means.

    You agree that you we are not liable for any unrecovered costs should there be an order for costs in your favour at the conclusion of proceedings. We also reserve the right to charge you for assisting in any claim for recovery of costs.

  • 11. Storage of paper & documentation

    After completing the work we are required to keep all your papers and documents while there is still money owing to us for charges and expenses. In addition we will keep your file in storage for six years and at this point it will be destroyed. The firm, however, will retain a very limited amount of your personal data following the destruction of your file, such as your name and contact details. This is a professional/regulatory obligation which will help us to identify any potential conflicts in relation to future cases.

    If we retrieve papers or documents from storage in relation to continuing or new instructions to act in connection with your affairs, we will not normally charge for such retrieval. However, on any other occasion a fee of £25 will be requested. Copies of documents already provided may incur photocopying costs. 

  • 12. Equality & Diversity

    We are committed to promoting equality and diversity in all of our dealings with clients, third parties and employees. Please contact us if you would like a copy of our equality and diversity policy.

  • 13. Complaints

    We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). We are committed to high-quality legal advice and client care and aim to offer all our clients an efficient and effective service, and I am confident that we will do so in this case. However, if you would like to discuss how the service to you could be improved, the level of your bill, or should there be any aspect of our service with which you are not satisfied, please contact Tim Scarisbrick on 0333 577 2999 or email ku.oc.walpsj%40mit, or by post to JSP Law, 1-7 Victoria Street, St Albans, Herts, AL1 3JG. We have a procedure in place which details how we handle complaints and this will be immediately sent to you.
    If you would like to see a copy of our complaints procedure at any other time, please let me know and I will arrange for a copy of our complaints procedure to be sent to you.
    We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If for any reason we are unable to resolve the problem between us within that timeframe, then you may ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the complaint. The Legal Ombudsman may be contacted at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ.
    Please be aware that any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six months of you having received a final written response from us about your complaint. Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman must usually be made within six years of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring; or within three years from when you should have known about or become aware that there were grounds for complaint. However, the Legal Ombudsman will not accept complaints where the act or date of awareness was before 6th October 2010. For further information, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333 or visit www.legalombudsman.org.uk.

  • 14. Professional Indemnity Insurance

    In accordance with the disclosure requirements of the Provision of Services Regulations 2009, our professional indemnity insurer is Travelers Insurance Co Ltd and their address is 61-63 London Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1NA. Their telephone number is 01737 787 787.

    It is in the interests of our clients that we maintain compulsory professional indemnity insurance which is to a total level of £3,000,000.

  • 15. Our responsibilities to you

    As part of our on going responsibilities, we shall:
    ● Review your matter regularly and to keep you regularly informed of your case progress, or if there are none, when you are next likely to hear from us● Advise you as to any changes to the law applicable to your matter● Advise you of any circumstances and risks which we are aware or consider to be reasonably foreseeable that could affect the outcome of your matter

  • 16. Your responsibilities to us

    To assist us in carrying out the work as efficiently as possible, you must ensure that all information provided is, to the best of your knowledge, complete, accurate and up to date. You must notify us of any changes or variations to that information which may arise after the date it is passed to us and of any new circumstances that might be relevant to the work we are undertaking.

    Your ongoing responsibilities, though not exhaustive include:
    ● To provide us with any change of name, address and contact telephone number● To provide us with clear, timely and accurate instructions● To provide all relevant documentation required in your matter● That you will safeguard any documents which are likely to be required or discovered

  • 17. Hours of business

    The normal hours of opening of our offices are between 9.00am and 5.30pm on weekdays. For emergency out of hours Police Station attendances you can contact our 24hrs Police Station service on: 0333 577 2999.

  • 18. Regulation

    JSP Law Limited is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Their rules which govern all practice from our offices in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire can be accessed at www.sra.org.uk/rules. Our SRA registration number is 541515.

    JSP Law Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with Companies House. Our company number is 7264573 and a list of current directors and shareholders is kept at our Head Office at 1-7 Victoria Street, St. Albans, Herts AL1 3JG and also available from Companies House. We use the word “Partner” to refer to a director of JSP Law Limited, or an employee of equivalent standing and qualifications.

Illustration
Illustration

Criminal Defence Solicitors & Advocates 0333 577 2999 (24/7)

Contact a Criminal Defence Solicitor Now
Illustration

Privacy Policy

Terms & Conditions 

Sitemap 

Services

Contact us

Follow us on Twitter

Copyright © JSP LAW 2020

Illustration
Illustration

Criminal Defence Solicitors & Advocates 0333 577 2999 (24/7)

Contact a Criminal Defence Solicitor Now
Illustration

Privacy Policy

Terms & Conditions 

Sitemap 

Services

Contact us

Follow us on Twitter

Copyright © JSP LAW 2020