Standard terms of business

These standard terms of business apply to all legal services provided by Bratby Law Ltd (“Bratby Law”, “we”, “us”, “our”) unless expressly varied in writing in our engagement letter to you.

1. Our regulatory status

Bratby Law Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA number 801942). We are subject to the SRA Standards and Regulations.

2. Scope of our engagement

The scope of our engagement is set out in the engagement letter issued at the start of each instruction. We will act only on the matters described in the engagement letter. If additional work arises, we will agree the scope and fee basis with you before undertaking it.

We provide legal advice on English and Welsh law only, unless our engagement letter states otherwise. If you require advice on the law of another jurisdiction, we can recommend appropriate local counsel but we do not accept responsibility for advice given by other firms.

3. Your responsibilities

To enable us to advise you effectively, you agree to provide us with clear, accurate and complete instructions and to inform us promptly of any developments relevant to the matter. You agree to provide all documents and information we reasonably request in a timely manner.

4. Our team

Our engagement letter will confirm who will have day-to-day responsibility for your matter. All work is supervised by Rob Bratby, Managing Partner.

5. Fees and billing

Our fees are calculated on the basis set out in our engagement letter. For hourly rate matters, time is recorded in six-minute intervals at the rate specified in the engagement letter. For retainer and fractional general counsel engagements, fees are calculated to the nearest hour at the agreed retainer rate. The rate applicable to your matter is confirmed in the engagement letter and may be reviewed annually.

In addition to time-based fees, we may agree fixed fees or capped fees for defined pieces of work. Any such arrangement will be confirmed in writing.

We may charge a mobilisation fee at the start of a new engagement to cover onboarding and initial preparation. Where applicable, this will be set out in the engagement letter.

6. Expenses and disbursements

Expenses incurred on your behalf (such as search fees, counsel’s fees, filing fees and travel) are charged separately from our fees. There is no charge for identity verification. We will notify you in advance of any significant anticipated disbursements.

7. Invoicing and payment

For hourly rate matters, invoices are issued monthly in arrears. For retainer and fractional general counsel engagements, invoices are issued monthly in advance. All invoices are payable within 14 calendar days of the invoice date. VAT is charged at the prevailing rate.

Bratby Law does not operate a client account and does not hold client money. All payments should be made directly to our office account as detailed on our invoices.

If an invoice remains unpaid after the due date, we reserve the right to charge interest on the outstanding amount at the rate prescribed by the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (currently 8% above the Bank of England base rate). We also reserve the right to suspend work until payment is received, or to cease to act in accordance with the termination provisions below.

8. Client identification and anti-money laundering

We are subject to the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (as amended). Before we commence work, we are required by law to verify your identity and, where applicable, the beneficial ownership structure of your organisation. We use a secure third-party verification service (Veriphy) to conduct identity checks. Verification is usually a one-off process and is provided at no charge. We are unable to begin substantive work until client due diligence has been completed.

9. Electronic communications

We communicate primarily by email. You authorise us to communicate with you and with third parties by email and other electronic means in the course of our engagement.

Electronic communication carries inherent risks, including the possibility of interception, corruption, delay or non-delivery. We take reasonable steps to protect our systems against viruses and other malware, but we cannot guarantee that electronic communications will be secure. We accept no liability for any loss arising from the use of electronic communications where we have taken reasonable precautions.

We will never send you an email asking you to change our bank details. If you receive any communication that appears to come from us requesting a change to our payment details, do not act on it. Contact us by telephone using a number you have independently verified to confirm the position.

10. Confidentiality

We will keep your affairs confidential except where disclosure is required by law, by our regulatory obligations, or by your instructions. Our duty of confidentiality continues after our engagement ends.

11. Conflicts of interest

We have procedures in place to identify and manage conflicts of interest in accordance with the SRA Code of Conduct. If a conflict arises during our engagement, we will notify you promptly and discuss the options available, which may include ceasing to act for one or more clients.

12. Limitation of liability

Our liability to you for any loss arising out of or in connection with our engagement is limited to GBP 3,000,000 (three million pounds) for any one matter or series of related matters, unless a different amount is specified in our engagement letter, in which case the amount stated in the engagement letter shall apply. This limitation applies to all claims, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise. It does not apply to liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law, including liability for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by our negligence.

Where we and any other person are jointly or jointly and severally liable to you, our liability shall be limited to the share of the total loss that is just and equitable having regard to the extent of our responsibility for the loss. The fact that any other person who is or may be liable to you is unable to pay their share (whether by reason of insolvency or otherwise) shall not increase our liability. Our liability shall not be increased by reason of any limitation or exclusion of liability agreed between you and any other person, or by reason of any shortfall in the insurance held by any other person.

We will not be liable for any loss arising from your failure to provide accurate or complete information, from your decision not to follow our advice, or from any delay caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

13. Professional indemnity insurance

We hold professional indemnity insurance in accordance with the SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules. Details of our insurers and the territorial coverage of our policy are available on request.

14. Intellectual property

Copyright in all documents, advice and work product prepared by us in the course of an engagement belongs to Bratby Law Ltd. On payment of all outstanding fees, you are granted a non-exclusive licence to use the documents and work product for the purpose for which they were prepared.

15. Data protection

We process personal data in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Our privacy notice explains how we collect, use and protect personal data.

16. Use of artificial intelligence

We use secure, enterprise-grade AI tools to assist with legal research, document analysis and drafting. AI tools are assistive only: we remain fully responsible for all professional advice we provide. All work product is reviewed and approved by a qualified solicitor before it is delivered to you.

Under our contractual arrangements with AI service providers, and in accordance with our internal AI Use Policy, client data is not used to train, fine-tune or improve AI models. We do not undertake any automated decision-making or profiling as defined by Article 22 UK GDPR.

Our privacy notice identifies the AI service providers we use as data processors and sets out how personal data is handled in connection with these services. If you have any questions about our use of AI tools, or if you would prefer that AI tools are not used in connection with your matter, please let us know.

17. Document retention

Following the conclusion of a matter, we retain electronic files for a period of six years (or longer where required by law or regulatory obligation). After the retention period, files are destroyed securely. We are not obliged to retain files on your behalf indefinitely.

18. Termination

You may terminate an engagement at any time by giving us written notice. On termination by you, you are liable to pay our fees for work done up to the date of termination, together with any expenses incurred or committed on your behalf.

We may cease to act for you where there is good reason to do so. Good reason includes (without limitation): your failure to pay an invoice within the time specified; your failure to provide instructions or information necessary for us to progress the matter; a breakdown in the relationship of trust and confidence between us; a conflict of interest that cannot be managed; or circumstances in which continuing to act would cause us to breach our professional or regulatory obligations. Where we cease to act, we will give you reasonable notice and will explain your options for pursuing your matter, including any relevant time limits of which we are aware.

19. Dispute resolution

These terms of business and any engagement between us are governed by English law.

If a dispute arises out of or in connection with our engagement, the parties will first attempt to resolve it by confidential mediation administered by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) in accordance with CEDR’s mediation procedure. If mediation does not resolve the dispute within 30 days of a written request to mediate (or such longer period as the parties may agree), either party may refer the dispute to arbitration under the rules of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). The arbitration shall be conducted by a sole arbitrator appointed in accordance with the LCIA Rules. The seat of arbitration shall be London. The language of the arbitration shall be English.

Nothing in this clause prevents either party from seeking urgent interim relief from the courts of England and Wales.

20. Third party rights

No person other than you and Bratby Law Ltd has any right to enforce any provision of these terms of business or of our engagement letter. The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 does not apply.

21. Investment business

Bratby Law is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). However, we are included on the register maintained by the FCA as a firm that may carry out certain limited investment activities (known as exempt regulated activities) that arise in the course of professional legal work. This is because we are authorised and regulated by the SRA. The Solicitors’ Financial Services (Scope) Rules 2001 set out the scope of the activities that may be carried out by authorised bodies. If you require advice on investments that falls outside the scope of our authorisation, we will refer you to an appropriate FCA-authorised firm.

22. Successor practice

If there are changes in the ownership or structure of Bratby Law Ltd, or if the firm merges with or transfers its practice to another entity, we may transfer our engagement with you to a successor firm without requiring your prior consent, provided that the successor firm is regulated by the SRA or another approved regulator and undertakes to be bound by the terms of our engagement with you.

23. Entire agreement

These terms of business and the engagement letter issued for each instruction constitute the entire agreement between us in relation to that engagement and supersede any prior discussions, representations or agreements (whether written or oral) relating to the same subject matter.

24. Severability

If any provision of these terms of business is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

25. Amendments

These terms of business may be updated from time to time. The version in effect at the date of your engagement letter applies to that engagement. We will notify you of any material changes.

Date last updated: 19 March 2026