Regulatory

Regulatory Information

1. Who we Are
   1. Hall Ellis Limited is a company formed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales with company registration number 09907647 ("Hall Ellis").
   2. Our registered address is 89 Fleet Street London, EC4Y 1DH. 
2. Regulatory Authority 
   2. Hall Ellis Limited is authorised and regulated as a recognised body in England and Wales by the Solicitors Regulation Authority ("the SRA").
   3. The SRA registration number of Hall Ellis is 626988.
3. Professional Regulations
   1. The SRA Standards and Regulations sets out the professional rules which apply to solicitors in England and Wales.

   2. It governs our conduct, and is published at sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations.
4. Value Added Tax
   1. Value added tax is a goods and services tax.
   2. Hall Ellis is registered with HMRC with VAT number GB 2 8613 3005.
   3. Where applicable, we charge VAT on costs at the prevailing rate, which is currently 20%. Expenses incurred on behalf of clients often attract VAT when sourced from service providers within the UK. When it does, the service provider charges us VAT at the applicable rate which is usually an additional 20% (but may be a lesser percentage) to their charges. We pass on those charges to clients in our invoices.
5. Litigious Matters

   1. As a client of Hall Ellis, you may be entitled to apply to the court for an assessment of our invoices under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974.

   2. If you apply within one month, your right for a detailed assessment is unconditional. After one month, the court may impose conditions or refuse your application for an assessment.

   3. Litigants are able to apply for insurance to cover their legal costs, and their potential liability to pay the legal costs of the other party. There are various insurance products available on the market. We can discuss the availability and appropriateness of these products on request.

   4. If you ask us to advise in respect of a contentious matter and litigation ensues against another person:

      1. you will be responsible for paying our costs and disbursements as invoiced, despite any order for costs made against your opponent to pay your costs

      2. if you are unsuccessful, the court will in the ordinary course order you to pay your opponent's costs. In those circumstances, you will still need to pay our costs

      3. even if you are successful and win your case, your opponent will almost certainly not be ordered to pay the full amount of your own costs

      4. if your opponent is legally aided you may not recover your costs, even if you are successful, and

      5. not all of your expenses may be recoverable from your opponent, even if you are successful against them.

6. Complaints
   1. We have a written complaints procedure for our clients. We will supply clients with a copy on request at any time.
   2. If you are a client of Hall Ellis:
      1. Please tell us if you are not happy with any aspect of the service or a bill that you have received
      2. We would ask you initially to raise any queries or concerns about our work for you with the lawyer responsible for the day-to-day handling of your work, or their supervising partner if applicable.
      3. Either of these persons will do their best to resolve any problems quickly and to your satisfaction.
   3. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 7 days of receiving it, and usually  sooner. 
   4. We then aim to complete a review of your complaint within 14 days of our acknowledgement. We may notify you that we need further time to conduct the review. We will notify you if this is the case.
   5. After that review of your complaint has been completed, we may need to ask you for further information. If not, we will write to you within a further 14 days and inform you of our views and perspective, propose redress and/or invite you to meet with us. The review of your complaint may take longer in complex cases, and we will inform you in writing should that be thed case. If you wish to add to your initial complaint at any time, please do so. 
   6. At that stage we would await your feedback and liaise with you as appropriate.
   7. In the event that you are not satisfied with our response, the Legal Ombudsman may be able to consider your complaint.
   8. There are, however, restrictions to this service for organisations, as explained on its website (see below).
   9. Normally, you will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint.

   10. In addition you should be aware that the Legal Ombudsman will not accept your complaint if it is filed:

       1. more than one year from the act or omission; or
       2. more than one year has elapsed from the time when you should reasonably have known about the complaint.
   11. The Legal Ombudsman's contact details are:
       Telephone: 0300 555 0333
       Minicom: 0300 555 1777
       enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
       legalombudsman.org.uk
       Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH
   12. The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic, and other regulatory matters.
   13. The SRA's contact details are:
       Telephone: 0370 606 2555 / International: +44 121 329 6800
       sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor
       The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham B1 1RN

   14. You may also be able to object to our bill by applying to the Court for an assessment under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974.  If you exercise this right you would be prevented from making a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. 

   15. In addition, if you apply to the Court for an assessment and if all or part of the bill remains unpaid at the end of that assessment, we are entitled to charge interest. As stated above, there are strict time limits that apply to this process. You may wish to seek independent legal advice.