Our Costs

If you have not instructed Bell Dixon Butler before, we hope this information on the firm’s policies and procedures will be of assistance to you.

Our normal office hours are 8.30am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday. Meetings are generally held in our offices. We are however happy to arrange to meet with you outside of these hours or at a more convenient location should the need arise. You can access any of our Legal team on the one convenient number or leave a message for them on our answering machine should your call be outside of the normal hours.               

Confidentiality

We will not discuss your affairs with any other person or organisation outside the firm without your express permission.

How Our Fees Are Calculated

Our bills are prepared by taking into account time spent on your file by our professional staff.

Professional staff have different hourly rates reflecting their experience and expertise. Details of these rates are available on request. An amount may be included in our fees to reflect the difficulty or complexity of a matter. This amount will be included in any quote or estimate we give you.

Further the majority of our files are costed independently by an external Cost Assessor to ensure transparency and independence in all costings. 

Cost Agreements

We will require you to sign a client costs agreement before we begin work for you.  We accept your instructions on this basis:-

  • Fees for consultations must be paid on the day of your first appointment.
     
  • An estimate of likely costs of acting on your behalf will be given but many matters become complicated by issues that subsequently arise (including the attitude of others), therefore the costs whilst given in good faith, are subject to change.  There are some matters on which we may give you a fixed quote such as conveyancing, Wills and Enduring Powers of Attorneys.  Otherwise we can agree with you a budget to be placed on a file or a cost milestone and at that point you can then make a decision about further instructions.
       
  • Outlays such as filing fees, searches, town agents are required to be paid into our Trust account before that work is undertaken.  Our Trust account details are Bell Dixon Butler Law Practice Trust Account, ANZ, Torquay, BSB: 014726, Account: 901835611.  You will receive a statement as to the expenditure of these monies in due course.
     
  • Payment terms – Our accounts with respect to disbursements and professional costs unless otherwise indicated are for the work described and are due for payment within 14 days of the date of the bill. If accounts are not paid in that time, we may cease work or terminate our services.
     
  • You will be responsible for payment of our charges in full, notwithstanding in litigious matters if you are successful, an order may be made against another party to contribute or in other matters there may be contractual obligations by the other party to pay costs. If you are unsuccessful in a litigious matter, an order may be made against you to contribute to another party’s costs but this will have been discussed with you in the course of the matter.

 

Client's Satisfaction

Quality relates to total client satisfaction with the complete Bell Dixon Butler service. If you have any queries or are unhappy with any aspect of our service, please contact the Lawyer handling the matter or one of the firm’s partners.

Our quality management system will ensure that any enquiry is dealt with quickly, effectively and most importantly, satisfactorily from your point of view.

Bell Dixon Butler Lawyers provide the highest quality legal services through the delivery of expert, effective and timely legal solutions and advice.

The Firm maintains the highest integrity and is focused on building strong client relationships through a culture of understanding and responsiveness in assessing the needs of its clients to maximise fair and positive outcomes.
 

Ethics

  • We primarily serve the interests of justice.
  • We act competently and diligently in the service of our clients.
  • We advance our clients' interests above our own.
  • We act confidently and in the protection of all client information.
  • We act together for the mutual benfit of our profession.
  • We avoid any conflict of interest and duties.
  • We observer strictly our duty to the Court of which we are officers to ensure the proper and efficient administration of justice.
  • We seek to maintain the highest standards of integrity, honesty and fairness in all our dealings.

 

  

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