Escrow Agreement for Clients of Mark Donovan, Barrister
These Terms contain the terms and conditions upon which the law firm set out in the First Schedule to these Terms (‘Escrow Agent’) agrees to provide Escrow Services to Barristers and their Clients. These terms will be effective, and form a binding agreement, between the Escrow Agent, the Barrister and the Client upon receipt by the Escrow Agent of the Barrister’s Acknowledgement and the Client’s Acknowledgement.
Escrow services
1. Upon receipt of the Barrister’s Acknowledgement and the Client’s Acknowledgement:
• The Escrow Agent will provide an Escrow Service in order to manage the provision of fees to be paid by the Client for the Legal Services to be provided by the Barrister; and
• the Client may deposit Funds in the Escrow Account which will be released only in accordance with clauses 6 to 11 of these Terms.
2. The Escrow Services must be provided in accordance with these Terms and more particularly:
• Funds deposited in the Escrow Account must be solely for the purposes of Legal Services and must, at all times, be identifiable as being provided by the Client in respect of the Legal Services to be provided by the Barrister;
• Funds must be held in the Escrow Account for the purpose of paying the Barrister’s fees in accordance with these Terms;
• The Funds must be held by the Escrow Agent in its law firm trust account in terms of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 and the regulations and rules made under that Act; and
• The Escrow Agent must not sub-contract or otherwise arrange for another person to perform the Escrow Services or discharge any of its obligations except in accordance with these Terms.
3. If the Escrow Agent receives Funds without having first received the Barrister’s Acknowledgement and Client’s Acknowledgement, the Escrow Agent may decline to accept the Funds and return them to the Client.
4. The Barrister’s Acknowledgement and the Client’s Acknowledgement may be provided by the Barrister and the Client completing and signing the Second Schedule to these Terms or in such other manner as the Parties agree. In particular, the Barrister’s Acknowledgement may be given in general form to encompass the deposit of Funds with the Escrow Agent by any Client of the Barrister. The Barrister’s Acknowledgement and Client’s Acknowledgement may be executed in two or more counterpart copies each of which will be deemed an original, and all of which together will constitute one and the same instrument. The Acknowledgements may be sent to the Escrow Agent by delivery, post, facsimile, email, or other electronic means acceptable to the Escrow Agent.
5. Once the Barrister’s Acknowledgement and Client’s Acknowledgement have been provided and accepted by the Escrow Agent, the Parties will be bound by these Terms which will comprise a binding agreement between the Parties.
Payments
6. Following the payment of Funds by the Client into the Escrow Account, the Barrister may submit an Invoice or progressive Invoices to the Escrow Agent. The Barrister must send an Invoice to the Client prior to or at the same time as submitting it to the Escrow Agent and must confirm to the Escrow Agent that the Barrister has done so.
7. On receipt of an Invoice, the Escrow Agent must promptly transfer from the Funds held in the Escrow Account so far as they extend, the Amount Payable to the Barrister’s Account.
8. If there are any remaining Funds after the Barrister has received all moneys payable to the Barrister under these Terms, the Escrow Agent must pay the remaining Funds to the Client.
9. The Escrow Agent will not be liable or accountable to the Client or Barrister for any delay in paying the Funds arising from any bank errors or other matters beyond the control of the Escrow Agent.
10. Payments are made without prejudice to any issues or proceedings between the Barrister and the Client in relation to the Invoice/s. In particular, payment will not affect the Client’s right:
• to dispute liability; and/or
• to make a complaint to the New Zealand Law Society’s Complaints Service.
11. The Client and the Barrister irrevocably authorise the Escrow Agent to deal with the Funds as set out in clauses 6 to 13.
Fees, costs and interest
12. The Escrow Agent may place the Funds on interest-bearing bank deposit and the Escrow Agent will be entitled to all interest received by the Escrow Agent which are derived from the Funds (including interest on any remaining Funds referred to in clause 8).
13. The Client agrees that all costs, banking charges, credit/debit card and transfer fees incurred in sending or arranging for the transfer of the Funds to or from the Escrow Account electronically or otherwise will be the responsibility of the Client.
Confidentiality
14. The Escrow Agent agrees that the arrangements governed by these Terms are confidential and the Escrow Agent will not at any time, while Funds are held or otherwise, disclose any information of whatever nature received by the Escrow Agent whether in respect of the arrangements governed by these Terms or otherwise, other than:
• as required by law; or
• in good faith and in proper furtherance of the objects of these Terms; or
• to its professional advisers; or
• information already in the public domain; or
• with the consent of all Parties to this agreement.
Indemnity
15. The Barrister agrees to indemnify and keep indemnified the Escrow Agent against all costs, claims, demands, liabilities, reasonable expenses and all other losses which the Escrow Agent may incur as a result of a breach of these Terms by the Barrister, the Barrister’s negligence or the Barrister’s failure to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
16. The Client agrees to indemnify and keep indemnified the Escrow Agent against all costs, claims, demands, liabilities, reasonable expenses and all other losses which the Escrow Agent may incur as a result of a breach of these Terms by the Client, the Client’s negligence or the Client’s failure to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
Miscellaneous
17. Nothing in these Terms creates a lawyer-client relationship between the Escrow Agent and the Client, and the Client acknowledges that no such relationship exists.
18. The Parties agree that all communications and notifications to be provided in respect of the arrangements governed by these Terms must be made by email, facsimile or pre-paid post. The email address for the Escrow Agent for these purposes is shown in the First Schedule and the email address for the Barrister and the Client are those shown on the Barrister’s Acknowledgement and the Client’s Acknowledgement. If the Client does not have a valid email address, the Client may elect to provide a facsimile number or a postal address on the Client’s Acknowledgment, and notifications and communications must then be sent to one of those contacts provided.
19. The Parties may not assign, transfer or otherwise deal with any of their rights or obligations under these Terms without the prior written consent of all other Parties, but changes in the Escrow Agent’s partners will not constitute a breach of this provision.
Interpretation
Amount Payable means the amount due from the Client to the Barrister as described in an Invoice or Invoices;
Barrister means the barrister referred to in the Schedule;
Barrister’s Account means the bank account of the Barrister described in the Schedule or otherwise advised to the Escrow Agent by the Barrister in writing;
Barrister’s Acknowledgement means an acknowledgement of these Terms signed by the Barrister in the form set out in the Schedule or in such other form as is acceptable to the Escrow Agent;
Client means the person shown as client in the Schedule;
Client’s Acknowledgement means an acknowledgement of these Terms signed by the Client in the form set out in the Schedule or in such other form as is acceptable to the Escrow Agent;
Escrow Account means the bank account of the Escrow Agent nominated to hold the Funds;
Escrow Service means the service provided by the Escrow Agent to the Barrister and Client pursuant to these Terms;
Invoice means an invoice issued by the Barrister to the Client in respect of Legal Services;
Legal Services means services that the Barrister provides by carrying out legal work for the Client;
Parties means and includes the Escrow Agent, the Barrister and the Client;
Terms means the terms set out in this document;
Working Day means a day (other than a Saturday or Sunday) on which banks are open for business in the province in which the Escrow Agent’s office is situated.
First Schedule – Escrow Agent
Law firm: Botting Legal Limited
Address: Level 6, Southern Cross Building, 59-67 High Street, Auckland, 1010
Email address: bradley@bottinglegal.com
Phone number: 09-950 3880
Trust Account No:
Second Schedule – Barrister Details
Barrister: Mark Donovan
Address: Level 4, Chancery Chambers, 2 Chancery St, Auckland
Email address: mail@markdonovan.co.nz
Sign up to my email list to receive my latest articles
Recent Posts
Categories
Categories
- 90-day trial period
- Blog
- bonus
- casual
- compensation
- confidential information
- constructive dismissal
- contractors
- crime
- deductions
- disciplinary
- dismissal
- employment agreement
- employment relations act
- fixed term
- good faith
- health and safety
- holidays
- hours of work
- immigration
- kiwisaver
- liquidation
- mediation
- minimum wage
- misconduct
- moonlighting
- notice
- pandemic
- parental leave
- personal grievance
- poor performance
- privacy
- redundancy
- reference
- resignation
- restraints of trade
- settlement
- shifts
- termination
- uber
- wages
- warning
- work
Archives
Archives
- July 2023
- August 2020
- July 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- July 2018
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014