General Terms of Engagement

1.About these terms#

These are our standard terms of engagement. They apply to every matter we act on, together with the Costs Agreement & Disclosure Notice we give you for your specific matter. The two documents together form the agreement between us. If there is any inconsistency, your Costs Agreement prevails.

We may update these terms from time to time. The version that applies to your matter is the version named in your Costs Agreement, and it stays fixed for your matter unless we agree otherwise with you in writing.

If anything in these terms is unclear, ask us. We would rather explain it now than surprise you later.

2.Who we are#

• Nextstep Legal Services Pty Ltd (ABN 62 687 838 393), trading as Nextstep Legal
• Level 1, 41-43 Stewart Street, Richmond VIC 3121
• www.nextsteplegal.com.au
• We are an incorporated legal practice. Legal practitioners at Nextstep Legal are regulated by the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner and hold current Victorian practising certificates.

In these terms, "we", "us" and "our" mean Nextstep Legal Services Pty Ltd. "You" and "your" mean the person or people named in the Costs Agreement.

3.Our engagement#

We provide legal services with reasonable care and skill. We advise only on the laws of Victoria and applicable Commonwealth law. If your matter involves the law of another state or country, you will need separate advice in that jurisdiction.

The scope of our work for your matter is set out in your Costs Agreement. Unless it says otherwise, our work does not include advice on taxation (including capital gains tax and GST), building or pest issues, financial or investment matters, or disputes and litigation. If you ask us to do work outside the agreed scope, we will tell you and agree any extra costs first.

The lawyer named in our correspondence is responsible for your matter. We may use other members of our team (lawyers, paralegals and support staff), and the technology described in clause 13, to deliver the work efficiently. We remain responsible for all work done on your matter.

4.What we need from you#

To help us help you:

• give us clear, timely and accurate instructions
• provide the information and documents we ask for promptly
• tell us immediately if anything you have told us changes
• complete identity verification and source-of-funds checks when asked (clause 9)
• keep your contact details current

5.Communicating with you#

We communicate primarily by email and phone. You consent to receiving invoices, disclosures and other notices by email to the address you give us, or by another electronic method we agree with you.

6.Fees, invoices and payment#

Your fees and estimated disbursements are set out in your Costs Agreement.

When we bill. Our preference is to issue our tax invoice close to settlement and have it paid from settlement proceeds by direction through the electronic settlement workspace, unless we agree another arrangement with you. Disbursements become payable when incurred; we will usually collect them from settlement proceeds with our fees, but may ask you to pay some disbursements in advance so we can order searches or pay third parties.

Interest on overdue amounts. If an invoice remains unpaid 30 days after it is given to you, we may charge interest on the unpaid amount at a rate not exceeding the Reserve Bank of Australia cash rate target plus 2% per annum, calculated daily from the date of the invoice until payment.

Reports on costs. You may ask at any time for a written report of legal costs incurred to date (or since our last bill). We will provide it within a reasonable period, free of charge.

7.Trust money#

If we (or our nominated settlement agent) receive money on your behalf, it is held and dealt with in accordance with the Legal Profession Uniform Law and the Legal Profession Uniform General Rules 2015. You authorise us to give directions for that money to be applied to your settlement and to pay any amount due from you to us, including our professional fees and disbursements.

8.Electronic settlement and settlement agents#

Settlements are completed electronically (through PEXA or an equivalent platform). To complete settlement, we may engage a specialist settlement agent (for example, InfoTrack SettleIT) to set up and manage the electronic workspace, prepare documents, coordinate with other parties and attend to settlement.

If we engage a settlement agent:

• you authorise us to give them information and documents about you and the transaction, including identification information
• you understand the agent may be the electronic conveyancing "Subscriber" for the workspace, and you may be asked to sign a Client Authorisation and complete verification of identity
• if your funds are needed for settlement, you authorise the agent to receive and hold those funds in their trust account and disburse them in accordance with the settlement statement and directions we approve on your behalf, including payment of our fees and disbursements
• you irrevocably authorise us to appoint the agent to act on your behalf to effect settlement, including signing necessary electronic instruments as your representative

Platform and settlement agent fees (for example, PEXA and settlement agent charges) are disbursements payable by you. They are additional to the fee and disbursement estimate in your quote and are identified separately in your Costs Agreement.

9.Identity checks and anti-money laundering#

We are required by law to verify your identity and understand the nature and purpose of your matter, including under the verification of identity standards for conveyancing and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth).

We use a secure third-party platform to complete these checks, usually on your phone. In some matters we must also verify your source of funds. If we ask for information or documents for these checks and do not receive them, we may have to pause work or end the engagement, and in some cases the law prevents us from telling you why. We know these checks can feel intrusive; they are not optional for us, and we keep the process as quick as we can.

10.Conflicts of interest#

We check for conflicts before accepting your matter. If a conflict of interest arises during your matter, we will tell you promptly (where we are permitted to) and may have to stop acting for you or for another client. Where we act for more than one client in the same matter (clause 17), specific conflict rules apply.

11.Confidentiality#

We keep your information confidential. We may disclose it where you authorise us to, where it is necessary to progress your matter (for example, to your bank, the other side's representative, our settlement agent or search providers), or where the law requires or permits disclosure.

12.Privacy#

We collect and handle your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles and our obligations under the Legal Profession Uniform Law. Our Privacy Policy explains what we collect, how we use it, and the third-party platforms we use to deliver our services.

13.Technology and AI#

We are a digital-first practice and use secure technology, including generative AI tools, to assist with document review, drafting and analysis. We do not use public AI tools that train on your data. A qualified lawyer oversees all work, and we remain fully responsible for the legal services we provide to you.

14.Your documents and our file#

We keep our files electronically. We will keep your file for 7 years after your matter completes (or the engagement ends), after which we may destroy it without further notice. If you ask for a copy of your file within that period, we will provide it electronically, free of charge, once all invoices are paid.

15.Lien#

If our invoice is unpaid, we may be entitled to retain your documents until it is paid (a solicitor's lien), subject to any legal obligations that override the lien.

16.Liability#

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

We will perform our services with reasonable care and skill, but the nature of property transactions means we cannot guarantee a particular outcome. Our advice is provided for you alone, for the matter it is given in, and may not be relied on by anyone else or for any other purpose.

Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies any right or remedy you have under law that cannot be excluded, restricted or modified by agreement, including under the Australian Consumer Law.

17.Acting for more than one person#

Where we act for two or more of you (for example, joint owners):

• we act for you jointly, and each of you is bound by the agreement
• unless you tell us otherwise in writing, we may take instructions from any one of you on behalf of all of you
• if a conflict arises between you, we may have to stop acting for one or all of you

Note: some documents (for example, a Binding Financial Agreement) legally require each party to receive independent advice from separate lawyers. Where that applies, we can act for one party only and will say so.

18.Ending the engagement#

By you. You may end the engagement at any time by written notice.

By us. We may end the engagement on reasonable notice for proper cause, for example if you do not pay our invoices, do not provide instructions or required identification information, ask us to act unlawfully or unethically, or if a conflict of interest arises.

If the engagement ends early. You pay for the work done to that date. Any fixed fee is adjusted to reflect the stage your matter has reached, using the stages set out in your Costs Agreement: you pay the greater of $330 (including GST) or the percentage of the fixed fee for that stage, up to the full fixed fee, plus disbursements already incurred. Where possible we will provide an itemised bill.

19.Complaints#

If you are unhappy with our service or our costs, tell us first. Contact the principal, Matt Jarrett (matt@nextsteplegal.com.au, 0435 738 050). We take complaints seriously and will respond promptly, usually within 14 days.

If we cannot resolve your concern, you may contact the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner (lsbc.vic.gov.au, 1300 796 344). Costs disputes may also be dealt with under the Legal Profession Uniform Law, including costs assessment. There are time limits for some complaints, so do not delay.

20.General#

• Governing law. These terms and our engagement are governed by the laws of Victoria. The Legal Profession Uniform Law as applied in Victoria governs legal costs.
• Severability. If part of these terms is unenforceable, the rest still applies.
• Entire agreement. Your Costs Agreement and these terms are the entire agreement between us about your matter.
• Changes. Any variation to your Costs Agreement must be agreed in writing (email is fine).