Client Engagement Letter

Your Settlement Agreement

Thank you for instructing RGF in relation to your settlement agreement. This letter, any schedules to it and our standard terms of business form our agreement with you to provide legal services. Particular points, including about your legal rights and protections, are highlighted in this letter, but you should read the schedules and terms of business as well.

1. Scope of work

1.1 What we will do

Based on the information received from you, we anticipate carrying out the following work:

• (a) Review the settlement agreement and advise you as to its terms.
• (b) Complete the Advisor's Certificate and send it to your employer.

1.2 What we will not do

Other than as expressly set out above, we will not undertake any other work for you, including but not limited to:

• Negotiating the terms of the settlement agreement — we are very happy to do this under a separate fee arrangement. If this is of interest, please let us know.
• Advising you on the financial or tax aspects of this matter or on your wider tax or financial interests.
• Advising you on the law of jurisdictions outside of England and Wales.
• Giving you accounting or commercial advice.
• Reminding you of any dates or deadlines, or advising you on any legal developments, occurring after the end of our engagement.

1.3 Additional work means additional charges

If you instruct us to carry out additional work, you may incur additional charges. Where possible, we will provide you with an estimate before carrying it out.

2. How long will it take?

We anticipate that this matter will take approximately 24–48 hours to complete once we receive the settlement agreement, whereupon we shall review it and advise you about its terms.

3. Your lawyer

The identity of the solicitor working on your matter will be confirmed shortly after instruction.

4. Our fees

4.1 When your employer pays our fees

As our client, you are liable for our fees. However, so long as you sign the settlement agreement following our advice, our fees, including VAT, for this matter will be covered by your employer under the terms of the settlement agreement itself. In this situation you will not need to pay us any money.

4.2 When you may have to pay our fees

If, following our advice, you choose not to sign the settlement agreement, our fees will need to be paid by you because your employer will not agree to cover them. We estimate our fees will be in the region of £300–£500 + VAT.

5. Who we act for and your right to terminate

5.1 Who we are acting for

You are our client; our agreement is with you and our advice is intended solely for you. We do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than you.

5.2 Your rights to terminate your instructions

You may terminate your instructions at any time by telling us in writing. You must pay all charges incurred up to the point of termination, as well as any charges incurred after termination. We can retain your documents until you pay.

6. Communicating with us

6.1 How to contact us

You can contact us via email. Your assigned solicitor's contact details will be provided upon instruction.

6.2 Communication methods

Unless there are documents that we need to send in hard copy, we will communicate with you by email, telephone, or video call. You agree that there are inherent risks with email communication and that we are not responsible for loss or damage caused by email use, provided we have taken reasonable security measures.

7. Confidentiality

7.1 When we may use and disclose your information

We will keep confidential information confidential, but we reserve the right to use and disclose it to provide you with our services, comply with law and regulation, or otherwise with your consent.

7.2 Protecting the confidentiality of our communications

We are not advising you on whether legal privilege applies to your communications with us. If you communicate through third parties or share our advice, any privilege may be lost and communications may become admissible in court.

8. Concerns and complaints

8.1 How to complain

If you have concerns or wish to make a complaint, please contact us in the first instance. Formal complaints will be dealt with under our complaints policy. We will write to you within eight weeks setting out our final response.

8.2 Court assessment of charges

If your complaint is about our costs, you can ask the court to assess our bill of costs under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974, subject to certain time limits and conditions.

9. How we limit our liability to you

9.1 Liabilities not excluded

Nothing in our agreement limits any liability which cannot legally be limited, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

9.2–9.4 Exclusions and limitations

Subject to section 9.1: if you are a business, we exclude liability for indirect or consequential loss; we are not liable for losses arising from regulatory compliance, third-party errors, circumstances beyond our control, email risks, or bank failures; and our liability may be reduced where other advisers share responsibility.

9.5 Caps on our liability

Our aggregate liability in this matter is limited to £3 million.

9.6 No claims against our staff

Services are provided by our staff on behalf of our law firm. You agree not to bring any claim against any individual member of staff in their personal capacity. Any claims should be brought against the firm.

10. Next steps

10.1 For you to do

We are required by law to confirm the identity of all our clients via formal, reliable documents and sources. We will send you a link to a third-party identity checking service called Verify365. Please follow the instructions on the link and provide proof of your identity as soon as possible.

10.2 What we will do

We will make contact with your employer to obtain a copy of the settlement agreement. Following that we will contact you to discuss the content and provide you with advice, or will seek to increase the terms of settlement in accordance with your instructions.

Schedule 1 — Client Due Diligence

1. Requirements of the anti-money laundering and crime prevention regulations

To comply with anti-money laundering and crime prevention regulations, we need to verify your identity using a software company called Verify365. You will receive an email asking you to take a photograph of your face and of your valid ID documents (passport or driving licence). You will also need to show proof of address (utility bill, bank statement or council tax bill).

In addition, we may: (a) verify your identity and address using reliable third-party electronic databases (this may leave a footprint on your credit file but will not affect your credit rating); or (b) ask to see you in person or via video call.