Unless otherwise specified, these General Terms and Conditions of Provision of Legal Services apply to the provision of legal services by the Firm. They are an essential component of the contract with client (Contract with Client) that is made between the client (Client) and Chowdhry Law Offices (Firm). The Contract with Client shall take precedence over the General Terms and Conditions in the case of a conflict.

General

• The Firm will offer the Client legal services, including expert legal advice, representation or defence of the person in court, during pre-trial proceedings, or elsewhere, document preparation for the person, and other legal acts carried out in the person’s best interests.
• The attorney shall be guided by the objective to ensure the maximum legal protection of the Client’s interests, including to create legal certainty and clarity, and shall be guided by law and professional ethics in performing the Contract for Legal Services and the assignments, in applying his or her experience, and in finding solutions.
• The intellectual property rights produced as part of the firm’s legal services are its property, but the firm will provide the client a non-exclusive licence to use the produced papers anywhere in the world in a way that is required by the client.
• The Firm is responsible for ensuring the calibre of the legal services given to the Client and is accountable for any direct patrimonial harm brought about by willful or flagrantly negligent conduct during the performance of the Contract for Legal Services.

Authorisation

• At the time the Contract for Legal Services is signed, the Client’s authority and responsibility to act on its behalf take effect. If both parties have signed the contract for legal services or have explicitly stated their intent in a way that can be replicated in writing or through deeds, the contract is said to have finished.
• The Firm shall designate one of its attorneys as a substitute attorney in the event that the original attorney executing the assignment is unable to complete it. The client has the right to request that the substitute attorney be replaced.
• The attorney-at-assistants law’s follow the instructions of their boss.
• In accordance with the Firm’s Privacy Policy, which is available at Privacy Policy, the Firm is authorised to process the Client’s and third parties’ personal data related to the completion of the assignment.
• At the initial meeting, the Firm shall introduce the Client.

Costs and fees

• The Contract for Legal Services specifies the methods of calculation and the amount of the fees for legal services as either an hourly rate, a fixed price (referred to as the assignment fee), or a combination of the assignment fee and the performance fee.
• The parties shall negotiate a new hourly rate in good faith after the initial hourly rate is valid for one (1) year.
• The hourly rate for work completed at the client’s request outside of regular business hours shall be multiplied by a coefficient of 1.5, and the hourly rate for services provided by the firm’s technical staff that are required for the completion of the client’s assignment (such as document delivery, document examination in administrative agencies, etc.), shall be multiplied by a coefficient of 1.
• The Firm will maintain track of the time used to complete the Client’s task. Five (5) minutes is the shortest unit of time used for accounting, and activities are rounded up to the nearest five (5) minutes.
• The Client is responsible for paying the Firm’s reasonable and necessary costs incurred in carrying out the assignment. State fees, expert fees, reasonably essential travel expenditures (plane tickets, ferry tickets, hotel accommodations, etc.), necessary courier and communication costs, the cost of manufacturing an abnormally large number of copies, binding, etc. are only a few of the charges that must be refunded. The Firm will provide the pertinent expense receipts, such as bills, receipts, boarding passes, etc., with the legal services invoice at the client’s request.
• Typically, at the start of the following month, the Firm shall send the invoice for the legal services rendered and the expenses incurred during the previous month. If the parties don’t agree otherwise, the invoice’s maturity is 10 days. The firm will add a report on the legal services rendered to the invoice at the client’s request.
• The Firm is authorised to discontinue performing the obligations assumed under the Contract for Legal Services in the event of a payment delay, to demand payment of a fine for delay equal to 0.25 percent of the unpaid amount for each delayed day, and to disclose information about the Client and the Client’s debt (including the Client’s name and surname, personal identification code, debt amount, and time of the occurrence of delay) to the authorities as required.

Confidentiality

• The Firm is required by law to safeguard the confidentiality of communications with Clients at the Firm’s place of business, including the Client’s application for legal services, the nature of the legal advice provided, and the fee structure.
• The need to maintain confidentiality applies to all workers of the firm and is not time-limited. The Firm must adhere to the rules of the legal profession’s code of conduct.
• The need to maintain confidentiality does not apply to the Firm if disclosure of information is required by law, including the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act, or if disclosure is permitted by any authorisation or assignment from the Client.
• The Firm shall use commercially reasonable steps to ensure the secrecy of any communication conducted through the use of electronic devices, but the Client is aware that complete confidentiality in such a scenario cannot be guaranteed.

Documents And More Data

• The Firm is under no duty to confirm the veracity of the data it has obtained from the Client.
• The Firm is required to keep all documents received from the Client or third parties that are pertinent to the performance of the assignment while it is being completed.
• If there is an electronic copy of a document, the Firm is free to forgo keeping a paper copy (except for original documents). The firm is not allowed to keep copies of electronic communications or documents that are freely accessible online.
• The Firm has the right to retain the Client’s papers until the costs associated with providing the service, including the legal service fees, have been paid.
• The Client is required to obtain the documents the Firm acquired from the Client or third parties for the performance of the assignment from the Firm on its own dime following the termination of the assignment or the Contract for Legal Services.
• Unless otherwise agreed, the Firm shall retain the papers received after the assignment is completed for a period of six (6) months.
• After six (6) months have passed, the Firm is allowed to shred the papers or keep them in the archive and demand payment from the Client for the associated costs.

Validity and Termination

• The Firm is free to change the current General Terms and Conditions at any time by posting a notice on its homepage. General Terms and Conditions of Provision of Legal Services always has the most recent version of these terms and conditions available.
• Upon terminating the Contract for Legal Services, the Firm shall logically take into account the need to protect the Client’s interests.
• The Client may end the Agreement for Legal Services at any time by giving notice to the Firm.
• The Firm may renounce its rights to enforce the terms of the contract for legal services or end it without giving notice in the following circumstances:
  
  • a conflict of interest arises;
  • the client submits a request, the fulfilment of which would require the lawyer to break the law or professional ethics;
  • the client violates a crucial term of the contract for legal services; or
  • the client has violated a material term of the contract for legal services;
• The Client refuses to provide the Firm or the attorneys with information or documents required for the application of the due diligence processes;
• At any point during the delivery of legal services, an event takes place that raises suspicions about a person, an action, or a business connection that may be related to money laundering or the financing of terrorism, or that the Client, a representative of the Client, or the Client’s actual beneficiary may be subject to sanctions, or if the supervisory authority so requests in relation to the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
• The national laws of India shall govern the legal relationship resulting from this contract. Any disagreements between the parties must be resolved through negotiation. If the parties are unable to come to an agreement, Dwarka Court in New Delhi will handle the dispute resolution.