AIO Legal Services -Terms of Service

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AIO Legal Services

Terms of Service

 

 

Last update: 14 October 2024

By reading these Terms, you agree to the following

1.1. Our agreement with you. These terms, together with our client care letter to you, if any, shall form our agreement with you to provide legal services. Any contradiction between these terms and our client care letter, if any, these terms shall prevail.

1.2. AIO Legal Services has the discretionary power to change these terms in the future in response to any event, such as legal, regulatory, or any other changes or events.

1.3. Any reference to ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’ or ‘AIO’ in these terms is to AIO Legal Services, and any reference to ‘you’ or ‘your’ is to you as our valuable client or any person placing an order on our site or through our office.

2. Service Limitations

2.1. All of our services are based on the law of England & Wales and suitable for parties requesting their legal services based on that law. However, any legal services requested outside the scope of such law shall be determined based on examining each requested service.

2.2. For the purpose of these Terms of Service, you shall be considered a “consumer” if you are purchasing services from our platforms as an individual for personal use unrelated to your trade, business or profession. Conversely, you will be regarded as a “business client” if you are procuring services for purposes connected to your trade, business or profession. Certain provisions apply specifically to consumers, while others pertain solely to business clients. We strongly advise you to carefully review these terms to understand their applicability to your situation.

2.3. If you are acting as a business client, it is your responsibility to ensure that all necessary licences, permits, and authorisations are in place to lawfully and compliantly operate your business activities.

2.4. Our services are provided in accordance with the CILEx code of conduct and accepted industry practices. You confirm that the services meet your requirements unless you notify us in writing to the contrary. Upon delivery, you will have the opportunity to review the services and request any necessary adjustments. In the absence of such a request, you confirm that the services provided are fully satisfactory.

3. About us

3.1. Our legal status. We are AIO LawPartners (AIO Legal Services), trading as AIO Legal Services, a private limited company registered in England with company number 12648485. Our registered office is at 55 Copperfield, Luton, LU4 0JY.

3.2. You can contact us by sending an email at in**@ai********.com or by calling us at 07379949163.

3.3. Although our legal work is supervised by a solicitor with 20 years of experience, and AIO is managed by a Fellow CILEx who is an authorised person under the Legal Services Act 2007 and can administer oaths without supervision (certifying that the declaration in official documents has been signed before a lawyer), AIO Legal Services is not a firm regulated by the SRA. Therefore, as a result of not being a firm regulated by the SRA, AIO will not provide reserved legal activities. AIO shall inform you in advance if this situation will affect the required services. Please note that as a result of not being regulated by the SRA, you will not be able to have any entitlement to the SRA’s Compensation Fund, which is a sort of compensation to people who are owed money by a regulated law firm as a result of dishonesty, lack of professional indemnity insurance and/ or failure to account for funds. However, we have our professional indemnity insurance in place, and all our delivered services are covered by this instrument.

 

4. Our services

4.1. AIO Legal Services provides its legal services exclusively within the parameters outlined in our scope of services or as expressly defined in our client care letter, where applicable. We do not offer advice on financial, tax, or accounting matters, even if such issues are incidental to or arise in connection with the requested services.

4.2. The legal advice we may provide is specifically for the purpose of your service. We expressly disclaim any duty of care or liability to any third party, including those not named as clients in our client care letter. Absent prior written consent, you are prohibited from sharing or disseminating our advice to any third party.

4.3. In delivering our services, we may engage third parties (such as lawyers, solicitors, barristers, expert witnesses, investigators, or financial advisors) on your behalf and as your representatives. Once the third parties are instructed, you shall be responsible for all sums charged by such third parties on their terms, which shall be in relation to all the services provided to you. You agree that all the services provided by such parties shall be governed by their own terms and conditions.

4.4. AIO Legal Services shall not be liable for delays in performance attributable to events or circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including, but not limited to, the failure of other parties to cooperate in a timely manner. Should such a delay occur, we will promptly notify you and take reasonable steps to mitigate any impact. Provided that we comply with these obligations, no compensation shall be payable for any delay. However, you retain the right to terminate the requested services should you believe that such a delay materially affects the requested services.

 

5. Communications

5.1. We shall correspond with you using our business email and rely on communications coming from your email account and phone number, including WhatsApp and Telegram messages. However, AIO Legal Services shall not be responsible for loss or damage caused by email use or other communication means, provided we have taken reasonable security measures, including against viruses or similar harmful items.

5.2. Our website firewall may prevent us from receiving emails from you or in relation to your matter, and we are not responsible for the losses resulting from this situation.

5.3. We are normally open between 9.00 am and 8.00 pm Monday to Saturday and 9.00 am and 4.00 pm on Sunday. Our staff may sometimes respond to communications and work outside of our normal office hours, but this is at our discretion, and you hereby acknowledge that there will be times when we are not available.

5.4. We may give details and information and deliver our services to, and receive instructions from, any of the individuals/ principals to whom our client care letter is addressed without the need to copy such details and information or deliver services or to confirm such instructions with others.

5.5. You have the right to authorise us to deal exclusively with one or more individuals/ principals on your behalf.

5.6. AIO Legal Services always seeks to support and promote equality and diversity. If you believe our services to be delivered in a different way, please let us know and we will investigate how we can assist.

 

6. Your Obligations

You agree to:

6.1 Provide us with clear, timely, and consistent instructions, responding promptly and fully to any requests for information. You will cooperate with us and any third parties we engage on your behalf. The information you provide must be, to the best of your knowledge and belief, accurate and complete. Unless explicitly requested, we do not independently verify the accuracy of the information provided.

6.2 Notify us immediately of any changes to your contact details to ensure continuous communication.

6.3 Take reasonable measures to secure all communications between us, which includes safeguarding your email and computer systems. This step is essential to protect both your rights and your funds. Additional guidance on cybersecurity best practices, including password management, can be found at: www.cyberessentials.ncsc.gov.uk.

6.4 Pay our fees in accordance with the terms outlined in the client care letter or any request sent to you from our business email.

6.5 Independently verify any changes to our payment details that are sent to you via email. If you receive an email indicating a change in our bank details or payment method, regardless of whether it appears to originate from our firm, you MUST contact us immediately at 07379949163 to verify the authenticity of such a request.

7. Fees and Expenses

7.1 The method by which we calculate our fees shall be outlined in your client care letter. Our fees may be determined based on either the time spent on the matter or a fixed fee arrangement, which may be structured in stages, as specified in your client care letter.

7.2. Hourly Rate Fees:

1. When fees are calculated on a time-spent basis, we record time in six-minute increments (ten units per hour), and you will be charged at the applicable hourly rate for the professional handling the matter. Any activity taking less than six minutes—such as brief correspondence or phone calls—will be rounded up to the nearest six-minute unit.
2. We reserve the right to adjust our hourly rates periodically, such as at the start of a new calendar year or if your instructions change, including situations where your matter becomes more urgent. You will be informed in advance of any rate increases.
3. Any estimate provided regarding the total charges for handling your matter (including fees, disbursements, and expenses), or for reaching a specific stage in your case is not binding. Similarly, estimates or automated quotes offered via our website, aiolawyers.com, are indicative only. As your matter progresses, we may revise the estimate, and you remain liable for all charges applicable.

7.3. Fixed Fee:

1. If any assumptions on which the fixed fee is based (as set out in your client care letter) are later found to be incorrect, we may adjust the fixed fee or switch to charging on a time-spent basis. Should we transition to time-based billing, we will provide you with an updated estimate of costs for completing the matter.
2. If you wish to terminate our services (except where we are at fault), we may charge the full fixed fee unless you are a consumer, in which case we will charge based on time spent up to the date of termination if this amount is less. These same terms apply if we cease acting for you for any reason we see applicable.

7.4. Tax and Expenses:

1. We may engage third parties—such as solicitors, barristers, expert witnesses, or financial advisers—or incur other fees on your behalf. You will be responsible for covering the costs of these third-party services and disbursements. An estimate of anticipated disbursements will be provided in your client care letter.
2. In addition to professional fees, we may charge for out-of-pocket expenses, which could include travel costs, document production (e.g., scanning, photocopying, etc), payment transfer fees, overtime spent, and other costs.
3. Our fees, along with applicable disbursements and expenses, are subject to VAT unless explicitly stated otherwise.

7.5. Prior to commencing work on your matter, we may require payment of a non-refundable deposit. We may also require the payment in full in advance in case of an agreed fixed fee.

 

8. Our invoices

8.1. We shall invoice you regularly and/or upon the completion of your service and/ or at any other event stated in your client care letter. We may raise an interim statute invoice. Our invoices shall be final for the period they cover, and your rights to challenge them shall be time-limited.

8.2. We shall invoice disbursements and expenses at any reasonable time. We can invoice you for disbursements and expenses for any period at any time, even separately, after we have invoiced our fees for that period.

8.3. If you believe you have been charged too much, you have a statutory right to have your invoice formally assessed by the courts. You should apply within one month of receiving the invoice, but you may have to pay first before the court will assess it. If you apply after one month but within a year, you may need to pay some or all of the invoice upfront. In special circumstances, you may apply after one year.

8.4. Payment is due on receipt, and AIO Legal Services shall retain the right to charge interest on late payments. Our invoices remain payable on receipt regardless of the investigation of any complaint. 

8.5. We charge interest on unpaid invoices at a rate of 7.5 % above the Bank of England’s base rate, and if you are a business customer, we will charge £ 500 GBP in late payment fees when the invoice becomes overdue and additional late payment fees of £360 GBP will accrue for every fifteen (15) days of late payment. You agree that interest will begin to run before securing a court decision.

8.6. You remain fully liable for our fees, disbursements, and expenses, even if third-party funding has been arranged. This applies regardless of whether another party has agreed or been ordered to cover our charges or if you anticipate recovering these costs from another party, such as an opponent in litigation. In all circumstances, you are primarily responsible for ensuring that our charges are paid on time.

8.7. Where we are instructed by multiple clients, each client is jointly and severally liable for the entirety of our fees. This means we reserve the right to seek full payment of our unpaid invoices, including the applicable interest and late fee from any one of the joint clients, irrespective of any agreement between the clients as to how those fees should be apportioned.

 

9. Consumer Cancellation Rights (Does not Apply to Business Customers)

9.1. The services provided under these Terms of Service are delivered by our team members acting solely on behalf of our law firm, which operates as a limited company. Consequently, no individual staff member, whether an employee, principal, or partner (including directors or members of the firm), assumes any personal liability towards you. Any legal claims, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise, arising from the services provided must be directed exclusively at the firm itself, not at the individuals involved in delivering those services. You expressly agree that you will not pursue any legal action against any individual member of our staff in their personal capacity for any loss or damage related to the work undertaken on your behalf.

9.2. You have the right to cancel our services within 14 days from the date of signing the client care letter without providing any reason.

9.3. We will not commence work on your matter during the 14-day cancellation period unless you expressly request us to do so. We reserve the right to decline such requests at our discretion.

9.4. If you request that we begin providing services during the 14-day cancellation period and we agree to proceed, this will affect your cancellation rights as follows:

1. You forfeit your right to cancel once the services have been entirely performed, and no refund will be available even if the cancellation period has not yet expired.
2. b. If the services have only been partially performed, you will be required to pay for the services provided up until the point at which you notify us of your intention to cancel.

9.5. To exercise your right to cancel, please contact us by email at in**@ai********.com or by telephone at 07379949163.

9.6. Upon cancellation, we will issue a refund, excluding any non-refundable deposit, as soon as possible but no later than 14 days from the date we receive your cancellation notice. If services were provided at your request during the cancellation period, any refund will be subject to the deductions outlined in clause 9.4 herein.

9.7. Any refund will be processed using the same payment method you originally used unless otherwise agreed.

 

10. Faulty services – (Applies to Business Customers)

10.1. We warrant that our services shall be:

10.1.1. performed with reasonable care and skill within the meaning of section 13 of the Sale of Goods and Services Act 1982; and

10.1.2. free from material defects at the time the services are completed.

10.2. As your sole and exclusive remedy, we will (at our option) remedy or re-perform any services that do not comply with clause 10.1, provided that:

10.2.1. you notify us by email to in**@ai********.com within 7 calendar days from the date that the services are completed, and

10.2.2. You provided us with sufficient information as to the nature and extent of what you believe is defective.

10.3. Except as set out in this clause 10, we give no warranties and make no representations in relation to the services, and all warranties and conditions (including the conditions implied by sections 12–16 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 and any implied terms relating to the ability to achieve a particular result), whether express or implied by statute, common law or otherwise are excluded to the extent permitted by law.

 

11. Faulty services – (Applies to Customers)

11.1. We must provide the services to you with reasonable care and skill.

11.2. If a service is not carried out with reasonable care and skill, you can ask us to repeat the service or to fix it or get a partial or full refund if we cannot fix it.

11.3. This is a summary of some of your key rights. They are in addition to your cancellation rights set out in clause 9 herein. For more detailed information on your rights, you can visit the Citizens Advice website at www.citizensadvice.org.uk or call 0808 223 1133.

11.4. If there is a problem with a service we have provided to you, please contact us as soon as reasonably possible, and we will be happy to address your concern immediately.

 

12. Liability to Business Customers

12.1. We maintain our own professional indemnity insurance coverage. The limitations and exclusions in this clause reflect the extent of our insurance coverage, and it is your responsibility to arrange your own insurance for any losses exceeding this amount.

12.2. Nothing in these terms limits our liability for:

1. Death or personal injury caused by negligence;
2. Fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; and
3. Breach of the implied terms set out in section 2 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (relating to title and quiet possession).

12.3. Subject to clause 12.2, we will not be liable to you, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, for:

1. Loss of profits;
2. Loss of sales or business;
3. Loss of agreements or contracts;
4. Loss of anticipated savings;
5. Loss of or corruption of software, data, or information;
6. Loss of or damage to goodwill; and
7. Any indirect or consequential loss.

12.4. Subject to clauses 12.2 and 12.3, our total liability to you in connection with these terms, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, will be limited to 100% of the total fees actually paid by you under the relevant client care letter.

12.5. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the terms implied by sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 are excluded from these terms.

12.6. If you intend to make a claim regarding an event, you must notify us within three months of the date on which you became, or should reasonably have become, aware of such an event. The notification must be in writing and must provide reasonable details of the event and the grounds for the claim.

12.7. We will not be liable for any loss that you could have avoided or for any loss caused by your failure to provide us with sufficient information or due to delays that are within your control.

12.8. This clause 12 shall survive the termination of the client care letter and/or the terms stated herein.

13. Liability to Consumers

13.1. If we breach these terms or act negligently, we could be responsible for any foreseeable loss or damage that you suffer as a result. “Foreseeable” means that, at the time the contract was made, it was either obvious that such loss or damage would occur, or both you and AIO knew there was a reasonable possibility of it occurring due to something we did or failed to do.

13.2. AIO shall not be liable for any loss or damage that is unforeseeable, unrelated to our breach or negligence, or connected to any business-related loss or damage.

13.3. Nothing in these Terms of Service limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by law.

13.4. Subject to clauses 13.1, 13.2, and 13.3, our total liability to you in connection with these terms, whether arising from contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, will be limited to 100% of the total fees actually paid by you under the relevant client care letter.

14. Termination of Agreement

14.1. You are entitled to terminate this agreement at any time by providing written notice to us. There is no requirement for you to provide a reason for your decision. However, termination does not absolve you from the obligation to settle any outstanding fees or disbursements incurred up to the date of termination.

14.2. We reserve the right to cease acting for you if there are reasonable grounds to do so. Such grounds may include but are not limited to failing the DD or AML procedure, a failure on your part to provide timely instructions, non-payment of our invoices, the breakdown of the trust and confidence fundamental to the lawyer-client relationship, the discovery of a conflict of interest, any change in the legal or regulatory landscape that prevents us from continuing, a material shift in the risk profile of your case, or if you become subject to an insolvency event. Should we exercise this right, we will notify you in writing and, at our discretion, provide you with reasonable notice of our decision.

14.3. If either you or we terminate the service, you are responsible for paying all charges (including fees, disbursements, and expenses) incurred up to the date of termination. Additionally, any post-termination charges will also be payable, subject to be clearly described once they fall due.

14.4. In the event that you fail to pay our invoices in full and on time, we reserve the right to retain all documents, deeds, and other items related to the work we have conducted on your behalf until such time as payment is received. This right of retention is subject to your rights under applicable data protection laws.

14.5 Following the termination of this agreement, whether initiated by you or by us, we may provide limited transitional services, such as assisting with the transfer of files to a new legal advisor or responding to reasonable requests for information regarding the work we have performed. Such transitional services will be provided at our discretion and will be subject to additional charges.

14.6 Once the agreement has been terminated, our obligations to represent or advise you in any legal capacity will immediately cease unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing. It is your responsibility to ensure that any necessary legal representation is in place following the termination.

14.5. If a court invalidates some of these Terms of Service or decides that a part of it is unlawful, the rest shall still apply.

 

15. Intellectual Property

15.1. AIO shall retain full ownership of all intellectual property rights in the provided services, its documentation, and any work product we generate in the course of providing our services. While you are granted a limited, non-exclusive right to use this work for the specific purposes of your legal matter, you are prohibited from distributing, publishing, or using it for any other purpose without our prior written consent. Any unauthorised use or disclosure without our permission may lead to legal action to protect our intellectual property rights.

15.2. Subject to the applicable laws, upon the completion of your legal matter or upon our cessation of services, we may retain any documents or materials you have provided to us for a period that we determine to be appropriate based on legal, regulatory, and professional obligations. If you wish to have these documents returned, you can request them in writing. Otherwise, we reserve the right to securely destroy them after the retention period has lapsed, with no further liability on our part for their preservation.

 

16. Data Protection and Privacy Obligations

16.1. For full details on how we collect, process, and protect your personal information, please refer to our privacy policy, which is accessible on our website. We are committed to ensuring that your personal data is handled lawfully and transparently in accordance with relevant data protection legislation.

16.2. In certain cases, we may need to collect and process sensitive personal data, such as confidential health or private information, when it is necessary for the provision of our legal services. We are legally permitted to process such data where it is required to pursue your legal matter or in compliance with equality and anti-discrimination legislation.

16.3. You have the right to withdraw your consent for the use of your personal data at any time. However, please note that this may restrict the extent to which we can continue to provide the requested services to you and could potentially result in the termination of our engagement, depending on the nature of the consent withdrawn.

16.4. As part of our ongoing client relationship, we may occasionally send you newsletters or updates that we believe may be of interest to you based on our legitimate interest in maintaining contact with former clients. This shall be conducted in compliance with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003. You can opt out of receiving such communications at any time by contacting us at in**@ai********.com, and a clear opt-out mechanism will be provided in every communication. We will never share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes or contact you regarding non-legal services.

16.5. Your data may be stored on secure servers located within the UK or the United States. If we ever transfer your data to a jurisdiction outside of these areas, we will ensure that the destination country has adequate safeguards in place, as required by relevant data protection laws, to maintain the security and confidentiality of your information.

16.6. We may need to share your personal information with third parties strictly in connection with your legal matter. This could include sharing information with other lawyers, solicitors, barristers, courts, government agencies, opposing parties, or professional bodies. Additionally, we may be required to disclose information to the National Crime Agency if suspicious activity is detected. When necessary, and at our sole discretion, we may also involve trusted service providers or consultants, all of whom are bound by confidentiality agreements to protect your data.

16.7. If you instruct us jointly with another client, we may need to share relevant information with the other party to fulfil our legal obligations. Furthermore, certain client matter details may be disclosed to our professional indemnity insurers and their advisors, but such disclosures will be limited to what is necessary for insurance purposes and will remain confidential.

16.8. We generally retain client files for the maximum period allowed by law following the payment of the final invoice in your matter. After this period, unless otherwise agreed, we will securely destroy non-original material. If you request the return of original documents or other specific items, we will accommodate this request prior to destruction. However, we will keep a minimal amount of data for future conflict checks and to comply with professional obligations.

16.9. If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights—such as requesting access to your personal information, seeking correction of inaccuracies, or asking for data to be deleted—you can contact us at in**@ai********.com. We will address your requests in compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (DPA 2018) and other applicable laws.

16.10 Should you have any concerns regarding how your personal information is being used, and if we are unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you may also lodge a formal complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Information on how to raise a complaint can be found on the ICO’s website at www.ico.org.uk.

16.11. In the unlikely event of a data breach affecting your personal information, we shall, if practical, notify you and the relevant authorities as required by law. We will also take immediate action to mitigate any risks associated with the breach and ensure your data is protected moving forward.

17. Anti-Money Laundering Compliance

17.1. In compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (as amended), we are legally required to take measures to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism. This includes verifying the identity of all clients and conducting thorough due diligence on the source of funds related to your matter. These steps are vital to ensure we are not inadvertently facilitating unlawful activities.

17.2. To comply with our legal obligations, we must verify your identity before commencing any work on your behalf. This may involve using third-party verification services and requesting documentation that confirms your identity, address, and, where applicable, relevant company information. We are legally required to retain copies of all identification documents in accordance with anti-money laundering legislation.

17.3. You are required to promptly provide the requested documentation to enable us to carry out the necessary anti-money laundering checks. Please note that we cannot begin work on your matter until these checks are completed. As such, any delay in providing the required information may result in delays in progressing your matter. We shall not be held responsible for any delays or consequences arising from your failure to provide the necessary documentation in a timely manner.

17.4. Should we have any grounds to suspect that money laundering or any other illegal financial activity is being conducted, we are legally obligated to report such suspicions to the National Crime Agency (NCA). We are prohibited from notifying you of this report, and this obligation overrides any duty of confidentiality we may owe you. As a result, we may be required to cease acting on your behalf without providing an explanation.

 18. Complaints and Concerns Procedure

18.1. If at any point during our engagement, you have concerns or wish to lodge a complaint regarding the services we are providing, we encourage you to raise the matter directly with the individual handling your case. Prompt communication often allows for swift resolution and clarification of any issues that may arise.

18.2. If you feel uncomfortable discussing your concerns with the person handling your matter or if the issue remains unresolved, you may escalate the matter by contacting our firm directly via email at in**@ai********.com. Upon receipt, we will promptly initiate our internal complaints investigation process. This involves an impartial review of your concerns by a senior member of the firm who is not directly involved in your matter. Within eight weeks, we will issue a formal written response outlining our findings and suggested resolution. If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome, we will also provide guidance on how you can escalate your complaint further.

18.3. Should you feel that we have not resolved your complaint to your satisfaction, you may refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman. Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman must typically be made within six months of receiving our final written response, and either:

• Within one year from the date of the act or omission giving rise to the complaint, or
• Within one year from the date on which you first became aware of the issue.

You can contact the Legal Ombudsman via:

• Email: en*******@le************.uk
• Telephone: 0300 555 0333
• Postal address: PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
  More information is available on their website: https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/make-a-complaint/.

18.4. If your complaint relates to the professional conduct of an individual authorised by CILEx or another regulatory body, you may refer the matter to CILEx Regulation. However, since AIO Legal Services is not a regulated firm, complaints against the firm itself or its unauthorised personnel cannot be directed to CILEx or the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) unless those individuals are under the supervision of a regulated solicitor.

18.5. In certain circumstances, we may agree to engage with an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme to handle complaints regarding our services. Available ADR bodies include ProMediate and Small Claims Mediation, which specialise in resolving disputes out of court. Should we determine that ADR is an appropriate course of action, we will notify you and provide further information on how to proceed with the selected ADR scheme.

 19. Confidentiality

19.1. Legal advice privilege protects confidential communications between a lawyer and their client, but it can be compromised if the advice or correspondence is shared with third parties, or if communication occurs through intermediaries. While we do not provide specific advice on whether legal privilege applies to each communication, we strongly recommend exercising caution when discussing your legal matter with anyone outside of our service engagement, as doing so may waive this important protection.

19.2. In order to provide you with the requested services, we may need to share confidential information with our staff or other related third parties, some of whom may not be regulated by the SRA or CILEx. However, we ensure that all staff and third-party contractors are bound by strict confidentiality obligations through contractual provisions or non-disclosure agreements. By engaging us, you consent to the disclosure of relevant confidential information to any necessary and relevant third parties as part of the service delivery process.

19.3. We, along with any staff or third party we engage, will maintain the confidentiality of any information obtained while providing our services. However, there are certain situations where we may need to use or disclose this information, including:

1. Delivering the services effectively may involve disclosing confidential information to internal staff and relevant third parties.
2. To comply with legal obligations, such as conducting conflict of interest checks against our database of current and former clients, reporting any suspicious activities to the National Crime Agency in accordance with anti-money laundering laws, or responding to freedom of information requests where required by law.
3. To respond to requests made by regulatory bodies, law enforcement agencies, or other competent authorities.

19.4. There may be circumstances where it becomes necessary to disclose confidential information as part of legal proceedings or to defend ourselves in litigation. In such cases, we may need to disclose certain information about your matter to the court, opposing counsel, or other relevant parties. This will be done in strict compliance with legal requirements and only to the extent necessary to protect your interests or our firm’s position.

19.5. AIO or its related entities may be subject to an insolvency event, we may be required to disclose or transfer client information to insolvency practitioners, administrators, or other relevant authorities. Any such disclosure will be managed carefully and in accordance with both legal and professional duties, ensuring the ongoing protection of your rights and data.

 20. Conflicts of Interest

20.1. We are committed to upholding the highest professional standards, and we do not act in matters where there is an actual or potential conflict of interest. To ensure compliance, we have robust systems and procedures in place that actively prevent us from representing a client if doing so would create a conflict with an existing or former client’s interests.

20.2. Before we accept instructions from you, we shall conduct thorough conflict of interest checks against our database of clients and matters. This process ensures that any potential conflicts are identified at the outset. If we identify a conflict during the course of our representation, we will immediately inform you and take the necessary steps to resolve the issue, which may include ceasing to act for one or more clients involved.

20.3. You have a duty to inform us if you believe there may be a conflict of interest in relation to our representation, including any past or present dealings that may affect our ability to act independently. Failure to disclose relevant information may result in us having to cease acting for you if a conflict is discovered.

21. Force Majeure

21.1. We shall not be liable for any failure to perform our obligations under these Terms and Conditions where such failure is caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control. These unforeseeable events may include but are not limited to, natural disasters (such as floods, earthquakes, or fires), government actions, civil unrest, strikes, pandemics, cyberattacks, and interruptions to essential services such as telecommunications or power.

21.2. In the event of a force majeure occurrence, we will take all reasonable steps to mitigate the effects of the event on our ability to provide services. We will promptly notify you of any significant delays or disruptions and will work to minimise the impact on your matter. However, we will not be held responsible for any resulting losses or damages caused by such events, nor for delays outside our control.

 

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