Please correspond using oc@overseaschambers.com, peter.harris@overseaschambers.com or our French postal address, or telephone + 33 (0)9 87 97 14 55.

Given the context of Covid-19, we would encourage you to use Facetime, Skype, Zoom Teams and other media for conferences, so please feel free to ask. We can provide a confidential internet meeting space through a specific internet provider if needed.

Fees as from 15th January, 2023:

Fees are agreed and are payable in advance in Euros.

The hourly rate applicable to each matter will be determined in Euros according to its complexity. For direct access lay clients (see §3 below) the fees will be defined in the letter of instruction and work will commence on receipt.

Please note that, subject to any applicable exemptions and depending upon the nature of the advice and guidance provided; the country of residence and status of the client,  French TVA is required to be charged at 20% on certain services provided.

In all cases, payments of fees are to be made in Euros to the French bank account indicated on the note of fees. Peter is not required to work or to continue to work where fees remain outstanding and unpaid.

 

Full Instructions

There are four different methods of obtaining Peter's expertise and advice:

1. Instructions through your Lawyer: a solicitor, in England or an advocate or notary in another jurisdiction can instruct Peter on your behalf.

In civil law jurisdictions, where the individual is generally reckoned to be master of their affairs, the lawyer generally instructs Peter formally, and then allows direct contact with Peter, with copying in;

2.  Licensed Access instructions: For Members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP); and accountants and other professions of a similar nature, whether from the United Kingdom or abroad. Here the professional instructs Peter under the Licensed Access procedure and terms which are negotiated on a case by case basis. For example, STEP Members Chartered and Certified accountants and Members of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and their foreign equivalents frequently instruct Peter this way.

A list of the categories of professionals who can take advantage of this is below, and updates can be found on the Bar Standards Board website.

It is also possible for an individual organisation to apply to the Bar Standards Board for authorisation to give Licensed Access Instructions, if it wishes to do so.

3. Direct Access: For everyone else - companies, partnerships or individuals - Peter can enter into a contract with you to provide legal or fiscal services taking the form of a letter of instruction.   Peter is registered with The English Bar Standards Board as being able to take instructions from public access clients from the United Kingdom and elsewhere. He is also insured to do so.  See HERE for an example of a previous contractual Direct Access Letter which has been used to instruct Peter. Owing to the recent installation in France the current Direct Access letter is in a state of evolution as the French regulatory regisitration numbers are in the process of being obtained from the adminstrations concerned. The contract will generally require a payment in advance, given that Peter is working from a jurisdiction outside the United Kingdom. In certain circumstances for example short or urgent work Peter may simply issue a note of fees referring to and incorporating the terms and conditions set out in the example when updated, as the note of fees will define the Instructed Work, the fee and payment terms which are left undefined in the example.

4. English residents may also instruct Peter directly through Clerksroom's Direct Access Portal at http://www.clerksroomdirect.com/

 

1 and 2 allow Peter to get to grips with the issues on the basis of professionally prepared instructions.

3  Direct access will require a discussion by telephone and a Letter of terms and conditions to be agreed as to the scope of the instructions, and what is required. Given the difference in administrative work involved, a higher hourly rate may be agreed and charged than that generally agreed under 1 and 2.  The very simple and straightforward current Bar Council Guidance notes for lay clients using Direct Access instructions can be found at

http://www.barcouncil.org.uk/media/225649/guidance_for_clients_02_07_13.pdf

4. ClerksroomDirect will charge a separate administrative fee under their terms and conditions as set out on their site. Please refer to those. Note that unlike Peter's fee which is not subject to UK VAT, the Clerksroom fee will be inclusive of UK VAT.

Please  contact Chambers on oc@overseaschambers.com to organise a time or telephone Chambers on  + 33 (0)9 87 37 14 55.

Note that where non-personalised legal or tax advice is needed by a professional under 1 and 2, there may not be a need for Client Due Diligence or Money Laundering procedures to be followed.

However, in any case where the advice is directed to a specific client's needs, under any of 1, 2 , 3 or 4. Peter can only accept instructions on the basis of the provision of the correct information enabling Client Due Diligence or Money Laundering procedures to be completed to his satisfaction, in accordance with British and French Regulations.

 

List of Licensed professionals for access under § 2.

see https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/for-barristers/public-and-licensed-access/licensed-access-recognition-regulations.html :

Part I - Accountants and taxation advisers

1. The Association of Authorised Public Accountants
2. Association of Taxation Technicians
3. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
4. The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
5. Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
6. Chartered Accountants Ireland
7. Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
8. The Chartered Institute of Taxation
9. The Institute of Financial Accountants

Part II - Insolvency practitioners

1. Insolvency Practitioners Association

Part III - Architects, surveyors and town planners

1. Architects Registration Board
2. Association of Consultant Architects
3. The Royal Institute of British Architects
4. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
5. The Royal Town Planning Institute
6. Landscape Institute

Part IV - Engineers

1. The Institution of Chemical Engineers
2. The Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors
3. The Institution of Civil Engineers
4. The Institution of Engineering and Technology
5. Institution of Mechanical Engineers
6. The Institution of Structural Engineers

Part V - Actuaries

1. The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Part VI - Chartered secretaries and administrators

1. The Chartered Governance Institute (formerly The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators: The Governance Institute)

Part VII - Insurers

1. The Association of Average Adjusters
2. The Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters
3. The Chartered Insurance Institute

Part VIII - Trust and Estate Practitioners

1. The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)

Part IX - Residential Property Management Professionals

1. The Institute of Residential Property Management Professionals (IRPM)

THE SECOND SCHEDULE (ombudsman services may apply to the Bar Standards Board to be added to the Second Schedule in accordance with the Licensed Access Recognition Regulations)

1. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
2. The Commission for Local Administration
3. Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
4. The Financial Ombudsman Service
5. The Legal Ombudsman

 

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