Legal and regulatory

Legal notices by country

Legal notices by WFW affiliated entities:

General legal notices:

Watson Farley & Williams LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales under registration number OC312252, and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (‘SRA’). The SRA’s rules on professional conduct can be found at www.sra.org.uk.

All lawyers are, unless otherwise specified, registered with the relevant local Law Society/Bar association.  As an international firm, we draw a number of lawyers from other jurisdictions that are members of foreign bars. More information can be found under the people section of our website.

A list of members may be inspected at our registered office.

All references to “Watson Farley & Williams” and “the Firm” on this Website refer to one or more of the “WFW Affiliated Entities” below:-

Watson Farley & Williams is the trading name of the several separate but connected business entities listed below, practising law from the offices indicated:

    1. WFW Global LLP (Registration No. OC 312251, Registered office, 15 Appold Street, London, EC2A 2HB).
    2. Watson Farley & Williams LLP (Registration No. OC312252, Registered office, 15 Appold Street, London, EC2A 2HB) practising in London, Paris, Hamburg, Munich, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt and Seoul.
    3. Watson Farley & Williams LLP practising in New York (File number 5327423, Registered office, 120 West 45th Street, 20th Floor, New York, New York 10036, USA).
    4. Paleokrassas & Partners Law Firm trading in Greece as Watson Farley & Williams Greece, an incorporated partnership of lawyers, having its registered address on 5th Floor, Building B, 348 Syngrou Avenue, Kallithea, Athina 176 74, Greece
    5. Studio Legale Associato a Watson Farley & Williams, Tranchino e Santarelli existing under the laws of Italy (Registered office, Via del Conservatorio 91, 00186, Rome, Italy) practising in Rome and Milan.
    6. Watson Farley & Williams (Thailand) Limited (Registration No. (6)403/2544, Registered office, Unit 902, 9th Floor, GPF Witthayu Tower B, 93/1 Wireless Road, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 Thailand) practising in Bangkok.
    7. Watson Farley & Williams LLP (Registration No. T11LL1829G, Registered office 88 Market Street #31-05, CapitaSpring, Singapore, 048948, Singapore) practising in Singapore.
    8. Watson Farley & Williams Spain, S.L. Sociedad Unipersonal, (Registered office C/ María de Molina, 4, 28006, Madrid).
    9. Watson Farley & Williams LLP (Registered office Suites 4610-4619, Jardine House, 1 Connaught Place, Hong Kong).
    10. Watson Farley & Williams (Middle East) LLP is a limited liability partnership incorporated in the Dubai International Financial Centre with company registration number CL1612 (Registered office, Office 1702, Level 17, Index Tower, West Entrance, Dubai International Financial Centre, PO Box 506896, Dubai, United Arab Emirates).
    11. Watson Farley & Williams LVN is a company registered with the Department of Justice in Hanoi, Vietnam (Registration No. 01020606/TP/DKHD). Registered office 4th Floor, Asia Tower, 6 Nha Tho, Hang Trong Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam.
    12. Watson Farley & Williams Pty Ltd is a private limited company incorporated in Victoria, Australia whose registered office is at Level 2, 319 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia. (ABN 18 612 897 346).
    13. Watson Farley & Williams (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo Horitsu Jimusho) is registered with the Japanese Federation of Bar Associations in Japan and operating from Tokiwabashi Tower 9F, 2-6-4 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0004, Japan
    14. WFW Legal Services Limited (Registration No. 01648390, Registered office, 15 Appold Street, London, EC2A 2HB); and
    15. Watson Farley & Williams (Number One) Limited (Registration No. 04761919, Registered office, 15 Appold Street, London, EC2A 2HB).

By accessing any part of this Website (the “Website”) you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agreed to be bound by the following terms and conditions. We may change or update the information on this Website (including these terms and conditions) at any time without notice.

Professional indemnity insurance

We maintain worldwide professional indemnity insurance in excess of the compulsory minimum level applicable to us with Travelers Insurance Designated Activity Company. Travelers Insurance Designated Activity Company can be contacted at Exchequer Court, 33 St. Mary Axe, London EC3A 8AG.

Terminology

The title “partner” is used for practical convenience to define seniority and does not of itself mean that any individual to whom it is applied is a partner in a general partnership. Each individual working in Watson Farley & Williams is acting at all times as an agent for and on behalf of one of the business entities.

Our Website

The information on this Website is for general information and illustrative purposes only and it is not intended to provide advice whether that advice is financial, legal, accounting, tax or any other type of advice, and should not be relied upon in that regard.

While every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information provided on this Website (other than that accessed by link to other sites) is accurate at the time of posting, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by the Firm (to include all of its affiliated undertakings) as to the accuracy, timeliness, completeness, validity or currency of the information provided on this Website (the “Information”), and the Firm assumes no responsibility to you or any third party for the consequences of any errors or omissions. No reliance may be placed for any purpose whatsoever on the Information or any opinions contained in this Website, or on the completeness, accuracy or fairness of such information and/or opinions. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Firm shall not be liable for indirect or consequential loss or damage, including without limitation any loss or damage whatsoever arising from any use of this Website or the Information.

Any links to third party websites on this Website are provided solely for your convenience and the inclusion of such links does not imply endorsement by the Firm of the linked Website. The Firm does not make any representations regarding any Websites which may be accessed though this Website, and shall not be responsible for the contents or use of any other Websites.

If you would like to link to the Website you may only do so subject to the following conditions:-

    1. you link to, but do not replicate, the Website;
    2. you do not remove, distort or otherwise alter the size or appearance of the Firm’s logo;
    3. you do not create a frame or any other browser or border environment around the Website;
    4. you do not in any way imply that the Firm is endorsing any products or services other than its own;
    5. you do not misrepresent your relationship with the Firm nor present any other false information about the Firm;
    6. you do not otherwise use any of the Firm’s trade marks displayed on the Website without express written permission from the Firm;
    7. you do not link from a website that is not owned by you; and
    8. your website does not contain content that is distasteful, offensive or controversial, infringes any intellectual property rights or other rights of any other person or otherwise does not comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

The Firm expressly reserves the right to revoke the rights granted in sub-paragraphs (1)-(8) above for breach of these terms and to take any action it deems appropriate and you shall fully indemnify the Firm for any related loss or damage suffered.

You may only use this Website for lawful purposes. You must ensure that any document, file or other information that you intend to provide to us via this Website does not contravene any applicable laws or contravene any person’s legal rights.

By accessing this Website, you agree that you will access its contents solely for your own use and in this context you may print out a single hard copy of any part of the content of this Website. Except as expressly permitted by this paragraph, you may not (except to the extent required in order to use this Website in accordance with these terms and conditions) copy, store in any medium (including in any other Website), distribute, transmit, re-transmit, broadcast, modify, delete or show in public any part of this Website or systematically extract material from this Website or any document available through it, create any derivative works from it or in any other way exploit commercially all or any part of this Website or any document available through it without the prior written permission of the Firm.

Trade marks and logos

The trade marks, logos and trade names displayed on the Website are the property of the Firm or other third parties and you are not permitted to download, copy, modify or use them without the prior written consent of the owner. The design and layout of the Website is protected by copyright, database right, design rights and other similar laws and may not be copied or imitated in whole or in part.

Virus checking

It is our policy to virus check documents and files before they are posted on this Website. However, we cannot guarantee that documents or files downloaded from this Website will be free from viruses. Accordingly, for your own protection, you must use virus-checking software when using this Website. You must not post or provide to us via this Website, any document or file which you believe may contain a virus. You must virus check any document or file which you intend to post or provide to us via this Website. We exclude to the fullest extent permitted by law all liability (save in respect of death or personal injury caused by negligence and for fraud) in connection with (a) any damage or loss caused by errors, computer viruses, other malicious code or harmful components originating or contracted from the Website and (b) any interruptions in your access to the Website.

Financial Services

Watson Farley & Williams LLP is not authorised by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. However, we are included on the register maintained by the Financial Conduct Authority so that we can carry on insurance mediation activity, which is broadly the advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts. This part of our business, including arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong, is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Watson Farley & Williams (Number One) Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for debt collecting. You can check these details on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA’s website http://www.fca.org.uk or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768. Our FCA register number is 630592.

Complaints

We are committed to providing our clients (and third parties) with an efficient and professional service. However, if this falls short of your expectations you should contact the partner/member of the WFW office who is responsible for overseeing your relationship with the firm or, if you prefer, the Senior Partner or Managing Partner of the firm. We will make every attempt to ensure that your complaint is resolved promptly and the outcome communicated to you in writing; a copy of our complaints procedure is available on request from info@wfw.com.

If following the completion of our complaints procedure you still remain dissatisfied, you may be entitled to complain to the Legal Ombudsman (6167, Slough SL1 0EH, enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk). Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must be made within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within a year of you realising there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.

Information regarding Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) can be accessed via http://ec.europa.eu/odr

Our Mediation Complaints Process is available here.

Interest Policy

We will account to you for interest on your money held by us in accordance with the SRA Accounts Rules 2011 (except where local regulatory requirements in a jurisdiction require us to handle funds in a different way).

Funds transferred to our general client account are instantly available (during normal banking hours) for use in the transaction and begin accruing interest from the date of receipt of cleared funds and stop accruing interest when withdrawn from the client account (date of cheque payments is the date the cheque is written).

The amount of interest is calculated upon completion of the transaction and takes into account the interest rate paid by the Firm’s bankers.

Due to administrative costs involved interest calculated at less than £20 in total is not payable.

Significant sums can be placed on term money market deposits which typically accrue interest at a higher rate; we will seek your instructions before placing the funds onto such deposits.  All interest earned on individual designated client accounts will be credited to your account.

Terms of Engagement

Any decisions you make based on information contained in this Website are your sole responsibility and use of this Website does not itself create a solicitor/client relationship between you and the Firm. If a solicitor/client relationship ultimately arises between you and the Firm then certain separate Terms of Engagement shall govern that relationship.

If you are accessing this Website in the course of a business the express provisions of these terms replace all warranties, conditions, terms, undertakings and obligations implied by statute, common law, custom, trade usage, course of dealing or otherwise, all of which are excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.

If any of these terms and conditions is or becomes illegal, invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, that shall not affect:

    1. the legality, validity or enforceability in that jurisdiction of any other term or condition which shall continue to have full force and effect; or
    2. the legality, validity or enforceability in other jurisdictions of that or any other term or condition which shall continue to have full force and effect.

We reserve the right to vary or amend these terms and conditions from time to time. Any changes shall take effect upon posting to this Website. No waiver of any of these terms and conditions shall be valid unless provided in writing by the Firm.

Cookies

Our Website uses cookies (small data files which are downloaded to your computer) so that we can recognise that your computer has visited the site before. We do not use cookies to identify you, just to improve your experience of the site. If you do not wish to use the cookies, you can amend the settings on your internet browser so that it will not automatically download cookies. This will not prevent you from accessing or using our website.

IP addresses

We monitor visits to our website and record the IP addresses of visitors to our website. This information does not identify you as an individual, and allows you to navigate our website more easily.

Jurisdiction

These terms and conditions shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. The Courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of your use of this Website.

Attorney Advertising

Some of the material contained on this Website may constitute attorney advertising within the meaning of sections 1200.1 and 1200.6-8 of Title 22 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations and, to the extent that those rules apply in whole or in part to this Website, the following statement is made: PRIOR RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE A SIMILAR OUTCOME.

SRA Transparency Rules

In accordance with the SRA Transparency Rules, we are required to publish information relating to certain types of services that we provide.  Costs information in relation to the preparation and submission of immigration applications and advising and representing employees and employers when bringing and defending claims for unfair and wrongful dismissal in the employment tribunal and debt recovery for claims up to £100,000 are set out below.   This information is intended to be a guide to our pricing and is not a binding quote.  We will be in a position to provide you with a more accurate fee estimate following receipt of further information relating to your specific circumstances.

Where we have provided information relating to third party costs (for example the likely costs of instructing a barrister), these are indicative figures and may be subject to change.

Information pertaining to the experience and qualification of individuals carrying out the employment work can be found here, debt recovery work can be found here, and residential property transactions can be found here.

Costs information for individuals making immigration applications.

Costs information for employers and employees bringing and defending claims for unfair and wrongful dismissal in the employment tribunal.

Costs information for debt recovery up to £100,000.

Costs information for residential property transactions