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These terms set out the basis on which Commonwealth Solicitors will provide legal services to you. Please read them carefully.
Commonwealth Solicitors is a trading name of Commonwealth Chambers Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) under SRA number 630508.
Our registered office is at Second Floor, 10–12 Whitechapel Road, London, E1 1EW.
These terms and conditions, together with any engagement letter we provide, form the contract between you (the client) and us (the firm) for the provision of legal services.
We will provide the legal services described in the engagement letter sent to you at the start of your matter. If the scope of work changes, we will discuss the implications with you, including any effect on costs.
We will keep you informed of the progress of your matter and the likely timescale for each stage. We will communicate with you in plain language.
You agree to provide us with clear, timely, and accurate instructions. You will provide all documents and information that we reasonably require, promptly and without delay.
You will notify us immediately of any change in your circumstances that may affect your matter, including changes to your contact details, immigration status, financial situation, or any other relevant factor.
You authorise us to obtain and verify information about you where necessary, including identity checks required under the Money Laundering Regulations.
Our fees are calculated in accordance with the hourly rates or fixed fees set out in our engagement letter and on our fees page. We apply the Solicitors' Guideline Hourly Rates as published by the UK government for National Band 2.
Our hourly rates are as follows (prices starting from):
| Grade | Fee Earner | Hourly Rate (from) |
|---|---|---|
| A | Solicitors and legal executives with over 8 years' experience | £288 |
| B | Solicitors and legal executives with over 4 years' experience | £247 |
| C | Other solicitors, legal executives and fee earners of equivalent experience | £200 |
| D | Trainee solicitors, paralegals and other fee earners | £142 |
We may require payment on account before we begin work or at stages during the matter. We will not start work until any required payment on account has been received.
All invoices are payable within 14 days of the date of issue unless we agree otherwise in writing. We reserve the right to charge interest on late payments at the rate of 4% above the Bank of England base rate.
If you are eligible for legal aid, we will discuss this with you and, where appropriate, apply on your behalf. Legal aid is subject to means and merits testing by the Legal Aid Agency.
Where our engagement is funded by a third party, you remain personally liable for our fees unless we agree otherwise in writing.
Disbursements are costs payable to third parties, such as Home Office fees, court fees, counsel's fees, interpreter costs, expert reports, and search fees.
We will inform you in advance of any disbursements likely to be incurred and obtain your approval before incurring them. Disbursements are payable in addition to our professional fees.
All quoted fees exclude VAT unless stated otherwise. We will confirm in advance whether VAT applies to your matter.
Certain Home Office applications may attract VAT even where we are not VAT registered; we will notify you if this affects your case.
Any money we hold on your behalf will be kept in a client account in accordance with the SRA Accounts Rules. We will account to you for all money held and provide statements on request.
We may deduct our fees from client money held only where we have delivered a bill and you have been given a reasonable opportunity to object.
We will keep your affairs confidential except where disclosure is required or permitted by law, or where you give us your consent. Our duty of confidentiality continues after the end of our retainer.
We process your personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We collect and process personal data as necessary for the performance of our contract with you, to comply with our legal obligations, and for our legitimate interests in providing legal services.
You have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal data, subject to our legal and regulatory obligations. For data protection queries, please contact us at info@cwchambers.com.
We have procedures in place to identify and manage conflicts of interest. If a conflict arises during the course of your matter, we will inform you promptly and discuss how best to proceed.
In certain circumstances, we may be required to cease acting for you. If this happens, we will explain why and, where possible, assist you in finding alternative representation.
You may terminate our retainer at any time by giving us written notice. You will be liable for our fees and disbursements incurred up to the date of termination.
We may cease acting for you if there is a good reason to do so — for example, if you fail to provide instructions, fail to pay our fees, or if a conflict of interest arises. We will give you reasonable notice before doing so, except where immediate cessation is required by our professional obligations.
On termination, we will return your documents and papers to you, subject to our right to exercise a lien over them for unpaid fees.
Our liability to you for any loss arising out of or in connection with the services we provide is limited to the extent permitted by law and in accordance with SRA requirements.
We maintain professional indemnity insurance in accordance with the minimum terms and conditions prescribed by the SRA. Details of our insurers and the territorial coverage of our policy are available on request.
We will not be liable for any loss caused by the provision of false, misleading, or incomplete information by you or by any third party.
If you are unhappy with any aspect of our service, please refer to our Complaints Procedure for full details of how to raise a complaint and the steps we will take to resolve it.
If we are unable to resolve your complaint, you may refer it to the Legal Ombudsman.
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity in all our dealings with clients, third parties, and employees. We will not discriminate on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.
These terms and conditions and any dispute arising out of or in connection with them shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.
The courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising under these terms.
We may update these terms and conditions from time to time. The most current version will always be available on our website. Material changes will be communicated to existing clients in writing.
These terms are effective from 1 October 2025.
If you need clarification on any aspect of our terms and conditions, our team is happy to help.