Throughout this website, "Laytons" and "we" refers to Laytons LLP and "you" refers to any client for whom we provide our professional services and any other person who uses our website.

Regulation of Legal Services

Laytons LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales (registered office: Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1ER) with registered number OC370679.  We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority ("SRA") ID 566807.  We are subject to the SRA Code of Conduct 2011 as contained in the SRA Handbook (available at www.sra.org.uk). This requires us to achieve certain outcomes.
 

Regulation of Financial Services

We are not authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act nor are we regulated by the Financial Services Authority because we only carry out regulated activities within a limited scope, namely: giving generic advice about options available, rather than specific investments, dealing in investments as agents for clients, making arrangements concerning clients' investments and safeguarding and administering clients' investments. We will undertake these activities only where they are a necessary part of our legal service to you. We will not take any payment for these services in addition to our ordinary charges to you.
 

Insurance Distribution Activity

We are included on the register maintained by the Financial Services Authority so that we may carry on insurance distribution activity, which is broadly the advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts. This part of our business, including arrangements for complaints or redress, is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
 

Professional Indemnity Insurance

We maintain professional indemnity insurance with an approved provider. Details of the policy or policies of insurance which are relevant to the services we provide may be inspected by clients, following written request, at our London office during normal business hours.
 

Anti-Money Laundering Requirements

Our obligations to carry out instructions and effect transactions may, in certain circumstances, be subject to various overriding legal obligations, for example under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. We may have a legal obligation to report to the National Crime Agency any knowledge or suspicion we may have of money laundering or if we have reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting money laundering. If we make a disclosure in relation to a matter, we may not be able to tell you that a disclosure has been made. If we consider that you may have been involved in money laundering, we may cease acting for you, immediately and without notice or liability. We may decline to start work on any matter until you have provided us with any information requested under our Representation Agreement.
 

Contracts with Consumers

If you instruct us for non-business related purposes and we have not met you in person, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 apply; this means you have the right to cancel your instructions to us within seven working days of receiving our Representation Agreement. In such circumstances, you can cancel your instructions by contacting us by post, fax or email. If you wish to waive your rights under these Regulations because you wish us to start work on a matter before the expiry of seven working days, you should do so in writing: we will charge you for any work we then do.

Intellectual Property

We own or have the right to use and deliver to you all copyright and other rights in all documents and draft documents which we produce, including written advice or other material and all systems produced by us while acting for you. You are entitled to use the information and materials provided to you for the matter or matters in respect of which we accepted your instructions but you must not use or copy them for any other purposes or supply or copy them to any other person for them to apply or use them otherwise than in the proper course of the Matter for which they are provided by us. In particular, they may not be sold on by you to any third party.
 

Retention of Papers

We have the right to retain your papers until our charges and expenses have been paid in full. At the end of your matter we will store your papers without charge for a limited period of time which will depend on the nature of the matter. We will then dispose of them without contacting you again. Please tell us immediately the matter is completed if you want us to return your documents to you. We will not destroy title deeds, wills, share certificates or other documents which continue to have effect. We may charge you for retrieving your documents from storage and delivering them to you, or for providing information about them. Unless we agree otherwise in writing, our responsibility for any deeds, documents, certificates or other items held by us on your behalf is no more than to use reasonable care to ensure the physical security of such items.
 

Credit Checks

We may carry out credit checks with one or more licensed credit reference agencies or other referee notified to us and they will retain a record of the search and reference. If you are an existing client with a satisfactory payment record we will not normally carry out a credit reference check.
 

Conflicts of Interest

Before commencing work on any matter we will use reasonable endeavours to identify any conflicts of interest as appropriate: if a conflict is not identified until we have begun to act, we will notify clients as soon as reasonably practicable. In such circumstances we may be obliged by our professional rules to cease acting and we may be unable to provide information about the conflict.
 

Jurisdiction and Applicable Law

English law governs our relationship with you and, if you are pursuing commercial activities, any non-contractual dealings between us. Any dispute is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, without prejudice to which we may apply for any provisional or conservatory measures or interim relief in any court having jurisdiction in any country in which you are resident, domiciled, incorporated or have assets.