Ethics & Standards

1. General

Moss Fallon Solicitors Limited is a company incorporated in England and Wales (No. 7498781), authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (No. 556096). The SRA's Rules can be found in its Code of Conduct, which can be accessed at http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/code.

The registered office is Carters Court, North Farm, Aldbourne, Wiltshire SN8 2JZ.

The Directors of Moss Fallon Solicitors Limited are Justin Moss, Harriet Fallon and Sue Ingram. We use the word "partner" to refer to a director, or a consultant or employee who is a lawyer of equivalent experience and qualifications. A list of those persons designated partners is available at the above address.

2. Ethics and professional standards policy

Moss Fallon is committed to the highest ethical and professional standards. These apply to all our people, regardless of role, and to all our offices. Moss Fallon people are required to act professionally and in compliance with relevant laws, regulations and Codes of Practice.

These ethical and professional standards include:

acting with integrity, professionalism and fairness
acting in the best interests of each client, including providing a proper standard of service to our clients
upholding the rule of law and the proper administration of justice
behaving in a way that maintains the trust the public has in the provision of legal services
maintaining our independence

The Firm has internal policies intended to help its people comply with these standards and with relevant laws and regulations.

3. Anti-Corruption statement

Moss Fallon has a zero tolerance policy towards bribery and corruption. We are committed to:

conducting business in a manner that complies with applicable laws and is consistent with the highest ethical standards including, among other things, standards intended to prevent bribery and corruption, and
using our best endeavours to ensure that those who perform services for and on behalf of Moss Fallon – including employees, contractors, counsel and agents – are aware of and share our commitment to conducting business ethically.

The Firm is subject to the UK Bribery Act 2010 in respect of its activities and has adopted an Anti-Corruption Policy, which has been endorsed by its senior management. The policy is based on an assessment by Moss Fallon of the external and internal bribery risks that face us, and reflects fundamental standards that Moss Fallon expects those who perform services for us and on our behalf to abide by when acting on our behalf.

Moss Fallon will not use third parties or intermediaries to engage on its behalf in unethical practices that would be prohibited under any applicable laws if undertaken by Moss Fallon. Moss Fallon expects that all third parties and intermediaries that it engages will conduct themselves accordingly when acting on behalf or for the benefit of Moss Fallon. Moss Fallon is committed to transparency in its ethical standards and anti-bribery initiatives and has established procedures that are described in our Anti-Corruption Policy to encourage employees to report instances or allegations of policy violations.

For more detailed information about our policies and procedures, please contact us.

4. Data privacy

Moss Fallon takes data privacy seriously. We have a policy which is based on the UK Data Protection Act 2018. For more information, see our Privacy Policy compliant to the current General Data Protection Regulations 2018.

5. Anti-money laundering policies and procedures

Our anti-money laundering (AML) policies are generally based on the highest standards that are required by United Kingdom legislation. The Firm conducts client due diligence enquiries on each new client and conducts ongoing monitoring of existing clients. Where individuals have supplied personal data for this purpose we will only use it for that purpose and will keep it only as long as the relevant AML and data protection legislation requires.

The Firm also has internal procedures to ensure that any suspicions of money laundering are reported to the appropriate authorities where there is an obligation to do so. Lawyers and other relevant staff are provided with training on these issues.

6. Human Rights

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights which were unanimously endorsed by the Human Rights Council in 2011 state that all business enterprises have a responsibility to respect human rights. As a firm we support and respect internationally recognised human rights.

7. Complaints procedure

Moss Fallon is committed to providing its clients with legal advice and service of the highest quality. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service we provided then you should inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.

In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues. If you would like to make a formal complaint, a copy of our complaints procedure can be obtained from the Firm’s Managing Director, Justin Moss or from the Compliance Officer for Legal Practice, Sue Ingram. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. The Ombudsman will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have and you remain dissatisfied, you are entitled to refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them:

within a 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 the firm’s final response to you.

The Legal Ombudsman’s contact details are:

Telephone: 0300 555 0333 Minicom: 0300 555 1777
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Post: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/

8. Professional indemnity insurance

Moss Fallon has professional indemnity insurance. Further details can be obtained from Harriet Fallon.

9. Copyright and Links

The materials contained on this website are provided for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal or other professional advice. Moss Fallon does not accept any responsibility for any loss which may arise from reliance on information published on this site.

Any materials published on this website are unless otherwise stated the copyright works of Moss Fallon Solicitors Limited. You may make copies of materials published which are of interest to you for your own personal use and you may provide occasional copies of individual publications (in paper or electronic form) to others for information purposes only provided that you do so free of charge. When you do make copies for yourself or others, the content of the published material and the copyright notices must remain intact, your communication of the content must not be misleading or inaccurate and a copy of this notice must accompany any copies of the materials which you provide to others. You may not republish any content or material available on our website without our prior written consent. You may not create a link to any part of our website without our prior written consent. No other use of any information published on this website is permitted without the express prior written consent of Moss Fallon Solicitors Limited.

10. Client Account Interest Policy

In accordance with the Solicitors Accounts Rules, it is the firm's policy to account to its clients for a sum in lieu of interest on a fair and reasonable basis.

Client monies will normally be held in our General Client Accounts, in which amounts for different matters and clients are pooled.
No interest will be payable to clients in respect of amounts held in our General Client Account.
In limited circumstances where funds are to be held on your behalf for an extended period, we may agree with you to open a Designated Client Account, i.e. a client account held in the name of Moss Fallon but which references a specific client.
Interest earned will be retained in the Designated Client Account and paid at an agreed interval on the following basis:

i. interest will be paid gross;

ii. interest will be calculated daily on the balance held;

iii. the rate of interest will be based on the rate payable by our bank on the relevant account; and

iv. all interest earned on that account will be credited to that account and paid to the client in full.
If the total amount of interest calculated is less than £100, no interest will be paid as our administrative costs would exceed this amount.
If we receive a charge from our bank for holding or handling your money, we reserve the right to pass this charge on to you.
No interest will be paid on sums held for the purpose of paying disbursements, including, without limitation, counsels’ fees and experts’ fees

11. Disclaimer

The information, materials and opinions contained on this website are for general information purposes only, are not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice, and should not be relied on or treated as a substitute for specific advice relevant to particular circumstances. Moss Fallon Solicitors Limited accepts no responsibility for any loss which may arise from reliance on information or materials published on this website. If you wish to find out more about the information in the materials published, please contact a Moss Fallon partner.

Certain parts of this site link to external internet sites, and other external internet sites may link to this website. Moss Fallon Solicitors Limited is not responsible for the content of any external internet sites.