Giving us your consent is easy and quick using the form further down this page. However, as part of giving your consent, you will need to confirm that you have read and taken on board the following. Please let us know if you have any questions at all.

When can Arrowsmith Law act for both parties to a transaction? We are allowed to be the lawyers for multiple parties in a transaction so long as:

• Consent: Your written consent to us acting on both sides is given (by signing this form).
• No conflict: There is no conflict of interests between the parties.
• Very limited scope for conflict: There is no more than a minimal chance that a conflict of interest may arise.
• Recommendation: All parties have been recommended to obtain independent legal advice. Independent means advice from another law firm.

1. No current conflict of interests. We are satisfied that in this situation, the interests of the parties are aligned, and Arrowsmith Law is able to discharge its obligations to all the parties fully and equally.
2. Minimal chance of conflict – but potential exists.The scope of our retainer and the work we will undertake for you and the other parties considered, our view is that there is no more than a minimal chance that a conflict of interests will arise during the course of our engagement.
3. Recommendation: Get you own lawyer in another firm. Notwithstanding that the parties' interests are aligned, will very likely remain aligned, and we are able to protect those interests to the extent expected by law or stated in our Engagement Letter, we still recommend that you do not use our Firm and obtain independent legal advice from outside the firm. Independent legal advice may be able to provide advice and information that we will not be able to provide when we are acting for multiple parties to a matter, particularly if you have agreed that our scope be limited. At very least, we recommend you obtain independent legal advice before giving your consent to us acting for you.
4. Should conflict arise. Should a conflict of interest arise between yourselves and the other party or parties for whom we are also acting, then we will need to stop acting. All parties will then need to obtain legal advice independent from other firms.

Please see the examples below of situations of where we will consider that that a conflict of interests has arisen, and examples where we will consider that it has not.

After receiving this advice if you wish to be represented by another law firm: no problem at all.

We respect your decision to receive independent legal representation. Just grateful if you could let us know as soon as possible and we will help move your work to a new firm as quickly as possible.

Just email office@alaw.nz or call 03 928 8165 and ask to speak to Rebecca Collie.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST – EXPLANATION AND EXAMPLES

A key duty for us is to be independent in our advice and assistance to you as a client.
We also have a duty to keep your information confidential, plus a duty to disclose to you any information which we come into possession of which is material to your work.
The firm naturally owes these core duties to all clients equally.
We therefore become conflicted in situations where we cannot fully discharge these duties to different clients within the firm.

Example 1 – Confidential Information
Client Vendor tells us that they have become aware that there is asbestos in a part of the property which they are selling. Client Vendor tells us to keep this information from the Client Purchaser.
We are conflicted because the firm has both a duty to keep the information of Client Vendor confidential, and a duty to disclose this information to the Client Purchaser as it is material to their purchase. We cannot do both, and therefore need to decline to act further and to refer both parties to other law firms.

Example 2 – Opposing Interests
Client Purchaser has signed an unconditional agreement for purchase of a property, but has had finance withdrawn after the agreement was signed.
The Client Purchaser asks us to explain the situation to the Client Vendor and to request that the Purchaser be released from the agreement. In this situation we are not conflicted as the Vendor may also want to, or be prepared to, cancel the Agreement. Interests of both clients could therefore still be aligned (provided that both parties are fully advised on their rights and no information within the firm has been kept confidential from either party).
However, if the Client Vendor instructs us to enforce the agreement against the Client Purchaser, then we are conflicted as the interests of the parties are now opposed. We would then need to refer both parties to other firms.

Example 3 – Negotiating a Variation to an Agreement
Client Purchaser has a building inspection completed. We are instructed to see if the Client Vendor will agree to undertake some work before settlement, or alternatively, to agree to a reduction in the Purchase Price to reflect the work that needs to be undertaken.
Firstly, we are not builders and have not inspected the property. We are therefore not providing legal advice to either Vendor or Purchaser, apart from how a builders report condition works within an Agreement.
In this situation we are only aiding negotiations between the parties who will need to make their own commercial decisions about how to proceed. The interests of the parties are still aligned as both Vendor and Purchaser want to try and make the deal work. Also, all material information is being shared between the clients. We will therefore not consider this to be a conflict-of-interest situation.
If the Purchaser then instructs us to cancel the agreement because the negotiations do not result in an outcome with which they are happy, or if they instruct us to cancel the agreement on the basis that the builders report is not to their satisfaction, again this is not in itself a conflict.
If the Vendor then decides they want to challenge the Purchaser's cancellation, then we will be conflicted as the interests of the parties within the firm are opposed. We would need to decline to act further for either party.