Legal and regulatory notices
This section of the website provides information about the RPC Businesses which offer legal services, how they are regulated, their offices around the world, how to make a complaint and other important regulatory and legal matters.
About the RPC Businesses
The RPC Businesses are a network of affiliated firms, including Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain in Hong Kong and RPC Premier Law Pte Ltd in Singapore. Further details of each Business are provided below.
Our services in England & Wales
Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP (trading name "RPC")
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primarily provides legal services to clients advising on the law of England & Wales
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trading as "The Centre for Legal Leadership" or "CLL", RPC also offers education, mentoring and support services for in-house lawyers
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has offices in London and Bristol
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is a limited liability partnership registered in England & Wales under company number OC317402 (details of its LLP registration can be viewed at www.companieshouse.gov.uk)
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has its registered address at Tower Bridge House, St Katharine's Way, London E1W 1AA, telephone: +44 (0) 20 3060 6000, fax: +44 (0) 20 3060 7000
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is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority of England & Wales ("SRA") (ID number: 440566) and is subject to the provisions of the SRA's Standards and Regulations 2019, a copy which can be found on the SRA's website at https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/
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is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority; however, it is included on the register maintained by the Financial Conduct Authority so that it can carry on insurance distribution activity, which is broadly the advising on, selling and administration of insurance contracts, and this part of its business, including arrangements for complaints or redress if something goes wrong, is regulated by Solicitors Regulation Authority (which is the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society, a designated professional body for the purpose of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000); the register can be accessed via the Financial Conduct Authority website at http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register/epfSearchForm.do (EPF reference number LS 440566)
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is not authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 but it is able, in certain circumstances, to offer a limited range of investment services to clients because it is a member of the Law Society, which is a designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000; it can provide these investment services if they are an incidental part of the professional services that it has been engaged to provide
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is registered with the Information Commissioner as a data controller. Its registration number is Z6620421
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has VAT number GB 325 0949 05
Our services in Hong Kong
Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (trading name "RPC")
- practises Hong Kong law
- is a partnership formed under Hong Kong law
- has its principal place of business at 3504-06 35/F One Taikoo Place, 979 King's Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong - telephone +852 2216 7000 fax +852 2216 7001
- is registered with and regulated by The Law Society of Hong Kong
- is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority of England & Wales
- "Expertise" – Any reference to "expertise" does not claim or suggest that any individual is an expert or that his or her practice includes an expertise. Practice refers to (for example) – knowledge, qualifications, experience or area(s) of practice.
Our services in Singapore
RPC Premier Law Pte Limited (trading name "RPC Premier Law")
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practises the law of Singapore (within the confines permitted by the Singaporean regulatory regime) and the law of England & Wales
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is a private limited company registered in Singapore under company number UEN 201605186H
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has its registered address is 12 Marina Boulevard, #38-04 Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3, Singapore 018982, telephone: +65 6422 3000, fax: +65 6422 3099
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is a joint law venture between Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP and Premier Law LLC (which also has its registered address at 12 Marina Boulevard)
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is regulated by the Legal Services Regulatory Authority of Singapore under the umbrella of the Ministry of Law, The Treasury, #08-02, 100 High Street (S) 179434, Singapore 179434 and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore;
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is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority of England & Wales
General
Partners
With reference to a RPC Business, we use the word “partner” to describe an individual who is a partner (if a partnership), a member (if a limited liability partnership), a director (if a company), or who is an employee with equivalent status. A list of partners for each RPC Business is available on request, and upon inspection at the main (or registered) office of each RPC Business.
Insurance
The professional indemnity insurers for the RPC Businesses listed above are Aviva Insurance Limited, St Helens, 1 Undershaft, London EC3P 3DQ. The territorial coverage of the policy is worldwide and it complies with the applicable requirements of the legal services regulators in England & Wales, Hong Kong and Singapore. Please refer to our General Counsel & Partner, Reshma Raja, for further details of the insurance and how to contact insurers.
RPC in Hong Kong also has professional indemnity insurance with The Hong Kong Solicitors Indemnity Fund (HKSIF).
Holding client money
Any money received by a RPC Business from or on behalf of a client (other than that paid in settlement of the charges or expenses incurred by the RPC Business on the client's behalf) or held on a client's behalf (“client money”) will be held in the client account of the RPC Business.
In relation to clients of Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP, we normally hold client money in an instant access account unless we have specifically agreed in writing other arrangements with the client. As a result, the interest earned on it is correspondingly low. We will not pay interest on general client money if the amount calculated on the balance held is £20 or less.
Complaints
Our complaints policy, generally
If you are a client and you are concerned with any aspect of the service or charges of a RPC Business, then you should first speak to the individual with overall responsibility for supervising your matter. That individual will usually be identified in your engagement letter. If you prefer, you can raise your concerns and send any complaints about any RPC Business to the following named managing partners for each RPC Business:
- James Miller, RPC in England
- Antony Sassi, RPC in Hong Kong
- Mark Errington or Navin Joseph Lobo, RPC in Singapore
A copy of the complaints policy for each RPC Business is available on request.
Complaints concerning Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP in England
If we are unable to resolve your complaint or if you are dissatisfied with the handling of your complaint by Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP, then you may be entitled to ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider your complaint. The Legal Ombudsman’s postal address is PO Box 6167 Slough SL1 0EH and its telephone number is 0300 555 0333. The Legal Ombudsman service is available to members of the public and some small businesses, charities, clubs and trusts. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case. Any referral to the Legal Ombudsman must be made within six months of Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP's response to your complaint. Section 2 of the Legal Ombudsman’s Scheme Rules provides more information about timing and eligibility to make complaints and about the procedures generally. These Scheme Rules available on the Legal Ombudsman’s website (www.legalombudsman.org.uk).
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, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:
- Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint
and
- No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or
- No more than three years from the date when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.
However, from 1 April 2023, the above time limits are changing such that a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must be made:
- Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint
and
- No more than one year from the date of act/omission; or
- No more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.
If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them. As mentioned above, the Legal Ombudsman’s postal address is PO Box 6167 Slough SL1 0EH and its telephone number is 0300 555 0333 and its email is enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.
The entitlement to complain extends to a complaint about the bill of Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP. There may be a right to object to the bill by making a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, or by applying to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. The Legal Ombudsman may not deal with a complaint about a bill if you have applied to the court for assessment of that bill.
Alternatively, the Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour.
You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Complaints concerning Reynolds Porter Chamberlain in Hong Kong
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your complaint by Reynolds Porter Chamberlain and it arises out of an allegation of professional misconduct then you may ask the Conduct Section of The Law Society of Hong Kong to consider your complaint. You may also have a right to apply to have the charges of Reynolds Porter Chamberlain taxed (which means assessed) by the Court.
Complaints concerning RPC Premier Law Pte Ltd in Singapore
You may make a written complaint relating to professional misconduct or inadequate professional services to the Law Society of Singapore.