Terms of Business
Published and Last Updated: 21 October 2025
1. PROVISION OF OUR SERVICES
1.1 Our Services
The purpose of this document is to record the terms on which we, Alt Legal Consultants
FZ-LLC, trade name “Ape Law”
, will supply legal and non-legal services to you. These terms
of business apply to all matters on which we act for you, unless otherwise agreed. This
document will usually be supplemented by one or more letters of engagement setting out
terms specific to the engagement, such as the scope, our fees, and the Ape Law entity or
office engaged to provide the advice. The terms of letters of engagement take precedence
over these standard terms.
1.2 Our client is only ever the party or parties named in an engagement letter, unless otherwise
agreed in writing.
2. YOUR TEAM AND YOUR DUTIES
2.1 The Team
We will appoint a Client Relationship Lawyer with overall responsibility for the quality of our
service. A Lead Lawyer will have responsibility for the supervision of each matter, and you will
be notified of the Lead Lawyer for each matter. An Implementation Lead will have
responsibility for any matters that relate to implementation of non-legal services,and you will
be notified of the Implementation Lead for each matter. We shall also tell you the names of
any other lawyers or non-lawyers who will be principally involved in the day-to-day conduct of
each matter. We may, from time to time, involve other lawyers, non lawyers or consultants of
appropriate skill and experience to assist. The Lead Lawyer will agree with you as to the
timing and content of progress reports, where they are appropriate.
2.2 Your Duties
We ask you to ensure that all information provided to us is, to the best of your knowledge,
complete, accurate and up to date, and supplied as quickly as possible. You must safeguard
documents which are likely to be relevant to a matter. You agree to give us reasonable, clear
and prompt instructions.
3. FEES
3.1 Our Fees - Fixed Fee or Hourly Rate
Ape Law’s fees will be calculated on the basis specified in any engagement letter or as
otherwise agreed with you. Wherever possible we strive to offer fixed fee arrangements
because these produce certainty for our clients. If a fixed fee is agreed with you, we shall
state the scope of our work and other relevant terms on which the fixed fee is based. If these
terms are not met, Ape Law will be entitled to adjust the fee to reflect the change of
circumstance. Where it is not possible or practical to offer you a fixed fee arrangement, we will
propose an hourly rate. Where urgent or emergency turnaround or deadlines are involved, a
50% uplift on personnel’s hourly rates apply where such work requires weekend work, and a
100% uplift applies on personnel’s hourly rates where such work requires work while
personnel are on holiday leave.
3.2 Fee Estimate
A fee estimate is different to a fixed fee arrangement. If we have provided you with a fee
estimate, this is for planning purposes and is not contractually binding.
3.3 Disbursements and Costs
Costs we incur on your behalf, such as counsel and other law firm fees, contractors fees,
travel costs, court fees, stamp duty land tax, and any similar taxes, will be charged to you in
addition to our fees. These are referred to in our invoices as disbursements. We also charge
additional costs incurred by us in providing our services, such as in-house copying and
printing, research databases charges, and telephone calls. These additional costs may
include an element of profit. Please let us know if you would like further information as to the
rates we charge for such items. Where third-party advisers, such as other law firms, counsel,
or experts, are engaged by us, they will be engaged by us either acting as your agent, or for
your benefit, and you will be responsible for their fees in addition to our own, either directly or
to us. Normally, we will ask you to pay us money on account before we instruct a third party
for you.
3.4 Payments on Account
We may ask you to pay money on account of third-party costs, and our fees, at the start of a
matter or during the course of a matter. Money paid on account will be credited to you on
delivery of the final invoice but we may, at our discretion, use such funds to settle our interim
invoices and the invoices of third parties engaged by us for you, and if we do, you normally
will be asked to make a further payment on account. Where you pay us money on account for
a specific purpose (such as to pay a third party), once the specific purpose no longer applies,
we are entitled to hold any remaining funds generally on account of our fees and other costs,
and we may use such funds to settle any of our invoices.
3.5 Banking
We will have no responsibility to you or to any other person for the credit failure or other acts
or omissions of any banking institution with which we deposit monies on your behalf, nor of
any banking institution involved in the transfer of such monies, nor for any failure or any
disruption to any payment or electronic systems used for any such monies to be transferred.
In the event of the failure of a bank holding your funds placed by us, you may be eligible for
compensation under government compensation schemes if you meet the conditions of any
such scheme. We will never tell you of changes to our bank account details by phone or email
only. Please inform us if you receive any communication purporting to be from us stating we
have changed our bank account details or payment arrangements.
3.6 Tax
All fees are subject to Value Added Tax (VAT) (if applicable) or similar taxes, which is payable
by you. Third-party costs may also attract VAT or similar taxes. Our invoices are to be paid
free of any withholding or deduction in respect of taxes or duties. If you are required by law to
withhold or deduct tax, the amount of each invoice is to be treated as increased to the extent
necessary so that, after any withholding or deduction, we receive and retain a net sum equal
to the amount of our invoice.
3.7 Invoicing
Ape Law normally submits invoices for payment up front and prior to the commencement of
your matter. Where a monthly retainer has been proposed and agreed, Ape Law submits an
invoice at the beginning of the month in which the work is to be completed. Monthly invoices
are based on the fixed fee allocated to the matter, as disclosed and agreed in our
Engagement Letter. We will indicate in our Engagement Letter if time based recordings form
part of our agreement. If the Engagement Letter is silent as to this matter, then we do not
capture and record time on your matter. Time, expenses and disbursements (as applicable)
omitted from an invoice may be included in a future invoice.
3.8 Payment and Source of Funds
We do not accept cash payments to settle our invoices or to pay us money on account. All
payments to us must be made in USDC or USDT to our wallet address indicated on our
invoice, unless we specifically agree otherwise. Cash payments and payments made by bank
transfer may only be made by express agreement with us. Unless we specify otherwise, they
will attract a 2.0% fee and may only be made by prior written agreement. We may need to
raise enquiries as to the source of your funds and that of any other party involved in a matter,
and we may seek identification evidence from any party to which you ask us to make
payments or where you ask us to accept payments from them on your behalf. We may need
to hold funds provided by you or on your behalf pending consent from appropriate authorities.
You must bear all costs of transmitting payments in respect of our invoices to us, which should
therefore be made gross of any and all bank, exchange, agent or other intermediary’s
charges. Our invoices are payable in the digital currency in which they are submitted (in most
if not all cases USDT). Unless otherwise specified, all Ape Law invoices are payable in
advance and when costs have been incurred on your behalf; therefore Ape Law’s invoices
(whether interim or final) are payable on receipt by you. If payment of an invoice is not made
within 30 days of delivery to you or if a request for a payment on account is not met within any
time period specified by us:
● Ape Law may suspend services or withhold delivery on any or all matters or terminate
any or all engagements in accordance with paragraph 4.2; and
● Ape Law may also charge you interest on any amount not paid after 30 days at a rate of
3% per annum above the base rate of Barclays Bank Plc from time to time or, if that
base rate is discontinued, a similar rate reasonably selected by us.
3.9 Liability for Payment
You may agree with a third party that it will pay the fees and costs incurred on a matter. In the
event that such other party does not pay within the time period specified, you will be required
to pay the outstanding fees and costs. All our invoices will be addressed to you. If you instruct
Ape Law together with others, Ape Law will be entitled to seek payment in full for the total
amount of fees, expenses and other costs from you alone.
3.10 Audit Responses
You may ask us to provide information for the purpose of your annual audit. If our response
takes us significant time, we may charge you for our time spent, at our standard hourly rates.
4. TERMINATION
4.1 By You
4.2 By Us
You may ask us to cease to act at any time. We ask you to notify the Lead Lawyer.
We shall only stop working for you where we consider we have good reason, such as:
● if you do not pay an invoice within a reasonable time or meet a request for a payment
on account; or
● we have good cause to cease acting such as you fail to comply with your duties or our
continuing to act would be unethical, or put us in breach of a legal or regulatory duty.
We shall give you reasonable notice that we are to stop representing you, but there may be
circumstances in which we must cease acting but are unable to give you reasons or notice.
4.3 Effect of Termination and Ceasing to Act
On termination you must still pay Ape Law’s fees, disbursements and other costs up to the
date when we stop working for you even if the matter is not yet complete or the agreed timefor payment has not been reached. Until we have been fully paid, on completion of a matter or
termination, even if any time period for payment has not yet expired, we shall be entitled to
exercise a lien over (meaning we can retain) money, papers, deeds, books and information
(including information stored electronically) of yours, whether or not relating to the matter on
which we were representing you. Termination may have effect in relation to one matter or to
all matters on which we are then working for you. You will cease to be a client when our work
on a matter is complete or following termination, but we may continue from time to time to
inform you about developments in the law which may be of interest, and invite you to
seminars or other events.
5. REPRESENTING OTHER CLIENTS AND CONFIDENTIALITY
5.1 Acting for Other Clients
You acknowledge, and where required by applicable rules of ethics you agree (and in doing so
you acknowledge that you have provided us with an effective conflict waiver of future
conflicts), we are permitted to represent other persons or entities whose interests are, or may
become, adverse (in litigation, transactions or otherwise) to you, or any of your affiliates, in
matters that are not substantially related to matters on which we are instructed by you, unless
otherwise agreed in writing. You further agree that we may act for parties that we act against
for you (be that in transactions or litigation) so long as we protect your confidential information
and, where required by applicable ethical rules, obtain that other client’s agreement not to
object to our continued representation of you. If we ask for your agreement for us to act in any
given situation, you agree we are not waiving our reliance on this paragraph for future
matters.
5.2 Clients with Competing Interests
Some of our current or future clients are likely to operate in the same industry or sector as
you, and may have interests which are adverse to you. You accept that we may act for such
other clients. Where you request us to act for you on a matter where you are one of a number
of parties competing for the same asset (for example, in a tender or corporate auction or in an
insolvency situation), you agree that we may act for other parties on the same matter provided
we comply with applicable ethical rules.
5.3 Confidential Information
You agree that we may share your confidential information within Ape Law (see
https://ape.law/ for details), unless regulation or law require otherwise; and any Ape Law entity
which accesses your confidential information will owe you a duty of confidentiality. Other than
disclosure within Ape Law, as provided in these terms, with your consent, or as required by
law or regulation, we shall keep all information obtained from you and which is not in the
public domain, confidential. We owe similar duties to other clients and former clients. You
accept that we are under no obligation to disclose to you or use for your benefit confidential
information we have or may obtain from acting for any other client. You agree that you will not
seek to prevent us from acting for any other client on the grounds that we hold your
confidential information, so long as we have appropriate safeguards for your information. If
you provide us with sensitive commercial information, such as inside or price- sensitive
information, which must be handled in accordance with specific regulatory requirements, you
must notify us.
5.4 Third Party Service Providers
We may use third party service providers to help us with aspects of our services which include
legal drafting, non-legal analysis, document review, data hosting, processing or storage
(including ‘cloud’ service providers). We shall ensure all such providers operate under service
agreements that are consistent with our legal and professional obligations, including in
relation to confidentiality, privacy and data protection. If you instruct us to use a third party
chosen by you for any aspect of a matter, we are not responsible for the security of data
provided to that party or the service.
5.5 PublicityWe may wish to mention in our marketing materials that we have acted for you and include
information about the work undertaken for you. You expressly consent to us including your
company logo on our website as an indication that you are or were a client of Ape Law. You
expressly consent to us specifying details in our marketing material about how we have acted
for you and to include information about the work undertaken for you, if that information is
already in the public domain. We may include details of the work we have undertaken for you
in proposals or presentations to existing or prospective clients or other parties, but will do so
on a confidential basis.
5.6 Insurance, Audit and Disclosure
We may be required to disclose your confidential information to insurers and advisors
appointed by us. External organizations appointed by us or with authority over us may
conduct audit or quality checks on our practice from time to time, which may include your
matter. We will require that insurers, advisors or external organizations maintain confidentiality
in relation to any files and papers which are disclosed.
6. COMPLIANCE AND REGULATION
6.1 Electronic Communications
You accept the risk that electronic communications cannot be guaranteed to be delivered,
may not be secure or error free, and can be delayed or received by other than the intended
recipients, and we shall have no liability for these risks unless caused by our negligence or
wilful default. We monitor electronic communications to you; we refer you to our Privacy Policy
on https://ape.law/.
6.2 Document Retention
On your request, we will provide you with the records relating to a matter (provided that we
have been fully paid). We do not undertake to retain your records for any particular period of
time, but you understand that we may retain such for our own purposes (in any format). You
agree that we may hold records containing personal data, usually that obtained to meet the
requirements identified at paragraph 6.5, for a period of 16 years, or longer if required for legal
reasons. We may destroy records of any type, without further notice to you, unless you have
specifically asked us to retain them. If you would like us to keep documents for you following
completion of a matter, please contact us to make arrangements. We may charge a
reasonable amount to cover our costs. If you ask us to retrieve, for your purposes, records we
hold concerning your matter, we may charge you for our time spent in retrieval and review.
6.3 Ownership
You are free to use, and copy for your use only, all documentation created in the course of
any matter, but all copyright and other intellectual property rights in all materials created by
Ape Law or on our behalf will vest in and are retained by Ape Law. Advice and documentation
in relation to any matter on which we have advised you may be shared within Ape Law for
knowhow purposes, but this will not affect our duty of confidentiality to you.
6.4 Personal Data Protection
We will use your personal data (and that of your employees and related persons) primarily to
provide legal and non-legal consulting services to you, but also for related purposes as
described in our Privacy Policy at https://ape.law/. Please read our Privacy Policy as it
contains information on what personal data we collect and how that data is collected, and on
what grounds, who we share personal data with including third party service providers, our
transfer of personal data within Ape Law, an individual’s rights in relation to the personal data
we hold, and how to contact us with any queries or concerns in relation to personal data. Ape
Law is the data controller for the personal data we hold concerning you, your employees or
related persons, for the purpose of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or other similar privacy laws, to the extent that they are applicable. Where you share personal
data with us, you confirm that you are permitted to do so under applicable data protection
laws.
6.5 Our records and file data
We prepare internal documents in the course of our engagement with you. These form our
working papers and records. Please note that we record virtual calls (but are not obliged to do
so) to ensure accuracy of instructions and for practice management purposes and that these
records form part of our working documentation. Your agreement to these terms is your
express consent permitting us to do so. Without it, UAE laws expressly forbid recording of
conversations.
6.6 Identification and Reporting
To meet our legal obligations and to avoid risks associated with financial crime, we are
required to obtain evidence of your identity and sometimes that of others, such as owners or
your counterparties. We use online databases, and may ask you for documents and details,
for the purposes of obtaining identification and ownership evidence. We retain this information
and related documents as set out in paragraph 6.2, and we may be asked to provide it to
others to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations. Information we obtain for these
purposes may be shared with other Ape Law entities for the same purposes. We may not be
able to act for you, or may have to cease acting, if satisfactory identification evidence is not
provided within a reasonable time period. We are required to make reports to law enforcement
agencies and regulators if we have concerns, and we may not be able to discuss such reports
with you. We will not be liable to you for any loss or damage which you incur as a result of our
making a report which may include delay in our acting on your instructions (such as paying
funds held on your behalf to other parties).
6.7 Financial Services
Ape Law does not conduct activities which require it to be authorised by an authority which
regulates financial services. We are retained only to provide legal and non-legal consulting
advice in relation to digital asset projects. Nothing we say or do should be construed as an
invitation or inducement to engage in investment activities, or as advice on the investment
merits of acquiring or disposing of particular investments.
7. LIMITATIONS ON OUR LIABILITY
7.1 Terms and Parties
Ape Law is a limited liability company regulated by RAKEZ and the Courts of RAK and further
to Ape Law’s trade license, Ape Law is permitted to offer legal consultancy services and
provide legal advice and consulting services in respect of the laws of the UAE. Any reference
in these terms of business or any other Ape Law document, or any oral reference, to a person
who is a partner, is a reference to a member of Ape Law, or a partner or director of an
associated entity, or an employee of any of them of equivalent standing. References in this
paragraph 7 to an Ape Law Person is a reference to a partner, consultant, or an employee or
an associate of Alt Legal Consultants FZ-LLC or a partner, director, consultant, employee or
associate of the Alt Legal Consultants FZ-LLC-associated entity named in any engagement
letter. References to Ape Law in this paragraph 7 shall be read as references to Alt Legal
Consultants FZ-LLC (trade license number 47007743) or the entity named in any engagement
letter.
7.2 Liability
Ape Law is fully responsible for the legal and non-legal services provided to you by it and by
any Ape Law Person, unless your engagement letter states otherwise. You agree that an Ape
Law Person will not have any personal legal liability for the services carried on by Ape Law.
You agree that any claim brought in respect of a matter on which Ape Law is instructed orinvolved will be made against the Ape Law entity you instruct, and you will not make a claim
against any Ape Law Person or any other Ape Law entity or connected person. If,
notwithstanding this clause, you make a claim against any Ape Law Person or any other Ape
Law entity or connected person, or they otherwise incur liability to you in connection with the
services provided to you, you agree that the exclusions and limitations of liability set out in this
paragraph 7 (or as otherwise agreed in writing with you) shall be directly enforceable by any
Ape Law Person, and any and all Ape Law entities and connected persons, in the event of any
such claim or liability, and that the liability of a Ape Law Person or any and all Ape Law entities
or connected persons shall be limited to the fullest extent permitted by law.
7.3 Limitation of Liability
The aggregate liability of Ape Law (and any Ape Law Person or other Ape Law entities or
connected persons) in respect of all causes of action arising in connection with the services
provided by Ape Law will not exceed the fees paid by you for the work completed by Ape Law
or, if there is a figure noted in any engagement letter or other communication provided by us,
that figure shall apply. In this paragraph 7, Ape Law is not seeking to limit or exclude its
liability (or that of any Ape Law Person or other Ape Law entities or connected persons) if
such exclusion or limitation is not permitted by applicable law (such as laws precluding
exclusions for personal injury or death or fraud) or rules of professional conduct which do not
permit limitations or exclusions of liability between lawyer and client, to the extent only that
such are applicable to the services provided to you. Where you and others instruct us, the
limit of liability will be allocated between you and these other clients.
7.4 Third Parties and Reliance
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, our advice and any documents we prepare are for use
only in connection with the specific matter on which we are instructed, can only be relied on
by you and reflect the law in force at the relevant time. We accept no liability to any third party,
unless we specifically agree otherwise in writing. If we do so agree, the limits on our liability as
set out in this paragraph 7 will apply (or in any related engagement letter), and the limit set out
at paragraph 7.3 (or in any related communication), will be apportioned between you and the
third party. Nothing in these terms of business (or any related communication) shall confer or
purport to confer any benefit or the right to enforce any term on a third party (other than a Ape
Law Person, Ape Law entity or any connected person), unless we have agreed in writing as
referred to above.
7.5 Contribution to Loss and Sharing Limit
Without prejudice to paragraphs 7.2 and 7.3, where Ape Law shares responsibility with others
on a matter, Ape Law’s liability for any losses or claims in relation to the matter shall be limited
to that proportion of any losses which it would be just and equitable to pay having regard to
the extent of Ape Law’s responsibility for the loss. Our share of liability will not be increased
because a claim cannot be made against others who are also responsible for any loss,
because such parties are insolvent or have contractually or otherwise excluded or restricted
their liability or are uninsured. We accept no liability for the advice or services provided by
third parties, even if we have engaged any of them on your behalf.
7.6 Exceptional Circumstances
We shall not be liable for any failure to fulfill our obligations caused by circumstances outside
of our reasonable control, which include but are not limited governmental/freezone rejections
of your license application, of an individual director or UBO or other representative. All
licensing matters are discretionary and ultimately in the hands of the Freezone/Regulator,
accordingly we do not issue refunds on fees for services relating to license applications or that
otherwise involve final approval to be awarded by a freezone or other regulatory authority.
Appeals of the decision of the regulator or freezone, and additional work to overturn a
decision of a regulatory authority falls outside the scope of standard license engagements and
will attract additional fees should you wish for us to advance such matters on your behalf.
8. QUALITY OF SERVICE AND CONCERNS8.1 Your Concerns
We value your instructions and aim to meet or exceed your expectations of service and quality
of work. If you have any concerns about any aspect of our service (including the level of our
fees), please raise the issue immediately with your Client Relationship Partner. If the Client
Relationship Partner does not resolve the matter to your satisfaction or, if you would prefer not
to discuss the matter with the Client Relationship Partner, we refer you to our website for
contact details of those appointed to deal with client concerns. We have a complaints handling
procedure, which is available on your request.
9. GOVERNING LAW AND DISPUTES
9.1 Applicable Law
These terms of business, and your relationship with us, and any dispute or claim arising out of
or in connection with these terms of business and our relationship with you (including
non-contractual disputes or claims), will be governed by and interpreted in accordance with
the laws of England and Wales.
9.2 Disputes
Subject to paragraph 9.3, any dispute, suits, actions or proceedings arising out of or in
connection with this engagement letter and any contractual and non-contractual obligations,
you and Ape Law irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Abu Dhabi Global
Market Courts.
9.3 Fees
You agree that we may proceed against you for unpaid fees in accordance with the procedure
in paragraph 9.2, or in the courts of any jurisdiction in which you or your assets are located.
9.4 Third Parties
This paragraph 9 shall be binding upon any party who intends to claim against us in relation to
our legal or non-legal services.
10. AMENDMENTS, SEVERABILITY AND ASSIGNMENT
10.1 Amendments
Amendments to these terms of business may be made with your consent and in writing
signed by one of our partners. We may amend these terms from time to time on notice to you;
the amended terms will apply to matters commenced after such notice.
10.2 Severability
If any one of these terms (or any term of an engagement letter) is or becomes illegal, invalid
or unenforceable, that shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other terms of this
document or any engagement letter.
10.3 Assignment
Our obligations may be performed in whole or in part by any Ape Law entity; subject to that,
neither we nor you may transfer or assign any right or obligation under these terms of
business or any engagement letter, without the other’s prior written consent.
Alt Legal Consultants FZ-LLC trading as Ape Law in the UAE is regulated by RAKEZ and the Courts
of RAK and further to Ape Law’s trade license (47007743), Ape Law is permitted to offer legal
consultancy services and provide legal advice in respect of the laws of the UAE.
All rights reserved.