After 5 successful years at Portland Place, London, on Monday 10^th October 2011 London Notary Public Practice M D Pryke will open a notary public office at 119-121 Park Lane, W1K 7AG.  The notarial services provided by this London notary will continue to provide a full legalisation and notary service.

The business is moving from its current location at Portland Place to a more prominent position in W1 and has chosen an iconic Park Lane address.  The Notary Publics London new office address will be 119-121 Park Lane, London W1K 7AG.  The relocation of this notary public practice will provide further accessibility to notary services both to individuals and businesses in the West End and also to clients in SW1, Victoria, Marble Arch and other surrounding locations in the City of Westminster.

Matthew Pryke, owner of M D Pryke Notary Public LLP commented “This is a very exciting step in the growth and expansion of our notary practice.  We have been located in Portland Place for the last five years.  The practice has continued to grow and it has become clear that the business and it’s clients would benefit from being located in this iconic part of London.  The offices in Park Lane are both accessible and luxurious.  The whole team are very much looking forward to moving to the new notary offices in October.”

The notary practice will continue to operate from its London office at One Portland Place until 30 September 2011.  For more information about this notary public practice and the notarisation and legalisation services offered please refer to the website at www.mdpryke-notary.com.

Notaries Public have to be aware of the current money laundering regulations and conduct their business accordingly.  Money laundering is something of a hot topic in law circles at the moment so MD Pryke Notary Public LLP has produced a series of articles designed to provide both Notaries and their clients with a broad understanding of the issues involved.

So, let’s tackle the definition of money laundering.  When the criminal receives the proceeds of crime they must search for a way to legitimise their windfall.  They do this by placing their money back into the financial system in order to disguise its origins and to appear as if it were the proceeds of a legitimate financial transaction.

This initial ‘placement’ of monies is often the easiest stage to detect that a crime has taken place so a Notary Public will take steps to ensure that they receive the correct level of identification before they can properly act.  If they suspect the motives of a client who, for example, wishes only to deal in cash without providing a reason for so doing, a Notary Public in London (or elsewhere, for that matter) is obliged to report their suspicions to the relevant authorities.  The procedure for this and the relevant contact details of the organisations involved will be published in future Notary Public London Guides.

The next stage in the money laundering process is often called layering, which is where a criminal will try to pass the money through a bewildering array of transactions designed to obscure its origins.

The final stage of which a Notary Public must be aware is the process of integration, whereby the criminal attempts to reintroduce the proceeds of his crime back into circulation, most often through a property transaction or by establishing a trading company.

For further details of money laundering regulations and how they affect a Notary Public in London, please contact Matthew Pryke through the usual channels or by calling 0207 636 4422.

Notary Public London, Matthew Pryke is also Head of Commercial and Intellectual Property Law at Wallace LLP.   Matthew featured in an article on Trademarks for the Sunday Times last weekend, and since then our switchboard has been inundated with calls from entrepreneurs and small business owners requiring a price list for Trademark applications.

Notary Public in London, Matthew Pryke, has produced this guide to Trademark application fees.

‘To make an application for a UK trademark will cost £200 for a single class of goods or services, and £50 for each additional class.

‘A ‘Class’ is defined as an area of operation.  So, for example, as a Notary Public London, when I applied for a Trademark to conduct the business of legal services it cost me £200.  If I wished to extend the Trademark application to cover, say, MD Pryke Notary Public LLP window cleaning services, it would cost me a further £50 to protect my trading name in this different (and highly improbable) area of operations.

‘As a Notary Public London I am not licensed to trade in a foreign country, but should a business wish to conduct trade across the EU, they would require a Community Trade Mark application which costs 900 Euros for up to 3 classes of goods and services, and 150 Euros for each subsequent class.

‘Of course, these prices indicate merely the cost of physically applying for a Trademark so expect to pay legal fees in addition to this figure.   These can vary widely but we suggest budgeting £1000 per application.

‘A Community Trade Mark will take approximately 6 -12 months from the date of application to the award of Trademark certificate and a UK Trademark will take 3 – 6 months.’

For further details on Trademark applications, IP Law or our Notary Public London service, please contact us via our website or by calling 0207 636 4422.

This is the second in a series of articles highlighting the differences in working practices between US Notary services and those in the United Kingdom.

Article 1 dealt with: The professional status of Notaries Public, the qualifications required to practice as a Notary, and the US concept of a ‘commission‘.

4. Notarial Duty of Care

One of the key distinctions between UK and US notaries public lies with the view of their respective legislatures concerning a Notary’s legal responsibility.

In the United States a Notary Public is not required to observe such a significant duty of care as UK Notary might be expected to.  In UK law, notaries are not only expected to understand each and every aspect of the documents that they notarize, but also have a duty of care to ensure that the signatory understands too.

This means that a UK notary has a far greater responsibility to a signatory, hence the need for professional indemnity insurance.

5. Legal protection and Insurance for Notaries

UK notaries are required to insure themselves through professional indemnity cover to a minimum level of £750,000.  In reality most UK notaries will carry several million pounds worth of professional indemnity insurance.

Notaries Public operating in the United States of America have no professional obligation to seek insurance, therefore incur significantly lower operating costs than their UK equivalents.

6. Notarial Fees

US notaries typically charge a fee of $5 to $10 per document.

The Faculty Office requires UK Notaries to “charge a reasonable fee which is appropriate for the services undertaken”.  Therefore most UK notaries will charge a fee of somewhere between £60 and £120 per document.  US citizens requiring a Notary in the UK should be aware that larger companies will charge Value Added Tax of 17.5% in addition to their ‘per document’ fee.

Anyone seeking clarification on US Notary vs UK Notary matters please refer to other instalments on this topic, or contact us via email.

As a UK Notary in London, I am often contacted by US citizens requesting a notarial service such as legalising a document, witnessing a document or issuing an apostille.

A UK Notary Public greatly differs from a US Notary however, so at M D Pryke Notary Public LLP we have decided to produce a series of articles illustrating the difference between US and UK Notary services.

1. Notaries Public Status

US Notaries are not regarded as a public authority.

A UK Notary is deemed to be a public official. Therefore, documents which have been notarized by a UK Notary Public can subsequently be legalised.  This process of legalisation is completed by the Foreign and Commonwealth office adding an apostille, or, alternatively, through various UK embassies.

2. Notary qualifications

In the United States of America, a Notary does not have to be legally qualified.  A US Notary may purchase their entitlement for a limited period.

A Notary Public in the UK is most often a lawyer too.  It is technically possible to qualify as a UK Notary without being, say, a Solicitor or Barrister, but one must sit an extensive series of examinations at considerable expense.

3. Notarial Commissions

In the United States a notary will pay a fee to practice for a predetermined length of time.  This period is referred to as the ‘commission’. For this reason, all US Notaries must include a reference to the expiry date of their commission.

British Notaries are qualified for an indefinite period.  Although English Notaries Public are issued with annual practicing certificates by their governing body, the Faculty Office, they are effectively a Notary for life.

To avoid any potential miscommunication, at M D Pryke Notary Public we include the phrase ‘my commission expires with life’ on all notarised documents pertaining to the United States.

For further information on the differences between UK Notaries and their North American counterparts please see other articles in this series, or alternatively contact us through the usual channels.

Okay, so you’ve been told that you need to legalise a document.  The chances are that you are doing business abroad and, because the documents relate to a different judicial system, you must have them officially legalised.  This effectively means that you are required to run the documents past an officially approved third party to validate their authenticity such as a UK Notary.

Matthew Pryke is a fully qualified UK Notary Public who provides a complete range of legalisation solutions and UK Notary services from his offices in London’s West End.  He has produced this brief guide to enable people who require a document to be legalised in the United Kingdom to fully understand their UK Notary legalisation options.

Five Legalisation tips everyone should know

1. Always obtain a legalisation fee quote in advance.   Any UK Notary should be able to give you a clear idea of how much the procedure will cost you in advance of retaining their services.

2. Shop around.  As with any consumer choice it pays to compare the legalisation marketplace.  Prices vary considerably.  Some UK Notaries charge VAT on their prices.  Others do not.  This will save you 17.5% of the fee before you even begin to compare services.

3. The legalisation process can be lengthy.  It may be necessary to queue for hours on end at certain Embassies and Consulates.  This may be acceptable if you can spare the time and manpower, otherwise your UK Notary may be able to recommend cost effective solutions to obtain this on your behalf.

4. Make sure that you give your UK Notary clear instructions as to the deadline for receiving the legalised documents. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (who administer apostilles) offer differing levels of service and cost depending on how quickly the documents must be legalised.  If your documents are not urgent, take care that you are not paying a premium for a service that you don’t require.

5. Ask questions.  Experienced UK Notaries Public will be aware that this may all be new to you and will be able to reassure you over any complexity that arises and to explain the issues in clear, plain English.

If you have any queries about the UK Legalisation process, please contact M D Pryke Notary Public LLP and they will be delighted to address your concerns.

The current weakness of the pound presents an excellent opportunity for investors from Saudi Arabia looking to do business in the UK.

A Notary can provide valuable assistance to corporations by legalising documents (also called apostille) to ensure that all official documents are verified.  UK Notary in London Matthew Pryke has worked extensively with Saudi businesses in his position as Head of Commercial and IP Law at Wallace LLP and through his London Notary practice.

He offers the following advice to any potential Saudi investors seeking a Notary in London to provide document legalisation services.

1. Notary publics must follow various procedures depending on which country the documents to be legalised originate.  This means that some commercial documents to be used in Saudi Arabia must be obtained through the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce as well as the Foreign and Commonwealth office.  This legalisation procedure must be followed by every Notary in London and other UK Notary.

2. Notary in London Matthew Pryke offers a same day service for the majority of Notary deeds.  He advises, however, that legalising documents from Saudi Arabia may take up to a week for a Notary to complete.

3. Notarizing documents that only require legalisation by the Consular Office of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia can be completed in one or two days.

4. Notary publics in London can charge a wide range of fees for legalising documents for use in Saudi Arabia.  UK Notary in London Matthew Pryke’s fees are £50 per document plus the consular fee.  The document to be legalised must first be certified by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office where the fee for certification is £69 per document.

5. Two photocopies are required of each document to be legalized and the name and address of the consignee or agent must appear on each document.