General Terms and Conditions
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TERMS AND CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH FT-ADVOCATEN CARRIES OUT ITS ASSIGNMENTS
- FT-advocaten, with offices at Keizer Karelplein 32N, 6511 NH Nijmegen, represents you and/or the legal entities and/or bodies affiliated with you, as chosen counsel or attorney in the legal proceedings for which you have requested assistance and/or representation.
- Assignments are confirmed by FT-advocaten in a letter of engagement, which sets out the agreements and the fee.
- These terms and conditions apply to all assignments, including supplementary and follow-up assignments, carried out by FT-advocaten, unless FT-advocaten has expressly agreed otherwise in writing prior to such assignment. Any (general) terms and conditions applied by you shall not be applicable.
- The performance of the assignments provided is solely for you or the legal entities and/or bodies affiliated with you. Third parties cannot derive any rights therefrom.
- Our method of working entails that one lawyer is responsible for the progress of the case. This lawyer also determines whether—disregarding Articles 7:404 and 7:407 of the Dutch Civil Code—due to specific developments in the case, the involvement and work of a colleague within the firm is required at any given time.
Fee - The work performed will be charged to you based on the number of hours spent multiplied by the hourly rate communicated to you in the letter of engagement. This rate may be adjusted from time to time, of which you will be notified in advance.
- For extensive secretarial support (including copying voluminous records), we charge an hourly rate of €50. In addition to the fee, office costs such as telephone, fax and postage expenses will be charged.
These amount to 6% of the fee. - Other expenses, such as travel and accommodation costs, fees of external experts engaged through FT-advocaten, and disbursements, will be charged to you separately and in full. All amounts are exclusive of VAT.
Urgent Work / Successful assistance - In the event of urgent work, the hourly rate may be increased by a factor of 0.5 to 1. If the work performed results in a very positive outcome, the fee may be increased in full by a factor agreed upon in advance.
Retainer Deposit - To cover the (performed and yet to be performed) work and costs, a retainer deposit must be paid. Work will only be carried out once the deposit has been received in the FT-advocaten account.
- The engagement with FT-advocaten will only be accepted after payment of this deposit. No interest will be paid on the deposit. If circumstances require, FT-advocaten may request an additional deposit. The deposit will not be set off against interim invoices during the course of the assignment. Any remaining balance after completion of the assignment and payment of the final invoice will be refunded to you.
Invoicing / Payment Term - The work performed and costs incurred will, in principle, be invoiced to you on a monthly basis. Invoices must be paid within fourteen days.
Consequences of Non-Payment of Invoices - If interim or final invoices are not paid within the payment term, FT-advocaten may suspend work on your behalf until the invoices are settled. In such cases, FT-advocaten may apply the deposit towards payment of the outstanding invoices.
- If the deposit is insufficient, FT-advocaten is not required to resume work until the deposit has been replenished. Before FT-advocaten resumes work (after the deposit has been offset against outstanding invoices), a new deposit must be paid.
- If, after repeated reminders, invoices remain unpaid, statutory interest from the due date of the invoice(s) as well as any (collection) costs will be charged to you, and FT-advocaten may terminate the engagement.
Joint and several liability of client and affiliated legal entities - If the assignment is provided on behalf of a legal entity or body affiliated with you, then you, as well as the director(s) or representative(s) of that legal entity or body, will be personally and jointly liable alongside that legal entity or body for payment of the invoice(s).
No state-funded legal aid - You may be entitled to free legal aid under the Dutch Legal Aid Act (Wet op de Rechtsbijstand). Unless otherwise agreed with you in writing, you have chosen not to make use of this state-funded legal aid. These (financial) terms and conditions therefore remain fully applicable.
Limitation of liability - All liability of FT-advocaten is limited to the amount paid in the relevant case under FT-advocaten’s applicable professional liability insurance, plus the amount of the deductible that, under the terms of the policy, is borne by FT-advocaten. FT-advocaten is not liable for any damage not covered by its professional liability insurance.
Confidentiality - We are obliged to keep any information and data provided by or on behalf of you confidential from third parties who are not involved in the execution of the assignment.
- This obligation does not apply insofar as we are subject to a legal or professional duty to disclose, including the reporting obligations arising from the Dutch Act on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van terrorisme) and/or other national or international regulations of similar effect. This provision does not prevent confidential professional consultation within our firm, insofar as we consider it necessary for the careful execution of the assignment or for compliance with legal or professional obligations.
Engaging third parties - In executing the assignment, performing the work, and engaging third parties—particularly external experts—FT-advocaten will exercise due care and, as far as possible, will consult with you beforehand, except in cases of solicitor, bailiff, or professional assistance. Any liability of FT-advocaten for shortcomings of these third parties is expressly excluded.
Method of storing correspondence - We request that all correspondence with us be stored in a separate folder, and that the following be clearly indicated on the outside of the folder:
CONFIDENTIAL CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE SOLICITOR
This ensures that it is clear to everyone, including law enforcement officers (such as those from the FIOD), that this correspondence must not be accessed or seized. Only by following this instruction consistently can correspondence with your solicitor remain confidential.
Governing law - The legal relationship between you, or any legal entities or bodies affiliated with you, and FT-advocaten is governed exclusively by Dutch law.
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