General conditions
§1. PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT is a collaboration between law firms offering their services on an independent basis (a group of lawyers as intended in the Deontological Codex for lawyers).
§2. If the client uses the services of a lawyer active in the firm, it is assumed that an agreement has been concluded between the client and the member of the firm for which the concerned lawyer acts:
- LEXAUR BV, Velodroomstraat 220, 1770 LIEDEKERKE, business number 0723.453.615; or
- IGNACE PELGRIMS BV, Bondgenotenlaan 132, 3000 LEUVEN, business number 0776.667.617.
All lawyers active at the firm are admitted to a bar associated with the Dutch Order of Lawyers and/or the French-speaking Order of Lawyers.
Scope These general terms and conditions apply to all services provided by the lawyers working at PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT to its clients. The contractual relationship exists between the client and a member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT acting as dominus litis, even if the client only has contact with one or more specific lawyers working at PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT.
In the event of a contradiction, these general terms and conditions will prevail over any differing general terms and conditions of the client. Agreements that deviate from one or more provisions of these general terms and conditions will only replace the provision or provisions from which they deviate. The remaining provisions remain fully applicable.
Purpose of the Service The services of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT may include, but are not limited to, providing advice, assistance in mediation, assistance in negotiations, assistance in proceedings, assistance in expert investigations, acting as a proxy. The parties will clearly discuss the precise object of the services of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT at the start of the activities and, if necessary, during their further execution.
The lawyers active at PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT will make reasonable efforts in their services to the client to deliver their performances within the timeframe indicated by the client, in accordance with the lawful instructions of the client and with the necessary diligence that can reasonably be expected of them under the given circumstances. They do not undertake to achieve specific results. The client undertakes to provide all relevant and necessary information, facts, circumstances, or data needed for the execution of the performances spontaneously throughout the duration of the assignment. To serve the client as well and efficiently as possible, the services of another lawyer with whom PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT has a collaboration relationship may be used.
The client accepts that the relevant member for the execution of his assignment may call upon other lawyers or outsource certain tasks.
Services are provided for the benefit of the client, and third parties cannot derive any rights from them.
Internal Task Distribution Unless the client expressly objects, PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT is free to internally distribute files or certain aspects of them among its employee-lawyers. This internal distribution will be done as much as possible according to the preferred matters of the lawyers and/or the wishes of the client. Where necessary, teamwork is used. The dominus litis always retains supervision over the file.
Information The client provides the dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT, both at the beginning of the agreement and during its duration, if requested by PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT, promptly all information required to enable the optimal execution of its services. Members of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT are not liable for damage resulting from incorrect or incomplete information provided by the client.
If the client, after being requested by a member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT, fails to provide the requested information or fulfill certain formalities within the specified period, PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT reserves the right to suspend its services and invoice the services already provided.
Conducting legal proceedings incurs certain costs, including, in addition to the lawyer's own costs, court costs. In principle, in civil cases, the party that is found at fault must bear the (court) costs. These costs usually include the costs of summoning and a litigation fee, i.e., a fixed contribution towards the costs and fees of the opposing party's lawyer. The amount of this litigation fee is determined according to certain rules and (periodically indexed) tariff scales. For other procedures - criminal procedures, administrative procedures... - specific, similar or different, rules apply.
Depending on the nature of the services that the Lawyer must provide to you, he may be required to strictly comply with the legislation and bar regulations concerning anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing. In such a case, the Lawyer is mainly obliged to fulfill an identification and vigilance duty towards his client. In this context, the Lawyer is required to retain information about the identification, characteristics of the client, and the purpose and nature of the transaction for 10 years. The Lawyer may, for this purpose, proceed to carry out checks using external electronic databases. The client is aware of the extensive identification obligations imposed by the preventive anti-money laundering legislation and accepts that the costs and fees in accordance with this are charged.
This procedure requires the cooperation of the client and obliges clients operating in the form of a legal entity or other legal construction to inform their lawyer who is the ultimate beneficial owner behind this legal form. The client undertakes to inform the Lawyer of any change that may affect his or her status. The client undertakes to provide the information requested by the Lawyer on first request. If the client refuses to provide the information, after it has been requested, the Lawyer will not be able to enter into the business relationship and, if he has already acted provisionally, he will have to terminate his further intervention. In addition, anti-money laundering legislation obliges the Lawyer in certain circumstances to report possible suspicions of money laundering or financing of terrorism in which the client may be involved, to the Dean of his/her bar. The Lawyer is not liable to the Client for the consequences of any reporting made in good faith.
Use of Third Parties If it is necessary for the execution of the service to call upon a bailiff or a translator, the client leaves the choice thereof to PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT. The same applies to the performance of simple tasks (filing a procedural document, appearing at a (introductory) session, ...) by a local lawyer.
If it is necessary for the execution of the service to call upon other third parties, such as (foreign) lawyers, notaries, accountants, auditors, or experts, these are chosen in consultation with the client. Notwithstanding this consultation, PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT in the execution of its assignment, is always mandated by the client as an agent to give such service providers assignments in the name and for the account of the client, in which case the invoice of the service provider called upon will be issued in the name of the client and that invoice must be paid by the client directly into the hands of the concerned service provider.
Fees §1. The dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT will periodically invoice the client for their activities
, administrative costs, and advanced expenses via an invoice. A specification of the performed work and costs will be sent to the client upon first request.
§2. Unless otherwise agreed, the performed activities under the heading of fees are charged on the basis of a fixed amount determined by the dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT, taking into account the nature, complexity, commitment, and urgency of the case, primarily based on the time spent on a specific file and the basic hourly rate of the lawyers who performed the concerned services.
The dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT also sets the basic hourly rate based on the nature of the case, the commitment of the case, the difficulty of the case, the experience of the handling lawyer in the concerned legal matter, and the urgency of the assignment.
The basic hourly rates may be indexed annually and may also be adjusted on an individual basis per lawyer. The client can always request the updated basic hourly rates.
Any correspondence (phone, email, letter, fax, etc.) will be charged at a minimum of 15 minutes. For processing received correspondence (phone, email, letter, fax, etc.), a minimum of 15 minutes will also be charged.
The general office costs (file opening, management and archiving, telephone, fax, email, copying, typing of procedural documents, secretarial operations, stationery, postage stamps, searches in databases, etc.) are not included in this hourly rate and amount to 10% of the charged fee per case/assignment.
Other possible special costs (registered mail, courier, court costs, roll rights, bailiff's fees, civil status certificates, address requests, translation, expertise, and in general all costs incurred outside the office, etc.) are not included in the hourly rate and will be charged directly to you according to the actual cost.
The dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT and the client may agree on other formulas for calculating fees and administrative costs for undisputed and simpler cases. These formulas may include:
- charging a lump sum per case or per case per instance;
- charging only interests, penalty clauses and/or litigation fees per case (regardless of whether these amounts can actually be recovered by the client).
The costs that the dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT has advanced to third parties, such as registries, mortgage offices, registration offices, official or unofficial databases, third-party lawyers, bailiffs, notaries, translators, accountants, auditors, experts, and (domestic and foreign) agencies, are charged separately under the heading of costs based on the actual incurred costs (plus VAT if applicable).
§3. The dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT reserves the right to request a provision from the client at the beginning and during their activities via a provision statement and to only start or continue their activities or advance costs after its payment. A statement of costs and fees in these terms also includes a provision statement.
A provision is a lump sum that the client pays to the dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT before an interim statement or final statement. This provision may relate to services already provided or costs advanced, or may be an advance on services to be provided or costs to be incurred, or a combination of both. In the interim or final statement, the provisions are deducted from the total amount.
§4. The entry of an invoice in the firm's accounting is proof of its sending and receipt by the recipient.
§5. If the client disagrees with an invoice, they must contest it in writing and with reasons within fourteen days from the date of the statement, under penalty of forfeiture of the right.
§6. Unless otherwise agreed, all invoices are payable at the office's headquarters, without discount, within 15 days of the invoice date.
If an invoice is not paid by the due date of the statement, the firm has, without needing to formally notify the client in advance, the right to charge late interest at an interest rate of 10% from the date of the statement until full payment, as well as the right to charge a lump sum compensation of 10% of the late-paid amount, notwithstanding its right to court costs (including the applicable litigation fee), should a judicial recovery follow.
In this case, the dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT also has the right either to suspend the execution of their activities in all files with the concerned client until all statements are fully paid, or to terminate the overall collaboration with the client with immediate effect.
The dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT is not liable for any damage resulting from the suspension of their activities or the termination of their agreement with the client.
§6. If the dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT represents the interests of multiple clients in a case, all these clients are jointly and severally liable for the payment of the statements of fees and costs related to this case (possibly increased with the accessories mentioned in §5 and all recovery costs), regardless of which client the firm has issued its invoices to.
Third-Party Funds §1. The dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT deposits all amounts received for the client within the shortest possible time to the client. If PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT cannot immediately forward an amount, it notifies the client of the receipt of the amount and informs them of the reason why the amount is not forwarded.
§2. The dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT may withhold sums from the amounts received on behalf of the client to cover the amounts the client owes them. They inform the client of this.
§3. The dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT immediately forwards all amounts received from the client for the account of third parties to these third parties.
Complaints If you have a complaint about our firm or are dissatisfied with the handling of your case, it is advisable to first discuss this with the lawyer handling your case.
If this discussion does not lead to a satisfactory solution for the client, they can turn to Nicolas GOUDENHOOFT (ng@pg-law.be) and/or Ignace PELGRIMS (ip@pg-law.be), who will investigate the complaint and mediate where possible to find a solution.
Should the above not suffice, the client can address the Bar Association of the bar to which the member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT belongs, specifically the Dean of that bar who heads it. To express your dissatisfaction with the performances of your lawyer to the Dean of the Bar Association, write to him. Explain why you are dissatisfied and what you desire. If possible, add proof.
Liability §1. All lawyers of the firm are insured for professional liability through the Dutch Order of Lawyers at the Brussels Bar, or through the Order of Lawyers at the Leuven Bar, with nv Amlin Europe. The professional liability of the lawyers working at the firm is limited under this policy to the insured amount of €2,500,000.00 per claim.
§2. The client finds the aforementioned insurance of PELGRIMS-G
OUDENHOOFT and its lawyers sufficient and accepts that the compensation for the damage suffered as a result of a (even gross) professional error by members of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT and/or its appointees is limited to the amount for which PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT and its lawyers are effectively covered and insured under the said policy.
§3. If the professional liability insurer does not cover the damage, the overall liability of the members of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT and its appointees, both contractually and extra-contractually, is limited in principal, costs, and interest to the amount excluding VAT charged in the file in which liability is retained, and in the absence of such a file to a maximum of €7,500 per damage event. However, if the lack of coverage is the result of an error by the members of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT or its appointees, their overall liability is limited to four times the aforementioned amounts.
§4. Under no circumstances can PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT and its lawyers be held liable for indirect damage, consequential damage, loss of use, or loss of profit suffered by the client or by third parties.
§5. Notwithstanding the foregoing, PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT and its lawyers are not liable for any shortcomings of third parties involved in the execution of their services if they were commissioned on behalf of and for the account of the client. In such a case, PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT can therefore not be jointly or severally held with such third party for the payment of any compensation to the client.
§6. Although the members of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT make reasonable efforts to protect their emails and attachments against viruses or other defects that could affect computers or an IT system, it remains the responsibility of the client to ensure that appropriate measures exist to protect the client's computers and IT system against such viruses or defects. PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT accepts no liability for any loss or damage resulting from receiving or using electronic communications from PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT.
Intellectual Property Rights The client is not allowed to reproduce, disclose, or use in any way the advices, notes, contracts, procedural documents, documents, and all other intellectual work produced by PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT in any form, without her prior written consent, other than in the context of the assignment granted to PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT.
Termination §1. Both the client and PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT have the right to terminate the agreement at any time with immediate effect and without justification.
In this case, the client is obliged to pay for all services and costs up to the date of termination of the agreement. The dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT will prepare a final statement of fees and costs and provide it to the client.
To the extent legally and deontologically permissible, the dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT can rely on his or her right of retention before handing over his file to the client.
§2. PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT is not liable for any damage resulting from the termination of its agreement with the client.
Archiving PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT archives the file after the completion of each assignment and keeps it for a period of five years. Original documents can be returned to the client and should be archived by him if necessary. After the aforementioned period of five years, PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT has the right to destroy the file.
Amendment PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT reserves the right to amend these general terms and conditions at any time.
Applicable Law and Competent Court §1. All agreements between the dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT and the client are exclusively governed by Belgian law.
All lawyers at PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT are subject to (a) the regulations of the Order of Flemish Bars and the not yet repealed regulations of the former National Order of Advocates, which can be consulted at www.advocaat.be, and (b) to the regulations of the Dutch Order of Advocates at the Brussels Bar, which can be consulted at www.baliebrussel.be, or the regulations of the Order of Advocates at Leuven, which can be consulted at www.balieleuven.be, depending on which bar the concerned lawyer is registered (cfr. supra)
§2. Parties prefer to settle their disputes amicably.
§3. For fee disputes, depending on the concerned establishment unit of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT (Brussels or Leuven), an extrajudicial dispute resolution is available via:
the Dutch Order of Advocates at the Brussels Bar: the website www.baliebrussel.be > your lawyer > what if I disagree with my lawyer?
the Order of Advocates at the Leuven Bar: the website www.balieleuven.be > about us > complaints For disciplinary cases, depending on which bar the concerned lawyer is registered, the following Dean is competent:
the Dutch Order of Advocates at the Brussels Bar: Dean of the Brussels Bar, Courthouse, Poelaertplein, 1000 Brussels
the Order of Advocates at Leuven: Dean of the Leuven Bar, Courthouse, F. Smoldersplein 5, 3000 Leuven. §4. Only the courts of Brussels are competent to hear any dispute between the dominus litis/member of PELGRIMS-GOUDENHOOFT and the client.
Share with friends:
