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Terms and conditions

1. Definitions

The following definitions shall apply in these General Terms and Conditions:

  1. Partnership: the partnership Teurlings & Ellens, which is comprised of natural persons and legal persons, and its individual partners. A list of members of the partnership will be sent on request.
  2. Client: the Partnership’s contracting party.
  3. Office: the Partnership and the natural and/or legal persons affiliated with the Partnership via an employment contract.

 2. Case

  1. A case has been established after it has been accepted by the Office. In connection with establishing a case, the Office may only be represented by lawyers affiliated with the Office.
  2. Every case awarded to the Office shall be regarded as having been awarded to the Partnership, which means that the Client agrees to the case being implemented by the Office, subject to the accountability of the Partnership, or if necessary by third parties acting on the orders of the Partnership. The applicability of articles 404 and 407, paragraph 2 of Book 7 of the Dutch Civil Code, is excluded.

3. Applicability

These General Terms and Conditions shall apply to all contracts for the provision of services between the Office and the Client, including additional and follow-up cases, unless other agreements are made in writing before entering into a contract.

4. Secrecy

The Office is bound to secrecy in respect of the Client about whatever the Office has learned as a result of the case.

5. Archives

The case file drawn up by the Office shall be stored (after its completion) for seven years, after which the Office has the right to destroy the file.

6. Fees

  1. The Client shall owe the Office a fee plus turnover tax for the handling of a case, increased with any disbursements the Office may have paid on the Client’s behalf. The parties may also agree upon a fixed sum as fee, including any disbursements, e.g., for Online-Divorce & Online-Collection.
  2. Unless agreed otherwise in writing, the fee will be calculated based on the number of hours that the Office worked, multiplied by the hourly rate of its lawyers that applied at the moment of performance.
  3. When a case takes longer than one month to complete, activities undertaken will be invoiced, properly specified, each month.
  4. The Partnership is always entitled to expect an advance from the Client. Any advance received shall be set off against an interim payment or the final invoice for the case.
  5. For cases based on the statutory system of funded legal aid, the provisions in this article shall apply only to costs (including any disbursement) which, on the grounds of the legal aid granted, are borne by the Client. These costs are payable in advance.

7. Payment

  1. Fee notes of the Partnership must be paid within 14 days after the date of the fee note. A Client who fails to pay within this period will be in default by operation of law and the Client will owe a default interest equal to the applicable statutory interest. In that case the Office has the right to suspend or terminate its activities for the case concerned, while informing the Client of this fact.
  2. Payment should be made by transfer to one of the bank accounts in the name of the Partnership, or in cash at the address of the Office, in exchange for adequate proof of payment. If the Partnership takes collection measures against a Client who is in default, the costs involved shall be charged to the Client, with a minimum of 10% of the amount owed.

8. Liability

  1. The liability of the Office for loss or damage resulting from or relating to dealing with a case shall always be limited to the sum covered by the professional liability insurance in the case in question, increased by the sum of the excess as stipulated in the policy concerned.
  2. If the Office has no right to any payment by virtue of the said professional liability insurance, then every liability of the Office shall be limited to a sum equal to the fee (excluding disbursements) charged by the Office for the case in question during the calendar year in which liability arose, up to a maximum of €50,000.00. All rights lapse at the latest one year after an event occurred that could lead to liability, or at least of which the Client was aware or could have been aware.

9. Engaging Third Parties

  1. When dealing with a case, the Office can engage third parties, in which case the Office will always exercise due care. The Office will consult with the Client, where possible in advance, on such matters.
  2. However, the liability of the Office for any shortcomings of third parties shall not exceed the liability described in article 8 of these General Terms and Conditions. Third parties engaged by the Office when dealing with a case can invoke these General Terms and Conditions.

10. Disputes

  1. The agreement for the provision of services between the Office and the Client shall be governed by Dutch law.
  2. The Office is a party to the Complaints and Dispute Settlement Scheme for the Legal Profession. Their regulations can be found on www.geschillencommissie.nl or obtained from the Office.
  3. Insofar as this Dispute Settlement Scheme does not apply to the dispute in question, the District Court of Amsterdam shall have jurisdiction.