Terms and conditions

1. Witberg Hoorn Advocaten is the trade name of the partnership under Dutch law Witberg Hoorn Advocaten. The object of Witberg Hoorn Advocaten is to practice the profession of lawyer and local counsel, all this in the broadest sense.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 7:404 of the Netherlands Civil Code, all instructions are deemed to have only been accepted by the partnership Witberg Hoorn Advocaten.
3. Any liability on the part of Witberg Hoorn Advocaten will be limited to the amount paid out under its professional liability insurance policy in the matter concerned.
4. The Complaints and Disputes Scheme for the Legal Profession (Klachten- en Geschillenregeling Advocatuur) will apply to the services of Witberg Hoorn Advocaten, a copy of which will be made available on request.
5. Without prejudice to the provisions of Section 6:89 of the Netherlands Civil Code, the right to compensation will in any event expire 12 months after the event or omission took place from which the loss arises either directly or indirectly and for which Witberg Hoorn Advocaten is liable.
6. For the performance of an instruction, Witberg Hoorn Advocaten is allowed to involve one or more persons who are not employed directly or indirectly by Witberg Hoorn Advocaten. For the selection and engagement of third parties, Witberg Hoorn Advocaten will as much as possible consult with the client in advance and exercise due care. Witberg Hoorn Advocaten will not be liable for any failure of such third parties.
7. The client will give Witberg Hoorn Advocaten permission in advance to submit to third parties any information that is relevant to them.
8. The client will indemnify Witberg Hoorn Advocaten against all claims from third parties, including the reasonable costs of legal assistance, that are in any way related to the work performed for the client, unless all this is the result of an intentional act or gross negligence on the part of Witberg Hoorn Advocaten.
9. Unless agreed otherwise, the fee will be calculated on the basis of the number of hours worked multiplied by the hourly rates to be determined annually by Witberg Hoorn Advocaten.
10. Any disbursements paid by Witberg Hoorn Advocaten for the client will be invoiced separately. A percentage of the fee is charged in order to cover general office expenses (such as postage, telephone costs, fax costs, photocopying costs, etc). All amounts are exclusive of BTW.
11. In principle, the work, disbursements and office expenses will be invoiced to the client on a monthly basis with a term of payment of 14 days of the invoice date.  If payment is not made in time, Witberg Hoorn Advocaten will be entitled to charge statutory interest.
12. Witberg Hoorn Advocaten reserves the right at all times to only accept instructions on the basis of advance payment or to only continue the performance of instructions already accepted if the client makes advance payments to be determined by Witberg Hoorn Advocaten in reasonableness in order to cover the fees, disbursements and office expenses due in the future.  Amounts paid by way of advance will be set off against the monthly sums to be charged to the client for work performed, disbursements and office expenses.  If any advance should remain after performance of the instruction and after setoff, Witberg Hoorn Advocaten will refund the client for this amount.
13. The legal relationship between Witberg Hoorn Advocaten and the client is governed by Dutch law. Unless the Complaints and Disputes Scheme for the Legal Profession applies, any disputes will exclusively be settled by the competent Dutch court.
14. All stipulations in these general terms and conditions have been made for the benefit of all employees of Witberg Hoorn Advocaten.
15. If there are any differences between the Dutch and the English text of these general terms and conditions, the Dutch text will be binding.