1. Definitions
In these general terms and conditions, the following meanings apply:
a. Linea Recta Advocatuur: a sole proprietorship, Chamber of Commerce number 66070783.
b. The firm: Linea Recta Advocatuur.
c. Client: the contracting party of the firm.
d. Fee: the financial remuneration — exclusive of VAT, disbursements and office costs as referred to under e and f — that the firm has agreed with the client for carrying out the agreement, or that applies to the work concerned.
e. Disbursements: the costs the firm incurs in the interest of carrying out the agreement, including, for example, court fees and the costs of third parties (a bailiff, an expert, and so on).
f. Office costs: the fixed percentage surcharge on the fee for the cost of office facilities.
g. The agreement: the contract for services between Linea Recta Advocatuur and the client.
2. Areas of law
Linea Recta Advocatuur is particularly concerned with employment law, company law, the law of obligations and tenancy law.
3. Applicability
These general terms apply to every instruction, including every follow-up instruction and every amended or additional instruction given to Linea Recta Advocatuur. They also apply to all legal relationships that result from or are connected with that instruction.
4. Contract for services
a. A contract for services is formed only after Linea Recta Advocatuur has accepted the instruction. For the formation of a contract for services, Linea Recta Advocatuur can be represented only by lawyers connected with the firm, and by any staff members acting under a written power of attorney.
b. The client agrees that Linea Recta Advocatuur may have the contract carried out under its own responsibility or, where necessary, with the involvement of third parties.
c. Articles 7:404 and 7:407(2) of the Dutch Civil Code are excluded. Those articles can result in joint and several or personal liability of the lawyer with a view to whom the client gave the instruction to Linea Recta Advocatuur, and in joint and several liability of the contractor if the instruction is accepted by more than one contractor.
5. Invoices and other financial matters
a. For carrying out an agreement, the client owes the fee, plus disbursements, office costs and VAT. The fee is told to the client when the instruction is formed. For urgent work, a surcharge of 25% is applied on top of the fee.
b. If Linea Recta Advocatuur acts for the client in court proceedings, the client also owes disbursements as described in article 1(e). The amount varies with the nature of the proceedings, the size of the financial interest, whether the client is claimant or defendant, and so on. These costs are not payment for the work of Linea Recta Advocatuur. They are owed to the third party concerned, such as the court or the bailiff. Linea Recta Advocatuur sends these disbursement invoices to the client immediately after receiving them. The client must always pay them immediately after receipt, or in advance if asked to do so.
c. Disbursements that consist of court fees owed to the court must be paid before the proceedings start, and no later than a time stated by Linea Recta Advocatuur. If those court fees are not paid by that time, Linea Recta Advocatuur may — provided it tells the client beforehand — stop or suspend its work, even if that means deadlines that cannot be restored expire for the client in the proceedings. Work that has been done is invoiced every month, regardless of how much work was done and of the stage the work has reached.
d. If the client disagrees with the amount of an invoice, the client has 45 days from the invoice date to dispute it. After 45 days that right lapses. A dispute must be made in writing.
e. Linea Recta Advocatuur is always entitled to require an advance payment from the client. An advance that is received is set off against the oldest outstanding invoice. The first time Advocatenkantoor Linea Recta works for a client, it does so only on the basis of an advance.
f. Linea Recta Advocatuur reserves the right to change its terms. Except in special and unforeseen circumstances, the changed terms apply only to instructions given after those changed terms have been adopted.
g. If two or more clients are party to a contract for services with Linea Recta Advocatuur, all of those clients are jointly and severally liable to Linea Recta Advocatuur for performing their obligations under the agreement. Clients who have legal-expenses insurance are, alongside the insurer, jointly and severally liable for performing the obligations under the agreement, including payment of the invoices.
h. Linea Recta Advocatuur reserves the right to adjust its hourly rates once a year.
i. The client understands that if an estimate of the expected costs has been given, those costs can rise if the matter takes an unexpected turn. Examples include proceedings that last longer than expected, or a counterclaim being filed.
j. The client understands that if there are court proceedings and the client is unsuccessful, the court will in principle order the client to pay the other party’s legal costs, subsequent costs and any other costs. Those costs are entirely for the client’s account and the client must pay them to the other party. The other party may also file a substantial counterclaim in the proceedings.
6. Payment
a. The client is discharged only by a transfer to a bank or giro account in the name of Linea Recta Advocatuur, or by a cash payment up to the maximum accepted in the legal profession, against proper proof of payment. Payment by set-off is excluded.
b. Invoices from Linea Recta Advocatuur must be paid within 14 days of the invoice date. If that period is exceeded, the client is in default by operation of law and owes default interest equal to the applicable statutory commercial interest. If there is a hearing, the invoices must be paid before the hearing date, even if that is shorter than the 14-day payment period.
c. If Linea Recta Advocatuur takes steps to collect payment from a client who is in default and who is acting in the course of a profession or business, all out-of-court and court costs of that collection are for the client’s account, with a minimum of €250.
7. Liability
a. Any liability of the firm, and any liability of the lawyers and legal staff working for the firm, towards clients and third parties for damage arising from or connected with the performance of an agreement, or arising from a wrongful act, is always limited to the amount the professional-liability insurance pays in that case, plus the excess under the policy concerned. A copy of the current policy is available for inspection at the firm. Linea Recta Advocatuur’s professional-liability insurance covers an insured amount of at most €1,000,000.
b. If, for whatever reason, no payment is made under that insurance, any liability of Linea Recta Advocatuur and of the lawyers and legal staff working for the firm is limited to the excess under that insurance. The excess under Linea Recta Advocatuur’s current professional-liability insurance is at most €1,000.
c. When the firm engages third parties, it will always take due care. The firm, and the lawyers and legal staff working for the firm, are not liable for shortcomings of those third parties. The firm may accept a third party’s general terms, including a limitation of liability, also on behalf of the client.
d. The limitation of liability in c also applies to errors by third parties engaged by the firm, and to equipment, software, databases, registers or any other items used by the firm in carrying out the agreement that do not function properly.
e. The limitation of liability in this article does not apply to damage caused by intent or gross negligence of a lawyer or member of the legal staff who represents the firm in carrying out an instruction.
8. Time limit for claims
Without affecting article 5(d), all claims of the client against Linea Recta Advocatuur in connection with work carried out by Linea Recta Advocatuur lapse twelve months after the moment the client knew, or could reasonably have known, that those claims existed.
9. Invalid provisions
If a clause in these terms, including part of a provision, is void or is annulled, the other provisions, including the rest of that provision, remain in force. The void or annulled clause is then given a meaning that corresponds to it as closely as possible, and that meaning may be relied on.
10. Complaints procedure and disputes
a. The complaints procedure of Linea Recta Advocatuur applies to all instructions. The procedure can be read on the website of Linea Recta Advocatuur.
b. Dutch law applies to the agreement. Disputes are decided only by the competent Dutch court in Rotterdam, unless the law requires another Dutch court to have jurisdiction.
11. Privacy
The client’s personal data are stored in a data file. The client has the right to access, object to and correct those data. Linea Recta Advocatuur refers to the privacy statement published on its website, which explains how it meets the duty to inform people whose personal data it processes under the General Data Protection Regulation.