General terms and conditions
- Fidenti Legal is a law firm that offers legal interim services as well. Within Fidenti Legal, the lawyer practices at his own expense and risk. These conditions apply to all those who work for or on behalf of Fidenti Legal.
- Fidenti Legal shall exercise due care when dealing with your personal data. Fidenti Legal uses a privacy statement, in which Fidenti Legal sets out why Fidenti Legal uses your personal data and how Fidenti Legal deals with it. You may find this privacy statement on the website of Fidenti Legal.
- A client is deemed to be a natural person or legal entity who engages Fidenti Legal to carry out work. These general terms and conditions also govern any additional or new instructions issued by a client. The operation of a client’s general terms and conditions is explicitly precluded.
- Aides and/or other parties may be engaged as the case may be for the purposes of carrying out work under the responsibility of Fidenti Legal. In this respect Fidenti Legal shall exercise due care as required and shall consult a client concerning the choice of any aide and/or other party as far as possible. Fidenti Legal shall not be liable for any shortcomings on the part of such an aide and/or other party. A client shall be deemed to have authorised Fidenti Legal to consent to any limitation of liability on the part of such an aide and/or other party. These general terms and conditions shall also govern the work of any aide and/or other party engaged by Fidenti Legal.
- The liability of Fidenti Legal shall be confined to the amount which is paid out pursuant to the relevant professional liability insurance in the case concerned plus any excess for which Fidenti Legal is liable in accordance with the applicable insurance agreement.
- Fidenti Legal shall not be liable for any loss that is due to the use of any electronic or other means of communication (for example, any loss due to a delay, a transmission failure, disclosure, virus, interception and/or manipulation by another party).
- A client shall indemnify Fidenti Legal against any claim made by a third party except in the case of a wilful act or omission, or gross negligence on the part of Fidenti Legal.
- A client shall have a duty to pay Fidenti Legal the customary fees. To these fees shall be added office expenses equivalent to 5%, VAT and any disbursements (such as court and bailiff’s fees, and the cost of extracts from the Chamber of Commerce, a municipality, the land registry and the like). Fidenti Legal reserves the right to adjust his or her fees on an annual basis. A client shall be notified of this in good time.
- Fee statements must be paid within fourteen (14) days after the relevant invoice date. A client shall be liable for all extrajudicial and other expenses incurred for the purposes of securing payment. Compensation for extrajudicial expenses shall amount to the equivalent of 15% of the relevant invoice amount subject to a minimum of €150.00. A claim for debt collection costs shall be made by means of a so-called 14-day letter. The legally stipulated interest shall be payable as of the date on which the relevant invoice falls due. The legally stipulated commercial interest rate pursuant to Section 6:119a of the Dutch Civil Code shall apply in the case of any party other than a private individual.
- Notice of any claim pertaining to work that has been performed and/or an invoiced amount must be given in writing to Fidenti Legal and/or any of the independent lawyers or private companies with limited liability affiliated with the practice within thirty (30) days after the date on which any document or information in respect of which the relevant client files a claim or after the discovery of any deficiency where the client can show that they could not reasonably be expected to have discovered such deficiency prior to that. A claim such as that mentioned shall not suspend any duty to effect payment.
- A file which is opened pursuant to an engagement shall be retained for five (5) years. Administrative records shall be retained for seven (7) years. The relevant documents shall be destroyed following the expiry of the aforementioned periods. Any original case documents, such as official copies of judgments and/or rulings shall be retained for fifteen (15) years, as far as possible in electronic form.
- Fidenti Legal is affiliated to the Complaints and Dispute Settlement Scheme for the Legal Profession [Klachten- en Geschillenregeling Advocatuur]. The text of this scheme may be found on the website of Fidenti Legal.
- Any engagement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of the Netherlands. A dispute shall only be settled by a competent court of law in The Hague. These general terms and conditions have been drawn up in Dutch and English. In the event that there is a dispute concerning their substance, the Dutch text shall prevail.