1. These terms and conditions apply as from November 1, 2018.
2. Takens Admiraal Advocaten is a partnership under Dutch law, established in Amsterdam. A list of partners is provided on request.
3. These general terms and conditions apply to all assignments that Takens Admiraal Advocaten's clients give to the firm or its lawyers or employees, including any follow-up assignment or amended or additional assignments. Every lawyer works as an independent professional, either as a natural person or as a legal person. It is also possible that a lawyer is employed by the partnership. This also applies to legal assistants. These general terms and conditions also apply to these persons.
4. All assignments are deemed to have been given to and are only accepted by or on behalf of the partnership, even if it is explicitly or tacitly intended that an assignment will be carried out by one or more specific persons.
5. Deviating or additional conditions apply only after prior written recording.
6. The legal relationship between the client and Takens Admiraal Advocaten is subject to Dutch law. All disputes, insofar as they do not fall within the scope of disciplinary law as referred to in the Advocatenwet, arising from that legal relationship will be decided exclusively by the competent court in Amsterdam.
7. By issuing an assignment, the client declares to have explicitly taken note of these General Terms and Conditions and agrees to them.
1. All assignments are deemed to have been exclusively given to and accepted by the partnership. Contrary to articles 7:404, 7:407, paragraph 2 and 7:409 of the Dutch Civil Code, the partners, as well as those working for the partnership, are not personally bound or liable and the assignment does not end upon their death, regardless whether the assignment has been granted to a specific person.
2. The execution of agreed orders is exclusively for the benefit of the client. Unless Takens Admiraal Advocaten has explicitly accepted in writing in advance, others than the client may not rely on the result of the work performed for the client or the execution thereof and they cannot derive any rights from it.
Takens Admiraal Advocaten will take the necessary care into account when engaging third parties not belonging to its organization and will consult with the client as much as reasonably possible when selecting these third parties. Any liability for shortcomings of these third parties is excluded. These general terms and conditions are also stipulated for the benefit of any third party who may or may not be engaged in the performance of any assignment or who is or may be liable in connection therewith. The costs involved in engaging third parties will be charged to the client.
Takens Admiraal Advocaten is obliged to maintain confidentiality with regard to everything that comes to its knowledge during the handling of a case concerning the person of the client, the nature and extent of his interests in the case and otherwise everything that falls under the obligation of confidentiality. Takens Admiraal Advocaten will take all appropriate measures to ensure confidentiality and secrecy when carrying out the assignment. Nevertheless, unless the contrary is agreed in writing, the following applies to the assignment: the client grants permission to use all communication means customary at that time, in particular also internet and e-mail applications. The use thereof is entirely at the risk of the client, except in the case of intent or gross negligence.
1. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the fee will be determined as follows: in cases where assistance is provided by addition (so-called "pro bono" or government funded legal aid): the personal contribution, if any, set by the Legal Aid Board. In cases without addition in which the assistance is entirely at the expense of the client: the number of hours worked multiplied by the applicable rates as agreed between Takens Admiraal Advocaten and the client.
2. The activities are in principle charged to the client on a monthly basis, unless the amount of time spent or to be spent gives rise to interim invoicing. The payment term is 14 days from the invoice date. In the absence of timely payment, Takens Admiraal Advocaten is entitled to the statutory interest without further notice of default. An advance may be requested at any time for work performed or to be performed.
3. In the case of a declaration, the client will receive as much as possible a specification of the hours worked, rounded to units of 6 minutes. If and insofar as work is done on the basis of an advance, the client will in principle receive the hour specification with the final invoice. Upon request, an hourly specification will be provided to the client in the meantime.
4. Depending on the nature of the case and the activities to be performed, Takens Admiraal Advocaten is free to deviate from the principle that claims are made on the basis of the hours worked. With a declaration based on a fixed rate, an hour specification is never provided; this method of declaration precludes a procedure via the budget procedure at the Supervisory Council (Raad van Toezicht).
5. Expenses paid for the client will be charged separately. To cover general office costs (such as sending by regular mail, costs of telephone, fax and electronic communication, copying costs and document production), a percentage (in principle 6%) to be determined by Takens Admiraal Advocaten is part of the hourly rate fee charged.
6. Work can be suspended if no advance payment is available to cover it. The full costs in and out of court for the collection of invoices are for the account of the client.
7. All amounts are in euros and exclusive of VAT, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
8. Takens Admiraal Advocaten complies with the duty to report under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wwft). Reference is made to the Wwft Manual of the Netherlands Bar Association..
9. The client who is eligible for government funded legal aid, agrees to be assisted on a paying basis if this is agreed in the aforementioned sense with the lawyer who accepts the assignment, by paying an advance or the invoice(s).
The activities of Takens Admiraal Advocaten for which invoices are made for the performance of the assignment include:
- handling incoming and outgoing telephone conversations with the client and / or others, for the execution of the assignment given to it;
- handling incoming correspondence, including incoming electronic mail;
- editing outgoing mail, which also includes outgoing electronic mail;
- searching for and studying literature and case law;
- studying the (procedural) documents, correspondence, financial documents and all other written documents submitted by the client when entering into the assignment, as well as all written documents that are offered after the assignment to the lawyer or lawyer being treated and that relate to the assignment. Written documents also include electronic files;
- conducting meetings inside and outside the office;
- attendance at court sessions;
- drafting procedural documents;
- visiting detention centers, police stations and prisons;
- travel times to and from court sessions;
- discussions and agreements outside the office, including waiting times at the Subdistrict Courts, Courts, Courts of Appeal, Detention Houses, Police Departments, etc.
1. Any liability of Takens Admiraal Advocaten is limited to the amount that is paid out in the case in question under the professional liability insurance it has taken out, plus the amount of the deductible applicable under the insurance in the case concerned.
2. If, for whatever reason, no payment is made under the aforementioned insurance policies, any liability is limited to three times the fee paid by Takens Admiraal Advocaten in the relevant case in the relevant calendar year, up to a maximum of € 15,000,--.
3. For liability with regard to third parties engaged for the client, see article 3 of these general terms and conditions.
4. Takens Admiraal Advocaten cannot guarantee the confidentiality of (electronic) means of communication. The client may request (timely) to send any specific message using the electronic security options available at Takens Admiraal Advocaten. Takens Admiraal Advocaten is not liable for incorrect or incomplete transfer of information or delay in the receipt of e-mail and other forms of data traffic. Takens Admiraal Advocaten is also not liable for damage resulting from the use of electronic means as a result of non-delivery, interception or manipulation of (electronic) messages by third parties or by software / equipment used for (electronic) communication and transmission of viruses and other malicious software.
The retention period of files (procedural documents, not being shadow documents in criminal cases, relevant correspondence and agreements) is five years from the date of the final message to the client or irrevocable of a judgment pronounced to which the work related. After expiry of the period, the files will be destroyed. Deviation from the retention period can only be made by further written agreement. In the absence of such an agreement, Takens Admiraal Advocaten is released from the custody obligation after five years.
Takens Admiraal Advocaten is entitled to terminate the assignment agreement with immediate effect without the intervention of a judicial authority if:
- the client affects or has affected Takens Admiraal Advocaten's good name and this has been established on the basis of objective and verifiable facts;
- the client does not provide the required cooperation in the assignment given to Takens Admiraal Advocaten.
- there is a difference of opinion between the client and Takens Admiraal Advocaten about the way in which the service contract must be represented and this dispute cannot be resolved by mutual agreement;
- a breach of trust arises between Takens Admiraal Advocaten, or the lawyer handling the case, and the client, which prevents proper representation of the client's interests.
Clients' funds are funds received by the Stichting Derdengelden Takens Admiraal Advocaten advocaten on behalf of the client of Takens Admiraal Advocaten on a trust account with ABN AMRO Bank in Amsterdam.
These general terms and conditions can be found on the website of Takens Admiraal Advocaten.The most recently published version or the version that applied at the time the agreement (s) came into effect always applies.
