Conditions.
1. Applicability
These general terms and conditions apply to all services provided by the lawyers of the firm Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV, its partners, employees, interns and all persons who work for or in collaboration with the BV, unless otherwise agreed in writing, in which case the general terms and conditions only apply insofar as they do not deviate from the provisions of that agreement. The contractual relationship exists between the client and Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV even if the client only has contact with one or more specific solicitors of Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV. In the event of a conflict, these general terms and conditions will prevail over any other general terms and conditions of the client, unless otherwise agreed in writing by one of the partners of Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV.
These general terms and conditions are deemed to have been accepted by the client if the client has not expressed any objection within ten days of receipt. The acceptance of these general terms and conditions can, among other things but not exclusively, be inferred from the normal continuation of the performances by the BV without objection from the client within the aforementioned period.
If the client concludes a contract with a particular solicitor of Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV, this solicitor has the option to assign the engagements and cases to any of the solicitors who are part of Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV, without the client being able to object to such a decision.
If it is necessary for the completion of the engagement that a bailiff or a translator be called upon, the client leaves this choice to the solicitor.
2. Information about the service provider
Quadrant Advocaten BV is an Association of lawyers providing services in the form of a Besloten Vennootschap (BV) under Belgian law, and has its office at 2018 Antwerpen, Greenhouse Collection, Desguinlei 100/4. Quadrant Advocaten BV is registered in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises under the number 0772.544.325. The solicitor as a service provider falls under the application of the two laws of March 26, 2010 (BS April 30, 2010) regarding certain legal aspects referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution. These laws have now been largely integrated into Book III of the Economic Law Code, which entered into force on May 9, 2014. Within the framework of the aforementioned legislation, every service provider, including the solicitors' association Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV, is obliged to provide you with certain information.
Quadrant Legal BV is an Association of lawyers providing services in the form of a Besloten Vennootschap (BV) under Belgian law, and has its office at 2018 Antwerpen, Greenhouse Collection, Desguinlei 100/4. Quadrant Legal BV is registered in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises under the number 0799 852 397.
All lawyers are part of the Order of Lawyers at the Bar Association of the Province of Antwerp, division Antwerp. Their professional liability is in first grade insured for an amount up to 2.500.000,00 EUR per claim per lawyer and in second grade up to 5.000.000,00 EUR (supplementary) per claim, per insured person and per insurance year. You can find the professional rules and the code of conduct for lawyers at the website of the Order of Flemish Bars (OVB) (www.advocaat.be).
3. Client cooperation
The client provides the solicitor charged with the engagement with all useful information, promptly and during the entire duration of the engagement. The client guarantees the correctness, completeness and truthfulness of the information and documents provided by the client to the solicitor. Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV is not obliged to check the authenticity or regularity of the documents sent or the correctness of the information provided but is entitled to do so. If the client does not provide the necessary cooperation in accordance with the agreements, Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV reserves the right to terminate the cooperation.
4. Fees and costs
Subject to special agreement, Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV charges an hourly rate for its services, depending on the experience and knowledge of the solicitors who perform the services in question. The costs are calculated on a flat-rate basis per unit. The amounts of both the hourly rates and the costs are communicated to the client at the start of the solicitor-client relationship. Except for advice files, Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV may increase the fee with a success fee. Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV charges an hourly rate of 150% of the basic fee for urgent work and night and/or weekend work. Fees and costs are always exclusive of VAT. Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV charges the costs of engaged third parties. In derogation hereof, the parties can agree to direct invoicing by the third party.
5. Invoicing and payment
Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV sends interim invoices in long-term files, which are preceded by an explanatory fee statement in which the interim performance and costs incurred are listed. Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV also reserves the right to request a commission from clients with regard to its fees and costs. Any dispute of invoices must be communicated in writing within 15 days following the date of the explanatory note. In the absence of such notice, the explanatory note shall be deemed to have been accepted.
The invoices are due and payable from the 15th day after the date of issue. In case of late payment, the client owes, without further notice of default, the costs and interest, see the interest rate as determined in Article 5 of the Act on Combating Late Payment in Commercial Transactions (August 2, 2002) and the amount due is increased a flat-rate damage compensation of 10% of the outstanding amount, with a minimum of € 500, without prejudice to the right to claim higher compensation with evidence of higher actual damages. The value added tax is always borne by the client. If the client does not pay or does not pay on time, Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV will send the client a notice of default. If the client does not pay within 14 days after the first notice of default, Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV may terminate any further services without further notice.
6. Liability and Insurance
Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV has a professional liability insurance. The terms and conditions of this policy will be communicated to the client free of charge and upon first request.
Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV is not liable for damage caused by incorrect or incomplete information provided to it by the client.
Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV's liability, both contractually and non-contractually, towards the client and third parties for any damage, loss or cost that is directly or indirectly the result of the services, acts or omissions by Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV is in any case limited to the amount covered by the professional liability insurer, except in the event of an intentional error or fraud on the part of Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV. If the professional liability insurer does not provide cover for whatever reason, Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV's liability is limited to twice the amount of fees paid, with a maximum of 250,000 euros.
Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV is not liable for the performance of third parties on which it relies.
7. Copyright protection
Advice is always strictly personal and confidential and is the intellectual property of Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV. Delivered services and advice provided are exclusively intended for the client and/or the clients legal representatives, to the exclusion of any other person.
The information that Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV has obtained from its client may not be stored, transferred or used for any purpose other than for the case in which the client has appointed Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV.
8. Termination and revocation
In accordance with the rules and deontology of the legal profession, the client may terminate the agreement with Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV at any time in writing. The client does not have to state a reason. The statement of fees and costs for all services rendered up to the date of termination and cost advances will then be owed by the client immediately.
Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV has the right to terminate the agreement with immediate effect if, among other things:
The client does not comply with a payment request;
There has been a breach of trust in the relationship with the client.
Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV will ensure as far as possible that the termination of the agreement does not cause any damage to the client.
9. Identification Obligation
Pursuant to the January 11, 1993 Act on the prevention of use of the financial system for money laundering and terrorist financing (BS February 9, 1993), Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV has been obliged since January 2, 2004 to check the clients identification and identity.
Depending on the nature of the services that Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV should provide to you, the firm may be required to strictly comply with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws and regulations. In such a case, Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV is primarily obliged to an identification and vigilance obligation with regard to its client. In that context, Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV is obliged to keep information about the identification, the characteristics of the client and the purpose and nature of the transaction for a period of 10 years. Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV may, in view of this, conduct checks using external electronic databases. The client is aware of the extensive information obligations imposed by the applicable preventive anti-money laundering legislation and accepts that the corresponding costs and fees will be charged.
This procedure requires the cooperation of the client and obliges clients who work in the form of a legal entity or other legal construction to inform their lawyer who is the ultimate beneficiary behind this legal form. The client undertakes to inform Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV of any change that may affect his or her status. The client undertakes to provide the information requested by Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV at first request. If the client refuses to provide the information after it has been requested, Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV will not be able to enter into the business relationship and, if it has already acted provisionally, it will have to terminate its further intervention.
In addition, the anti-money laundering legislation obliges Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV in certain circumstances to report possible suspicions of money laundering or terrorist financing in which the client may be involved to the President of his/her bar. Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV is not liable to the client for the consequences of any reporting made in good faith.
10. Processing of personal data
Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV processes the personal data of its clients as described in the privacy statement, which can be accessed via our website. This is in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation as of May 25, 2018.
11. Limitation period
Any liability claim against Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV will lapse after 6 months. This limitation period commences on the day following the invoice date.
12. Applicable law and competent court
The agreement between Quadrant Advocaten BV and/or Quadrant Legal BV and the client is exclusively governed by Belgian law. For all disputes arising from this agreement, the courts of the judicial district of Antwerp, Antwerp division, are exclusively competent.