The present terms and conditions are applicable to all services, which the lawyers at the Lawyers Association “ADVOCATENASSOCIATIE NELISSEN GRADE CV (hereafter called 'NG') deliver to their clients. Any conflicting terms and conditions from the client will only be applicable upon prior written explicit approval by NG. Subject to publication or communication originating from NG, in any form, the present terms and conditions will be applicable to all future relations between the parties. Any modification or derogation to these terms and conditions needs explicit written approval by NG.
If a client agrees to contract with a particular lawyer from the NG law firm, the contract is deemed to exist between the client and the NG law firm. NG may assign cases to each and every lawyer who is part of the NG law firm. NG may also substitute one lawyer for another without the client being entitled to oppose against this decision. NG is entitled to outsource certain assignments to other lawyers, who are not part of the NG law firm, for the execution of specific tasks.
NG commits itself to perform its services within a reasonable period of time. In case of specifically agreed terms, NG undertakes to make reasonable efforts in order to achieve these deadlines. NG cannot be held responsible for exceeding time limits due to the client, third parties or in case of force majeure.
The lawyers of the NG law firm are bound by professional confidentiality. All letters, recommendations, procedure papers, etc. are transmitted by NG to its clients under the explicit condition that the client respects this confidentiality. The client is only entitled to transmit the aforementioned documents and their contents to third parties upon explicit prior written consent of NG.
Advices, opinions, written documents, etc. coming from NG are protected by intellectual property law and can only be used or reproduced upon explicit prior written consent of NG. The aforementioned documents are unique to specific situations and cannot simply be transposed or applied to other situations or other persons, without a new analysis by NG.
The contractual and non-contractual liability of NG, including all lawyers working within NG or lawyers acting on behalf of NG, for any damage, material or immaterial (such as moral damages, loss of clients, loss of production, loss of time, loss of data or commercial opportunities, ...) caused to the client, shall be limited to the amount of coverage provided by NG’s professional liability insurer (the applicable amount on a case-by-case basis being notified by NG to the client upon his first request). The client holds NG and all lawyers working within the law firm or lawyers acting on behalf of NG, harmless against any claim by a third party resulting from the provision of services by NG for the client, except in case of fault committed by NG.
Unless otherwise agreed between the client and NG, NG invoices its services and costs based on its usual rates, which are adapted from time to time based on the evolution of market prices, without NG having to provide notification of these changes in advance. NG reserves the right to request the payment of a provisional fee prior to the delivery of services.
All invoices of NG are payable in cash and without discount, at the registered office of NG or on the bank account indicated on the invoice. If the customer fails to pay an invoice by the due date, NG may claim (i) interests on arrears at the reference interest rate plus eight percentage points as referred to in Article 5, second paragraph, of the Law of 2 August 2002 combating late payment in commercial transactions, for consumers referred to in Article XIX.4, first paragraph, 1° Economic Law Code, as well as (ii) a flat rate compensation amounting to 10% of the invoice amount with a minimum of [EUR 100] (excluding VAT) if the customer qualifies as a company, or in accordance with Article XIX.4, first paragraph, 2° Economic Law Code if the customer qualifies as a consumer. If the client qualifies as a company, NG can claim the aforementioned interest on arrears and compensation from the expiry of the due date of the unpaid invoice. If the customer qualifies as a consumer, NG may only claim such interest and damages after the expiry of a period of fourteen days after sending a first written reminder, which starts either on the third business day after the reminder is sent by letter or on the calendar day following the day on which the reminder is sent electronically. Any claim relating to an invoice must be addressed to NG by registered letter within eight days from the invoice date. In the absence of the above, the invoice is deemed to be irrevocably accepted.
If, after the agreement has been concluded, the execution of the agreement has become more complicated and onerous, due to unforeseen circumstances, NG is entitled to suspend the execution of the agreement or to adapt its obligations accordingly.
The agreement between NG and the client shall be governed by Belgian law. All disputes regarding the services provided by the lawyers of NG, as well as the disputes regarding the invoices sent by NG, must be brought before the competent court according to article 624 of the Belgian judicial code.
If any provision or part of any provision of the present terms and conditions should be declared void or inapplicable, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.