GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS of JORDAN LAW
1. Practice and applicability of the general terms and conditions
1.1. JORDAN LAW is a company under Dutch law in which the legal practice is conducted exclusively for the account and risk of Mr. J.S. Jordan. Jordan Law is registered with the Chamber of Commerce under Chamber of Commerce number: 65534395.
1.2. Attorney Mrs. N. Yildiz works here as an independent attorney for her own account and risk under the name CNS-advocatenkantoor registered with the Chamber of Commerce under Chamber of Commerce number: 83767606. Externally, she acts under the common name: Jordan Law.
1.3. All other attorneys and employees are employed by JORDAN LAW.
1.4. JORDAN LAW is therefore not a partnership or a collaboration within the meaning of the Legal Profession Regulations. The attorneys Mr. J.S. Jordan and Mrs. N. Yildiz are independent lawyers and contract in a personal capacity. The lawyers share the facilities of the office at Carolina van Nassaustraat 185 in (2595 SX) The Hague and all also use the trade name JORDAN LAW.
1.5. These general terms and conditions have been agreed for the benefit of the lawyer, their practice and the third parties engaged for the execution of the assignment. These general terms and conditions apply to
all assignments entered into by the lawyer with a client within the framework of the execution of the work as a lawyer. The lawyer is entitled to change or supplement these general terms and conditions.
2. Communication
2.1. Communication between the lawyer and the client about the assignment will mainly take place by e-mail. To this end, the client has provided the lawyer with an e-mail address and grants permission to use it. Communication between the lawyer and third parties in the context of
the assignment will also take place by e-mail. The client accepts the risks associated with communication by e-mail, such as (but not limited to) the fact that e-mail is not a completely reliable medium when it comes to the confidentiality of confidential messages.
3. Involvement of third parties
3.1. The lawyer may engage third parties to carry out the assignment. No prior permission from the client is required for this. The choice of these third parties will, where possible, be made in consultation with the client and with due care. The lawyer is not liable for shortcomings of these third parties. The client indemnifies the lawyer against all claims from third parties for their costs and compensation of fees, insofar as this is in any way related to the work performed on behalf of the client.
4. Fees, invoicing, costs of third parties, advance invoices, suspension of work
4.1. In principle, the lawyer will send the client an advance invoice stating a previously agreed number of hours or the personal contribution owed by the client (in the case of legal aid provided by the Legal Aid Board). As soon as the work exceeds the agreed number of hours, a follow-up invoice will be drawn up and sent. After completion of the work, the lawyer will draw up a final statement. With regard to invoicing, the lawyer will also use the e-mail address provided by the client.
4.2. If no e-mail address is provided, or if the client requests this, the invoice will be sent by post.
The invoice must be paid within 14 days of the invoice date.
4.3. Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing, the invoice amount is based on the time spent by the lawyer on behalf of the client, multiplied by the hourly rate. The agreed hourly rate is always exclusive of VAT. Court fees, travel and accommodation expenses as well as (other) expenses to third parties (such as bailiffs, the Chamber of Commerce, land registry, translation costs, courier costs, etc.) will be charged separately to the client.
4.4. The lawyer will send the client an advance invoice. The lawyer will only commence his/her work once the advance invoice has been paid in full. If this is not paid on time and/or in full, the lawyer reserves the right to refuse the assignment. The paid advance will be offset against the final invoice.
If an invoice has not been paid within the payment term, the lawyer may, after informing the client thereof, suspend the work for the client until the amount of the invoice has been paid. The lawyer is in no way liable for damage resulting from this suspension of the work.
4.5. If the payment term is exceeded, the client is legally in default and owes default interest equal to the statutory interest pursuant to article 6:119 of the Dutch Civil Code.
4.6. For orders placed in the exercise of a profession or business, the statutory interest pursuant to article 6:119a of the Dutch Civil Code will be owed. If the client does not pay the invoices on time, all costs incurred in obtaining satisfaction in and out of court will be for his account. The extrajudicial collection costs are set at a fixed rate of 15% of the amount due, with a minimum of € 250.00.
4.7. If the client fails to pay the invoice on time, JORDAN LAW is then entitled to suspend the execution of the order, also in other cases that are being handled on behalf of the client, to the exclusion of any liability of JORDAN LAW for damage that may arise as a result.
4.8. JORDAN LAW is authorized to receive payments on behalf of the client, as well as to receive payments (or have them received) on the bank account of the Stichting Derdengelden GB | BK Advocaten with number: NL18INGB0000050815. The Foundation is authorized by the client to pay the funds thus received to JORDAN LAW, in order to be offset against invoices sent by JORDAN LAW to the client, even if the payment term has not yet expired.
5. Subsidized legal aid
5.1. If the client may be eligible for subsidized (added) legal aid, but the lawyer is not registered with the Legal Aid Board, the lawyer will refer the client to another lawyer or to the Legal Aid Desk. If the lawyer is registered with the Legal Aid Board, the lawyer will discuss whether the client can claim subsidized legal aid. If the lawyer wishes to accept the case in question on that basis, the lawyer will submit an application to the Legal Aid Board. The personal contribution determined by the Legal Aid Board must be paid by the client to the lawyer within 7 days.
Legal Aid Act
5.2. When entering into the assignment, the client declares that he/she is familiar with and agrees with the applicable terms and conditions and regulations (Legal Aid Act) from the Legal Aid Board. These regulations can be found at: www.rechtsbijstand.nl.
5.3. The subsidised legal aid relates to the fee. Additional costs, such as court fees, costs for extracts and registered mail, are for the account of the client. If the application is not granted or if the legal aid is withdrawn at a later stage, the client will owe the hourly rate for the work that the lawyer normally charges for private individuals. If the legal aid application is rejected, the client has the option to object to this. This objection procedure does not fall under the assignment as given to the lawyer.
5.4. If the client wishes the lawyer to conduct the objection procedure, the client must request this in writing from the lawyer. For an objection procedure with the Legal Aid Board, the lawyer uses the aforementioned hourly rate for private individuals. These costs are not reimbursed by the Legal Aid Board, even if the application is granted after an objection.
Revision of addition/re-check of income
5.5. If the client is proceeding on the basis of funded legal aid, the Legal Aid Board may revise the previously issued addition after a re-check of the client's income. Any compensation already paid to the lawyer will then be collected from the client.
Assessment of results
5.6. Should the client, in the event of a procedure, achieve a result that is equal to or higher than the result threshold (half of the tax-free allowance), the client will reclaim any compensation already paid to the lawyer by the Legal Aid Board from the client.
5.7. If the lawyer has not yet received compensation and the Legal Aid Board withdraws the legal aid, the lawyer will charge the hours spent on the case in accordance with the lawyer's rate of at least 242 euros including VAT, unless the lawyer and client have agreed on a different fee.
Order for addition / income check
5.8. Even if no income check is carried out in advance and an order for addition is issued, the Legal Aid Board will subsequently check the client's income in the event of a conviction. If the income exceeds the income standards as stated on rechtbijstand.nl, the addition will be withdrawn and the client will have to repay the fees paid to the lawyer by the Legal Aid Board.
Special assistance
5.9. In the event of a right to (special) assistance, the application and granting or rejection thereof is entirely at the expense and risk of the client. The client must apply for this assistance themselves at the municipality in which they reside.
6. Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act (Wwft)
6.1. The client accepts that the lawyer is obliged under the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act (hereinafter: "Wwft") to report unusual transactions to the authorities established for this purpose.
6.2. The client is aware that the lawyer may be required under the Wwft to identify the client and verify the identification. The client must always and fully cooperate in this regard in the manner prescribed in the Wwft. The lawyer will record and store the required data in accordance with the Wwft.
6.3. The client accepts that the information obligation under the Wwft prevails over the lawyer's duty of confidentiality.
7. Legal expenses insurance
7.1. If the client has legal expenses insurance that could possibly provide cover and which the client wishes to use, the client must ensure that the insurer confirms the cover. The client gives permission to the lawyer to keep the legal expenses insurer informed of the content and progress of the case. Should the legal expenses insurer indicate that the maximum insured amount has been reached or if the cover is terminated or suspended for any (other) reason, the costs of legal assistance incurred will be fully borne by the client at the rate applied in that case.
8. Liability and insurance
8.1. The lawyer is insured for damage resulting from professional errors in accordance with the requirements of the Dutch Bar Association. Therefore, the liability of the lawyer (including the liability of third parties engaged by the lawyer to carry out the assignment and the liability of his practice company) in the event of a professional error or other attributable damage-causing conduct is always limited in its entirety to the amount paid out in the relevant case under that professional liability insurance. The applicable policy conditions can be inspected upon request. If the lawyer has no claim under the professional liability insurance for the damage resulting from the liability, the liability is always limited to the fee invoiced by the lawyer to the client in the relevant case (and received by the lawyer) with a maximum of € 25,000.
9. Personal data & privacy, retention period of files
9.1. Personal data provided to the lawyer and the personal data of other persons involved are stored in a database. These personal data are used exclusively for the proper execution of the assignment agreement with the client and on the basis of a legal obligation. The personal data are always processed within the legal frameworks as set out in the Dutch Lawyers Act, the Terrorism Prevention Act (Wwft), the tax laws, the GDPR and as determined by the Dutch Bar Association in its regulations.
9.2. Copies of the most important documents from the case file are kept by the lawyer for the term of the assignment(s) and for 5 years thereafter. After this period, the case files can be destroyed by the
attorney without further notice.
10. Conflicting interests
10.1. If the attorney must resign from the assignment due to a conflicting interest, the client will be informed of this as soon as possible. In connection with the confidentiality obligation imposed in the Dutch Attorneys Act, the client may not be informed of the nature of the conflicting interest in the event of a conflicting interest.
11. Complaints & disputes
11.1.JORDAN LAW has an internal complaints procedure and is affiliated with the Dutch Foundation for Consumer Complaints Boards for the Legal Profession. If you are dissatisfied with the quality of the service, you can consult the complaints procedure at https://www.jordanlaw.nl/complaints-procedure.html.
11.2. In all cases in which the complaints procedure does not lead to a solution/cannot lead to a solution for disputes with the lawyer, the court in The Hague has jurisdiction to hear the dispute. All disputes between the lawyer and the client will be settled exclusively by the court in The Hague, without prejudice to the authority of the lawyer to submit disputes to the competent court according to the law. The legal relationship between the lawyer and the client is subject exclusively to Dutch law.