General Conditions

General Terms and Conditions of Höcker Advocaten

1. Partnership

1.1 Höcker Advocaten is a partnership consisting of private limited liability companies and natural persons ("the partners"). Upon request thereto, a list of the partners shall be sent. 

2.Client assignments

2.1 All client assignments shall be accepted and carried out exclusively by the partnership. This shall also be applicable if it is the explicit or implied intention that the client assignment shall be carried out by a specific person. The applicability of article 7:404 of the Dutch Civil Code, containing a provision for the latter case, and of article 7:407 paragraph 2 of the Dutch Civil Code, establishing a joint and several liability in events where two or more persons are given a client assignment, shall be explicitly precluded.

2.2 All client assignments given to the partnership shall be governed by Dutch law.

2.3 No client assignments given to the partnership shall ever conduce to legal advice on foreign law. Any client assignments given to the partnership shall only conduce to provide fiscal advice if such has explicitly been agreed.

2.4 Within the framework of the fulfillment of client assignments, the partnership is authorized to call in third parties on behalf of the client. Where possible this shall be effected in consultation with the client, on the understanding that selection of bailiffs and local counsels (procureurs) shall take place without consultation, in principle. The partnership is authorized to accept liability limitations from such third parties on behalf of or at the expense of the client.

2.5 The client shall indemnify the partnership against any claims by third parties and the expenses to be incurred by the partnership in connection with these, if these are in any way connected with the work carried out for the client.

2.6 Client assignments shall be carried out exclusively for the benefit of the client. Third parties cannot derive any rights from the contents thereof. If the client informs third parties about results of work carried out by the partnership, the client shall be held to inform such third parties thereof in writing.

2.7 The partnership keeps track of personal data in their client records. These records have been registered at the Registration Board in The Hague on 5 June 1997.

The records are kept exclusively at the registered office of the partnership.

Upon request thereto, access may be obtained to the application form.

2.8 For the duration of twenty years after closing a case, the file concerned shall be stored in the archive of the partnership, after which it shall be destroyed without further notice.

2.9 These General Terms and Conditions are applicable to all client assignments given to the partnership. In the event of any amendment to these General Terms and Conditions by the partnership, the amended General Terms and Conditions shall apply to all new client assignments as of the date of publication in www.hocker.nl/english/generalconditions

2.10 These General Terms and Conditions have been drawn up in Dutch and in English. The Dutch text is legally binding.

3. Remuneration and debt collection

3.1 The fees of the lawyers working for the partnership vary according to their experience and specialist expertise. The partnership is entitled to a periodical adjustment of the fees applied by the partnership.

3.2 The fee notes to be sent by the partnership shall be paid within 30 days, in the absence whereof the client shall be in default, in which case the client shall be held to reimburse to the partnership all judicial and extra-judicial collection charges, including but not limited to the full legal fees incurred to this end, as well as the statutory interest.

3.3 The partnership shall at all times be entitled to request advance payments for work to be carried out and expenses to be incurred. These shall be set off upon termination of the client assignment or, as the case may be, in between.

4. Liability and lapse of rights

The liability of the partnership shall at all times be limited to the sum insured that shall be paid in such case under the professional liability insurance policies taken out by the partnership, increased by the deductible that shall be at the expense of the partnership in such case pursuant to the insurance cover notes. These insurance policies have limited cover, inter alia with respect to the amount of the damages and the number of insured events per year. Upon request thereto, access may be obtained to the insurance cover note. Should no payment be made by virtue of aforementioned insurance policies, regardless of the grounds, the liability of the partnership shall be limited to three times the fee invoiced by the partnership in connection with the case concerned during a twelve month period directly preceding the date on which the event leading to liability occurred, up to a maximum liability of € 100,000 (one hundred thousand Euro).

4.2 In the event that the partnership calls in third parties, other than those referred to in Article 4.4, the partnership shall not accept any liability whatsoever for failure to perform on the part of such third party except for failure to perform on the part of the partnership itself to which the provisions in Article 4.1 are applicable. If the client brings legal action directly against a third party, the client shall indemnify the partnership against any claims by such third party in connection with such liability claim as well as against all expenses to be incurred by the partnership.

4.3 All rights of legal action and other powers of the client towards the partnership in connection with work carried out by the partnership shall lapse upon expiry of a one year term after the date on which the client has become aware of—or could in all fairness have been aware of—the existence of such rights and powers.

4.4 These General Terms and Conditions are stipulated also for the benefit of: the partners as well as, if and insofar as such partners are legal persons, the shareholders and board members of such legal persons, as well as the (other) persons working for and also on behalf of the partnership, incidentally without prejudice to the provisions in Article 2.1. The exemption clauses contained in Articles 2.5 and 4.2 shall directly apply to them. Under no circumstances can they be held liable by the client, without prejudice to the provisions in Article 2.1, except for willful intent or deliberate recklessness. In such exceptional cases the expiry clause contained in Article 4.3 for the benefit of these persons shall be directly applicable. Furthermore, the liability limitation and exemptions of liability contained in these General Terms and Conditions, the expiry deadline and exemption clauses shall also apply to all extra-contractual claims by the client against the partnership, if and insofar as these are connected with the fulfillment of a client assignment by the partnership.

5. Disputes

5.1 To all client assignments given to the partnership the Complaints and Disputes Procedure of the Netherlands Bar Association is applicable. Information about this procedure may be found via www.hocker.nl/english/generalconditions

5.2 If a dispute does not fall within the scope of the Complaints and Disputes Procedure of the Netherlands Bar Association, the competent court in Amsterdam shall have exclusive jurisdiction on disputes between the partnership and the client. If the partnership acts as claimant, it shall still be entitled, contrary to this, but not obliged to bring the dispute before the court that has otherwise jurisdiction with regard to the client.

Version May 2011

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