- Brinkhof N.V. (“Brinkhof”) is a public limited liability company established under the laws of The Netherlands, which has as its goal conducting the practice of an attorney-at-law (‘advocaat’). A list of the persons holding shares in Brinkhof through their respective limited liability companies – which persons may be called ‘partners’ – will be sent upon request.
- These general conditions govern each assignment, including any subsequent or ancillary assignment, given to Brinkhof. Not only Brinkhof but also all persons working at Brinkhof and all persons involved in carrying out assignments may invoke these general conditions.
- All assignments to persons working at Brinkhof are deemed to have been given exclusively to Brinkhof, even if it is the intention that an assignment will be carried out by a specific person. The operation of article 7:404 of the Dutch Civil Code, which relates to this situation, and the operation of article 7:407 paragraph 2, which creates a joint and several liability in those cases in which an assignment is given to two or more persons, are excluded.
- Professional fees shall in principle be calculated on the basis of the number of hours worked, multiplied by the relevant hourly rates as determined by Brinkhof. All external costs made by Brinkhof in the course of carrying out an assignment shall be charged separately without surcharge. To offset communications, reproduction, and other office costs, Brinkhof will charge an additional amount equal to 6% of the professional fees. Hours worked, office costs, and external costs will normally be invoiced on a monthly basis. Invoices must be paid within 30 days of the date of the invoice. In the event of late payment Brinkhof is entitled to charge statutory interest as well as the costs related to the collection of the invoice.
- If the performance of an assignment by Brinkhof leads to liability, this liability will be limited to the amount to which the professional liability insurance taken out by Brinkhof provides coverage, plus the amount of the deductible (“eigen risico”) that Brinkhof is obliged to pay under the applicable insurance contract. In the event Brinkhof, for whatever reason, cannot claim payment under its professional liability insurance, Brinkhof’s liability shall be limited to the amount of professional fees that Brinkhof has charged in the relevant matter. A claim will lapse in any event if Brinkhof is not notified of the potential claim within a year from the discovery of an event or circumstance which may have led to the relevant liability.
- Brinkhof shall insofar as possible consult with the client before engaging third parties. The client hereby authorises Brinkhof to accept on its behalf any limitations of liability as well as other general conditions of those third parties. Brinkhof is not liable for any fault or shortcoming by a third party in the performance of its activities.
- The client hereby indemnifies and holds Brinkhof harmless from and against all third party claims, including legal costs, in whatever way related to the activities carried out for the client, unless those claims result from gross negligence or wilful misconduct by Brinkhof.
- Brinkhof and all persons working at Brinkhof are hereby authorised by the client to communicate with the client through non-secure electronic means, including email, fax, and telephone, unless there is a prior written agreement to the contrary. The Dutch text of these general conditions will be binding in case of a dispute about the contents or purport of these conditions in any translation.
- The relationship between the client and Brinkhof is exclusively governed by Dutch law. The Courts of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute which may arise between the client and Brinkhof.
- These general conditions have been deposited with the registry of the District Court of Amsterdam.
