General terms and conditions

General
1. These general terms and conditions apply to all services provided by Penn Advocatuur B.V. also h.o.d.n. Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V.
2. All assignments shall, setting aside Sections 7:404, 7:409 and 7:422(1)(b) of the Dutch Civil Code, be accepted and carried out exclusively by Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V.
3. Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. is registered in the trade register maintained by the Chamber of Commerce under number 27329576.
4. These general terms and conditions also extend to persons working for Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V..

Scope of legal aid
5. The order confirmation will specify the scope of legal assistance. In principle, this is the legal assistance requested when the assignment was accepted. The lawyer bears responsibility for the execution of the assignment. This also means that the lawyer directs the execution of the assignment and not the client. If a difference of opinion arises about the method of execution or about the scope of the assignment and a mutual agreement cannot be reached, the lawyer will be allowed to withdraw.

Liability
6. Any liability of Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. shall be limited to the amount paid out under its liability insurance in the case in question, plus the amount of any excess which under the policy conditions is not for the account of the insurers. If and insofar as, for whatever reason, no payment is made under the liability insurance, liability shall be limited to a maximum of the amount of the claim(s) in the relevant case.

Engagement of third parties
7. When engaging the services of third parties, Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. shall, if reasonably possible, consult with its client beforehand and in any event exercise the due care required in the selection of third parties. Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. is not liable for shortcomings of these third parties. The client agrees to the acceptance by Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V., on behalf of the client, of liability-limiting clauses of third parties.

Advance, security
8. In cases which are not dealt with by legal aid, Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. shall not commence or continue its work for the client until the client has made an advance payment or, as the case may be, provided security. The amount of this advance payment or this security will be determined by Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. in all reasonableness.

Cash payments
9. Pursuant to the Regulation on the Administration and Financial Integrity of the Netherlands Bar Association, Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. will consult with the Dean of the Netherlands Bar Association if cash payments of €5,000 or more are accepted or made. Repayment to the client of monies on deposit will preferably be made by giro. In the event of cash refunds, the client will be charged for external courier services.

Fee
10. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the fee payable by the client to Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. will be calculated on the basis of the number of hours spent multiplied by the hourly rates set annually by Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V., plus VAT. Costs paid by Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. on behalf of clients to third parties will be charged separately. The hourly rate includes: costs of paper, letter, telephone, fax or e-mail traffic and copying, as well as all other costs related to the provision of services in a case, as well as all costs arising from the Accounting Regulations of the Netherlands Bar Association.

Funded legal aid
11. Unless Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. has good grounds to believe that a client is not eligible for government-financed legal aid, prior to the acceptance of the assignment and further in the interim, when there is reason to do so, there will be consultations as to whether there are terms to attempt to obtain government-financed legal aid. A client who is assisted on the basis of financed legal aid should take into account the possibility that the fee paid to a law firm by the Legal Aid Board may be reclaimed from a litigant if, after an irrevocable conviction, it is found that the litigant, in view of his financial capacity, would not be eligible for an addition. A client can object to such a decision by the Council as an interested party himself. For more information on funded legal aid, please refer to the website www.rvr.org.

Declarations
12. Unless otherwise agreed immediately, Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. will send invoices for its work once a month. Invoices must be paid within fourteen days of the invoice date, failing which work may be suspended and statutory interest charged. Collection costs shall be borne by the client.

Recording telephone calls on data carrier
13. For efficiency reasons, Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. may record the content of a telephone conversation conducted by a lawyer on a sound carrier.

Access to office
14. In appropriate cases, Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. will grant clients access to the office only after identification with a valid identity document.

Assistance provided by multiple office partners, mutual substitution
15. Where appropriate, Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. provides legal services in cooperation with one or more office partners. Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. reserves the right, if necessary, to mutually substitute for acting in court.

Transmission of pleading notes prior to a hearing
16. Prior to a hearing, Law Office Penn B.V. does not, in principle, send draft case notes to the client unless the client expressly requests this in writing, the timely dispatch is practical and Law Office Penn B.V. considers this useful for adequate legal assistance in the client's case.

Publicity about a case
17. With due observance of the Regulation on Publicity of the Netherlands Bar Association, Penn B.V. is free, in the context of the representation of interests, to cooperate in publicity about a case without further consultation but with due observance of the client's privacy. This freedom also exists after termination of the case, on the understanding that this will take place in consultation with the client wherever possible. Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. is free to cooperate in publicity about a case without this taking place in the context of representing the client's interests, provided this does not harm the client's interests.

Return, filing, destruction of documents after termination of work
18. Files are digitised. In principle, Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. does not accept original documents. In the event that original documents are sent, they are digitised and the original is returned to the sender whereby the risk of any non-receipt lies with the client. It reserves the right to destroy archived files in accordance with the relevant regulations 5 years after archiving. O.a. due to digital storage capacity.

Office complaints scheme
19. Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. has an office complaints procedure. This can be found on our office's website.

Applicability of Dutch law, resolution of disputes by court in Amsterdam
20. The legal relationship between Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. and its clients is exclusively governed by Dutch law. Disputes arising from that legal relationship shall be settled exclusively by the competent court in Maastricht. The Complaints and Disputes Scheme for the Legal Profession does not apply to these disputes. However, in a specific case, Advocatenkantoor Penn B.V. may agree with the client in a deed of compromise to submit a dispute to the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession.