Terms and Conditions

In these general terms and conditions, the following terms are used with the meanings set forth below, unless expressly stated otherwise:

These general terms and conditions apply to all services provided by Crauwels Advocaten to the Client. Any agreements that deviate from one or more provisions of these general terms and conditions shall replace only the provision(s) from which they deviate, but shall not affect the application of the remaining provisions of these general terms and conditions.

The attorneys affiliated with Crauwels Advocaten perform their work and provide their services in the name and on behalf of Crauwels Advocaten. Crauwels Advocaten is the Client’s sole contracting party for any services provided by the attorneys affiliated with it. The list of attorneys affiliated with Crauwels Advocaten and their status can be viewed at any time on the firm’s website (www.crauwels-law.be).

Crauwels Advocaten and the Client will agree on the exact scope of the services at the start of the collaboration and, if necessary, modify and/or expand it during the course of the collaboration. The Client agrees that the determination of the precise scope of the services and any subsequent adjustment and/or expansion thereof may take place without any formal requirements and may be evidenced, among other things, by correspondence, email correspondence, and, where applicable, the tacit acceptance of services or the payment of invoices. Crauwels Advocaten’s obligation is an obligation of means.

Unless the Client expressly objects, Crauwels Advocaten may internally assign or reassign the cases entrusted to it by the Client—or certain parts or aspects thereof—among the attorneys affiliated with Crauwels Advocaten. This internal allocation will be based on the areas of practice preferred by the attorneys and partners affiliated with Crauwels Advocaten.

In addition to the usual tasks performed at the law firm, the Client agrees that Crauwels Advocaten may engage third parties, such as translators, bailiffs, experts, notaries, accountants, auditors, and others, to carry out its assignment.

If it is necessary to engage third parties to carry out the assignment, the Client shall leave the selection of such third parties to the attorney. The same applies to the performance of simple tasks, such as filing pleadings, appearing at a (preliminary) hearing, and similar matters, by a local attorney.

Crauwels Advocaten engages the aforementioned third parties in the name and on behalf of the Client, who shall be deemed to have contracted directly with these third parties. Unless otherwise agreed, the fees, charges, and costs of these third parties shall be borne in full by the Client and, where applicable, shall be paid directly by the Client to these third parties. In the event that Crauwels Advocaten advances these costs, they will be charged to the Client. Crauwels Advocaten cannot be held personally liable for the involvement of these third parties.

Crauwels Advocaten keeps the Client informed about the performance of its engagement and the progress of the case.

Throughout the duration of the engagement, the Client shall, if requested by Crauwels Advocaten, provide all information necessary for the performance of the agreed-upon services. Crauwels Advocaten is not liable for any damages resulting from incorrect or incomplete information provided by the Client.

In principle, the Client shall provide Crauwels Advocaten only with copies of documents relevant to the case. Crauwels Advocaten shall at no time be responsible for their safekeeping after the case is closed. The case file compiled during the engagement will be retained by Crauwels Advocaten for at least 5 years after the case is closed, after which it will be destroyed. If the Client has provided Crauwels Advocaten with original documents, the Client must request their return no later than the closure of the case if these documents are not to be destroyed after archiving.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the services provided by Crauwels Advocaten are billed on the basis of an hourly rate per unit of time worked. Crauwels Advocaten may adjust the rate during the course of the engagement. It may also be adjusted during the course of the engagement as a result of certain factors, such as (among others) the importance of the matter, the complexity of the case, the urgency of the matter, and the outcome.

In addition to billing services based on a rate per unit of time worked, Crauwels Advocaten and the Client may also mutually agree on other formulas for calculating fees and costs. These formulas may include, but are not limited to:

The office expenses of Crauwels Advocaten consist of the material expenses incurred in handling a case. These include costs for opening the case file, correspondence, certified mail, fax, telephone, copies, court filing fees, travel expenses, etc. This list is not exhaustive, and some costs may be specific to the case.

Court costs and expenses that the attorney must pay to third parties—such as bailiffs, the court clerk’s office, translators, and public authorities—are generally paid directly by the Client to the third party.

VAT must be paid on the costs and fees of Crauwels Advocaten at a rate that is (currently) 21%.

Crauwels Advocaten reserves the right to request an advance payment from the Client prior to and during the course of its work by means of an advance invoice, and to commence or continue its work only after payment of this advance invoice. The final statement will take into account any advance payments previously charged.

Fees and costs are generally billed to the Client on a monthly basis. These invoices are due within 15 days of the invoice date. In the event of non-payment of part or all of an invoice by the specified due date, the balance of all other invoices (even those not yet due) shall also become due and payable by operation of law and immediately. Furthermore, in such a case, Crauwels Advocaten has the right either to suspend the performance of its services in all cases involving the Client in question until all invoices have been paid in full, or to terminate the overall relationship with the Client with immediate effect. Crauwels Advocaten is not liable for any damages that may result from the suspension or termination of its services.

Any complaints and/or objections to our invoices must, to be admissible, be submitted by certified mail within 8 days of receipt. In the event of non-payment by the due date, default interest of 9% per annum shall accrue by operation of law and without notice of default, and compensation of 10% of the outstanding balance shall also be due, with a minimum of 125.00 euros, without prejudice to our right to claim compensation for actual damages suffered and costs incurred. The entry of this invoice in our accounting records serves as proof of its dispatch and receipt by the recipient.

If multiple Clients jointly engage the services of Crauwels Advocaten for the same assignment or case, they are jointly and severally liable for payment of the fee statements (fees, costs, and success fee).

In the event of a failure attributable to Crauwels Advocaten in the performance of its services, including professional errors committed by attorneys affiliated with Crauwels Advocaten who provide their services in the name and on behalf of Crauwels Advocaten, only Crauwels Advocaten may be held liable by the Client, but not the partners, lawyers, or employees associated with Crauwels Advocaten.

Crauwels Advocaten, its partner attorneys, and associate attorneys are insured for their professional liability. The coverage under this insurance policy applies to the consequences of acts and actions performed worldwide, for activities carried out by the insured parties from their office(s) located in Belgium, and subject to the clarifications set forth in the insurance policy. However, claims brought in the United States or Canada, or under the laws or jurisdiction of the United States or Canada, are not covered.

With regard to the specific terms and conditions of the insurance coverage, Crauwels Advocaten refers to the text of the aforementioned insurance policies, the provisions of which shall at all times take precedence over the summary of these insurance terms and conditions provided in these general terms and conditions. Upon request, a copy of these insurance agreements will be made available to the Client free of charge.

Crauwels Advocaten cannot be held liable for any shortcomings on the part of third parties engaged by it, even if such third parties were to charge their fees andfees and costs to Crauwels Advocaten and/or if such third parties were to be considered subcontractors of Crauwels Advocaten. Crauwels Advocaten cannot be held liable for the selection of third parties engaged by Crauwels Advocaten or by the Client upon its recommendation.

The Client considers the lawyer’s standard insurance to be sufficient and accepts that compensation for damages suffered as a result of a professional error by a lawyer is limited to the amount for which the lawyer is insured. This limitation does not apply in cases of willful misconduct or gross negligence on the part of the attorney. If the professional liability insurer does not cover the damages, through no fault of the attorney, compensation for damages arising from a professional error by the attorney shall be limited in principal, costs, and interest to the amount of the fees paid by the Client in the case in question.

Under no circumstances may Crauwels Advocaten be held liable for indirect damages, consequential damages, loss of use, or loss of profits suffered by the Client or third parties.

Crauwels Advocaten shall remit to the Client all amounts it receives on the Client’s behalf. If Crauwels Advocaten is unable to remit an amount, it shall notify the Client accordingly. However, Crauwels Advocaten may withhold amounts from the funds it receives on behalf of the Client to cover outstanding invoices. This provision does not affect the Client’s right to dispute Crauwels Advocaten’s fee statements.

The Client is not permitted to distribute, disclose, or in any way make public the advice, memoranda, notes, agreements, and draft agreements prepared and provided by Crauwels Advocaten, pleadings, and all other intellectual work, regardless of form, without the prior written consent of Crauwels Advocaten, except within the scope of the engagement granted to Crauwels Advocaten.

Crauwels Advocaten is subject to the legislation designed to prevent the use of the financial system for money laundering and the financing of terrorism (such as the Act of January 11, 1993, as amended from time to time, most recently by the Act of September 18, 2017, on the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism and on the restriction of the use of cash (Belgian Official Gazette, October 6, 2017). This legislation imposes an obligation to identify clients as well as a duty to report unusual transactions. Pursuant to the aforementioned legislation, Crauwels Advocaten is, among other things, legally required to identify its clients and to retain proof of this identification. Upon first request, the Client shall provide all requested identification information based on official documents, including, where applicable, the information of its authorized representatives.

Crauwels Advocaten considers the privacy and protection of the Client’s personal data to be of the utmost importance. The lawfulness of the processing of the Client’s personal data, as well as its security and confidentiality, is of essential importance to Crauwels Advocaten.
Crauwels Advocaten’s policy regarding the processing of personal data is set forth in Crauwels Advocaten’s Privacy Policy, which is available on its website.

Both the Client and Crauwels Advocaten may terminate the agreement at any time by notifying the other party in writing. However, termination of the engagement does not affect any financial agreements made between the parties. If a success fee was agreed upon, it remains payable.

If one or more provisions of these Terms and Conditions are null and void, unenforceable, or invalid, such nullity, unenforceability, or invalidity shall not affect the enforceability and validity of the remaining provisions and the remaining portion of these Terms and Conditions. Provisions that are affected by nullity or are invalid shall remain binding to the extent permitted by law. The parties undertake to replace any provisions that may be null and void or invalid with valid provisions that most closely approximate the parties’ intent.

These terms and conditions are subject to change from time to time. The applicable terms and conditions can be viewed at any time on the Crauwels Advocaten website.

Agreements between Crauwels Advocaten and the Client are governed exclusively by Belgian law. The parties shall preferably settle their disputes amicably. Only the courts of the judicial district of Antwerp, Antwerp division, have jurisdiction to hear any dispute between the parties.

Version dated August 25, 2022