General terms and conditions Wise Law
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Article 1 – Wise Law, applicability and publication
1.1 Wise Law is a private limited liability company incorporated under Dutch law.
1.2 These general terms and conditions apply exclusively to every assignment accepted by Wise Law, including any follow-up assignments.
1.3 The possible inapplicability of a (part of a) provision of these general terms and conditions does not affect the applicability of the other provisions.
1.4 These general terms and conditions have been filed with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce and can also be consulted on www.wiselaw.nl. Upon request, a copy of these terms and conditions will be sent to the client free of charge.

Article 2 – Assignments
2.1 The proposals made by Wise Law are without obligation. A proposal made by Wise Law will automatically lapse if it has not been accepted by the client in writing within 7 days, unless expressly agreed otherwise.
2.2 The agreement is only concluded and commences at the moment that the order confirmation signed by the client for approval or otherwise confirming approval has been received by Wise Law, unless the execution of the assignment has actually commenced.
2.3 An accepted assignment leads to an obligation of best efforts from Wise Law, not to an obligation of result. Wise Law will endeavor to achieve the result desired by the client, but does not guarantee that this result will be achieved. It is up to Wise Law to assess how legal and extra-judicial action is taken.
2.4 The client is obliged to provide all information that is important for the execution of the assignment on time.
2.5 All agreements are concluded with the “Wise Law” partnership as such, even if it is the explicit or tacit intention of the client that the assignment is carried out by a specific person. The operation of articles 7: 404 and 7: 407 paragraph 2 of the Dutch Civil Code is excluded.
2.6 If the use of one or more bailiffs is required or desired for the provision of services by Wise Law, this at the discretion of the attending lawyer (s), the assignment given to Wise Law is also considered the assignment and permission to include such an activation. If the engagement of one or more third parties, other than a bailiff, is required or desired for the service provision, consultation will be held with the client about this.
2.7 Wise Law is at all times free to refer the assignment for further treatment to (a) competent third party / parties.
2.8 An assignment can be terminated at any time in writing by registered mail by the parties. Any outstanding invoices must then be paid immediately by the client.

Article 3 – Rates
3.1 Unless otherwise agreed, invoices are made based on the time spent multiplied by the hourly rate set by Wise Law. Wise Law has the right to periodically change the hourly rate. The work performed is noted in units of at least 5 minutes. Objections to the time registration must be received in writing by Wise Law within 10 days of being sent, failing which the time registration is deemed to have been approved by the client.
3.2 When entering into the agreement, a different price agreement can be made, including subscription fees, fixed rates, no cure no pay agreements, no cure less pay agreements. If a different price agreement has been made, any cost reimbursements in respect of legal assistance and periodic penalty payments will be for the benefit of Wise Law. If the assignment is terminated prematurely by the client in the event of a different price agreement, the hours worked must be settled at the regular hourly rate.
3.3 Unless agreed otherwise, the rates are exclusive of 5% office costs, VAT and disbursements (costs of third parties), including government levies, bailiff costs, court fees, costs of extracts, costs of registered shipping, costs incurred by a third party to be engaged. .
3.4 Wise Law is at all times authorized to request payment of an advance in connection with work to be carried out or to cover the costs of third parties to be engaged by Wise Law. Wise Law is authorized to commence work only after the advance requested by Wise Law has been paid by the client. The advance amount is settled with the next invoice or with the final invoice.
3.5 Work performed outside of working days (Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.) at the request of the client is considered as overtime. In the case of overtime before or after regular working hours, the then applicable rate can be increased with a surcharge of 25%. For overtime on weekends and public holidays, the then applicable rate can be increased by a surcharge of 50%.
3.6 Wise Law is entitled to increase the agreed rate if, during the performance of the work, it appears that the originally anticipated amount of work was insufficiently estimated at the conclusion of the agreement that Wise Law cannot reasonably be expected to have the agreed work to be carried out at the originally agreed rate.

Article 4 – Payment and consequences of non or late payment
4.1 Work is charged periodically. The payment term is a period of seven days after the invoice date, unless a different payment term has been expressly agreed. Wise Law is entitled to shorten the payment period at any time.
4.2 If the client does not agree with the amount of the invoice, the client must inform Wise Law in writing within fourteen days of the invoice date.
4.3 The client cannot invoke any set-off or suspension.
4.4 If the payment term is exceeded, the client is legally in default and will then owe a contractual default interest of 1% per month on the outstanding amount, whereby part of a month will be charged as a whole month.
4.5 After the payment term has been exceeded, Wise Law will send the client a written reminder in which the client is again given the opportunity to pay the invoice within 14 days. If payment is not made after the aforementioned term has elapsed, Wise Law is entitled to charge the client extrajudicial collection costs of 15% of the principal sum with a minimum of € 40.
4.6 Wise Law is entitled to suspend work until full payment has been made, to the exclusion of any liability for damage that may arise as a result.

Article 5 – Return of documents
5.1 At the end of the assignment, the client’s documents will be returned if desired, but not before all invoices have been paid.

Article 6 – Liability
6.1 Any liability of Wise Law is expressly limited to the amount that is paid out in the relevant case under the (professional) liability insurance policy (s) taken out by Wise Law, including the amount of the deductible under the relevant policy.
6.2 If and insofar as for whatever reason no payment is made under the aforementioned insurance, any liability of Wise Law is limited to the amount of the charged rate with a maximum of € 5,000.00.
6.3 Wise Law is not liable for damage caused by the failure of the client in his responsibility or if the client has provided incorrect or incomplete information.
6.4 Wise Law is never obliged to compensate for indirect or consequential damage, including business damage and damage due to lost profit due to whatever cause.
6.5 All claims of the client expire if they have not been registered and substantiated with Wise Law within three months after the client was known or could reasonably have been aware of the facts on which he bases his claims and in any case five years after the date of the last declaration.
6.6 Wise Law does not accept any liability for a shortcoming of third parties engaged by it, such as lawyers, bailiffs, experts. To the extent that third parties limit their liability for professional errors, Wise Law is entitled to accept such a limitation of liability on behalf of the client.

Article 7 – Applicable law
7.1 Disputes arising from the assignment are governed by Dutch law.
7.2 The Dutch District Court of The Hague has exclusive jurisdiction to hear disputes arising from the assignment, unless mandatory legal provisions dictate another court elsewhere.

Rates from January 1, 2019
The fixed rates of Wise Law are as follows:
Hourly rate Legal assistant € 95.00
Hourly rate Jurist € 145.00
Hourly rate Jurist sr € 225.00
Surcharge for specialization lawyers is 70%

Subscription & reduced rate:
For € 240.00 per year you can take out a subscription with Wise Law. With this subscription you are entitled to a full year of free telephone advice, a free newsletter and a reduced hourly rate of € 125.00 (with the exception of specialized legal assistance) in case more than telephone legal assistance is required.

Collection rate:
Wise Law can take care of the collection of your claims against the following rates:
Hourly rate in the extrajudicial phase € 95.00
Hourly rate in the judicial phase € 125.00

Wise Law calculates the collection costs to the debtor in accordance with the Dutch Standardization of Extrajudicial Collection Costs Act (2012). In most cases, the collection costs will be recoverable from the debtor. However, Wise Law cannot guarantee this.

Finally:
The rates quoted concern the Wise Law fee. All mentioned amounts are excl. Dutch VAT. In addition, advances can be charged to the client. Advances include: postage, fax, copying, travel, telephone, clerk’s and bailiff’s costs.