Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten

Article 1 – Definitions

In these terms and conditions, the following is understood:

a. Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten: the law firm Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten located in Haarlem, registered with the Chamber of Commerce under number: 74569392, also referred to as “the firm”.

b. Client: the natural or legal person who commissions Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten to perform services.

c. Agreement: the agreement whereby a client commissions the firm or the lawyer to perform certain legal work and the firm accepts this commission.

d. Fee: the costs that the firm charges for the legal work to be performed.

e. Disbursements: any reimbursement of specifiable costs such as court fees, travel and accommodation costs, valuation costs, bailiff costs, obtaining written information from practitioners, etc., as well as any reimbursement of non-specifiable office costs such as postage, telephone, fax, copying costs, etc.

f. Complaint: any negative reaction from the client regarding the execution of a commission, compliance with an agreement, or the service provision by Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten.

g. Dispute: the persistent disagreement between client and the firm regarding a previously submitted complaint.

Article 2 – Applicability

1. These general terms and conditions apply to every agreement between Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten and client, unless parties explicitly deviate from them in writing.
   
2. These general terms and conditions also apply to any additional commissions and follow-up commissions from clients.
3. The conduct and professional rules of the Dutch Bar Association form part of the agreement. The client is aware that the lawyer must respect the conduct rules imposed by the Bar Association in the exercise of his practice. The client accepts the consequences that may arise from this.

Article 3 – Formation of commission agreement

1. The commission agreement for the provision of legal assistance is formed by acceptance of the commission provided by the client.
2. The operation of articles 7:404, 7:407 paragraph 2 and 7:409 of the Dutch Civil Code is excluded.
3. The acceptance of the commission takes place in writing by signing the commission agreement by the lawyer or by written confirmation of the acceptance of the commission by letter, fax or email.

Article 4 – Execution of agreement

1. The mutual obligations arising from the agreement apply from the written confirmation by Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten to the client.
   
2. The execution of the agreement takes place exclusively for the benefit of the client.
3. Unless expressly agreed otherwise between parties, Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten determines which lawyer or employee executes the commission.
4. If, in the opinion of Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten, it is in the interest of proper performance of the agreement, Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten has the right to have work performed by third parties.
5. The agreement constitutes an obligation of best efforts for Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten and not an obligation of result. An agreement is executed by or on behalf of the firm to the best of its ability and with the care that may be expected from the firm.

Article 5 – Client obligations

1. The client ensures that all data that Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten indicates, or that the client should reasonably understand to be necessary for executing the agreement, are provided to the firm in a timely manner.
2. If the data referred to in the previous paragraph and required for the execution of the agreement have not been provided to the firm in a timely manner, Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten has the right to suspend the execution of the agreement and/or charge the client for the additional costs arising from the delay according to the usual rates.

Article 6 – Fee and billing

1. For the execution of the commission agreement, the client owes the fee, increased with disbursements, office costs and VAT (high rate).
2. The lawyer’s work is in principle performed based on the standard hourly rate applied by the relevant lawyer. In special cases, such as urgent matters, matters of considerable importance, this may be deviated from in consultation with the client. The firm reserves the right to adjust the fee annually.
3. The owed fee is disclosed based on the hourly rate agreed for the relevant commission. The applicable hourly rate is confirmed in writing upon acceptance of the commission or recorded in the agreement signed by the client.
4. If the lawyer has recently performed work for the client before, the fixed fee previously agreed between parties applies unless otherwise agreed.
5. The fee regarding performed work will, if the execution of the commission extends over a period longer than one month, in principle be charged interim.
6. The lawyer is always entitled to demand payment of an advance from the client. The amount of the advance will be determined in consultation between the relevant lawyer and the client. If the client’s payment behavior gives cause for this, the amount of a next advance to be paid can be adjusted at a later stage. When the advance is at least three-quarters used up, the lawyer has the right to charge an additional advance to the client. A received advance payment is offset against the final invoice of the commission.
7. In addition to the fee, the client owes Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten disbursements in connection with the costs that the firm pays on behalf of the client. These disbursements relate among others to court fees, costs of witnesses and experts, bailiff costs and costs of extracts from public registers.

Article 7 – Subsidized legal aid

1. For agreements entered into based on the legal system of subsidized legal aid (assignment), the client does not owe the lawyer’s fee as determined in the previous paragraph. Instead, the client owes a personal contribution to be determined by the Legal Aid Board, which personal contribution is based on the income and assets of the client (and his partner) in the reference year (= the year of application minus two).
2. When entering into the first agreement, Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten examines based on the financial data provided by the client whether he qualifies for subsidized legal aid. The client is responsible for the accuracy of the (orally) provided information. In case of doubt, an assignment is requested as a precaution.
   
3. If during the process or with a subsequent agreement the client’s financial situation changes, in the sense that he believes he may still qualify for subsidized legal aid, the client is obliged to report this immediately to the lawyer.
   
4. The lawyer is always entitled to demand payment of an advance from the client as long as no assignment has been issued by the Legal Aid Board. The amount of the advance will be determined in consultation between the relevant lawyer and the client.
   
5. Court fees or fixed fees, costs of witnesses and experts, extracts from public registers, postage costs such as (digital) registered mail do not fall under the scope of the assignment issued by the Legal Aid Board and are charged to the client.
6. The assignment only relates to the work performed by the lawyer from the date of application. The work previously performed by the lawyer is charged to the client in accordance with the provisions in the previous article.

Article 8 – Payment

1. Payment of invoices must, unless otherwise agreed between parties, be made within 14 days after invoice date by Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten.
2. Payments must be made by transfer of the owed amount to the bank account number stated on the invoice or by payment via the internet (iDeal), or at the office of Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten by means of a legal means of payment.
3. Payments must be made without discount or set-off. No payment deferral is granted.
4. After expiry of the payment term of fourteen days, the client is in default by operation of law and the client owes the statutory (commercial) interest ex article 6:119(a) of the Dutch Civil Code, increased by 1.5%, on the claimable amount, without this having to be announced first.
5. If the client is unable to pay the (full) owed amount within the payment term mentioned in the first paragraph, he requests a motivated and substantiated payment arrangement before the expiry of the payment term. If Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten agrees to a payment arrangement, this is always confirmed in writing. Payment arrangements must be strictly adhered to by the client, on penalty of forfeiture, whereby the owed amount becomes immediately claimable again.
6. The received payments first reduce the costs referred to in article 9, then the accrued interest and finally expressly not the liquidated legal costs and finally the principal sum.
7. In case of liquidation, (imminent) bankruptcy or suspension of payments of the client, the client’s obligations are immediately and fully claimable.

Article 9 – Collection and suspension of work in case of default

1. If the client is in default of fulfilling one or more of his obligations towards Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten, all reasonable costs for obtaining satisfaction out of court are for the account of the client, which costs amount to at least 15% of the claim, with a minimum of €150.00.
2. The reasonable costs for obtaining satisfaction out of court also include the (collection) work performed by Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten itself, including sending reminders, (telephonically) demanding payment and possibly arranging payment arrangement(s). The costs incurred are calculated according to the agreed or usual hourly rate of Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten.
3. If the client is in default with the payment of what he owes, the relevant lawyer has, in addition to the possibility of collection measures as referred to in the previous paragraphs, the right to suspend his work on behalf of the client. The relevant lawyer is only authorized to use this right of suspension after he has informed the client in advance and has given him a short period to still fulfill his payment obligation. The duration of the aforementioned short period will be adapted to the circumstances of the case. The relevant lawyer accepts no liability for any damage that the client suffers, which arises as a result of a suspension of work as referred to here.
4. Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten has the right to retain all documents, including those relating to an agreement to which the unpaid invoice does not relate, until payment has taken place.

Article 10 – Complaints

1. Complaints regarding an invoice must, on penalty of nullity, be made in writing and within fourteen days after invoice date.
2. Complaints about performance of an agreement must, on penalty of forfeiture, be made in writing within thirty days after discovery of the defect or at the latest thirty days after completion of the relevant commission.

Article 11 – Liability

1. Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten is obliged to be insured against the consequences of professional liability.
2. Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten is not liable for damage, of whatever nature, arising from reliance on incorrect and/or incomplete data provided by the client, unless this incorrectness or incompleteness should have been known to the firm.
3. Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten is not liable for damage arising from a suspension of work for the client, if that suspension is the result of the client’s failure to make timely payment of the firm’s invoices.
4. Third parties cannot derive rights from the content of the performed work. The client indemnifies Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten against claims from third parties who claim to have suffered damage through or in connection with work performed by Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten on behalf of the client.
5. Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten is not liable for any shortcomings of work performed by third parties in relation to the agreement.
6. Furthermore, any liability of Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten for damage arising from, or in connection with an attributable breach or wrongful act, or based on any other legal ground, is limited to the amount paid out or to be paid out by the professional liability insurer of Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten in that regard, increased by its own risk under that insurance, unless there is intent or gross negligence. The professional liability insurer of Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten is AON, located in Rotterdam.
7. Limitations of liability in favor of Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten also extend in favor of employees and non-subordinate representatives and auxiliary persons of Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten.
8. All claims of the client expire twelve months after the moment when the person concerned became aware or could reasonably have become aware of the existence of these claim rights or other rights or powers.
9. If the professional liability insurer for whatever reason does not proceed to
   payment, any liability is limited to the amount paid by the client to Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten for the work in the case in connection with which the damage arose, with a maximum of €10,000.00 including VAT.
10. Third parties cannot derive rights from the content of the performed work. The client indemnifies Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten against claims from third parties who claim to have suffered damage through or in connection with work performed by Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten on behalf of the client.

Article 12 – Intellectual property rights

1. Without prior written permission, the client is not permitted to reproduce, disclose and/or exploit advice, contracts or other products of the mind produced by or on behalf of Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten, whether or not with the involvement of third parties.

Article 13 – Archiving

1. Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten will keep the file formed during the execution of the agreement for at least 5 years after termination of its work and closure of the file.
2. After expiry of the period mentioned in the first paragraph, Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten is entitled to destroy the file.
3. At the client’s request, within the period mentioned in the first paragraph, the file can be retrieved from the archive against reimbursement of the actual costs to be incurred.

Article 14 – Complaints and disputes procedure

1. An internal complaints procedure applies to the service provision of Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten. This office complaints procedure will be sent upon first request of the client.
2. The client must submit his complaint to Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten within three months after the moment he became aware or could reasonably have become aware of the action or omission that gave rise to his complaint.
3. If the problem is not resolved through the internal complaints procedure of Wessel Van der Lans Advocaten, the complaint can be submitted to the Civil court.

Article 15 – Applicable law and choice of forum

1. All agreements are governed exclusively by Dutch law.
2. The competent court in the North Holland district also has jurisdiction to hear disputes arising from agreements concluded with the client.

August 11, 2025