1. Preliminary remarks
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The purpose of this document is to define the terms and conditions for the performance by the lawyer of the services described under the heading "Mission" of the special conditions.
Within the framework of the mission entrusted to her, the lawyer undertakes to carry out all the diligences and to implement all the legal and procedural means to advise, assist and represent the client and ensure the defence of his interests, with the best chances of success. The client acknowledges, however, that the lawyer is only bound by an obligation of means and that he cannot be held responsible for any lack of results.
The client undertakes to inform the lawyer from the outset as fully as possible of all the elements relating to the facts of the dispute which are the subject of his mission and to communicate to her all documents, correspondence and other items necessary for this information. He shall do the same in the event of any new development or change of circumstances that may arise during the course of the proceedings.
The client is informed that the lawyer has an insurance contract guaranteeing her - throughout the world except in the United States and Canada - against the pecuniary consequences of his professional liability, taken out with the company ETHIAS S.A., Rue des Croisiers, 24 in 4000 Liège, for a maximum amount of €1,250,000 per claim.
The client acknowledges having been informed by the lawyer, during an initial consultation prior to any intervention by her or any of his collaborators, of the content of the present agreement, to which he gives his unreserved agreement.
The client also acknowledges having been informed by the lawyer of the existence of the legal aid mechanism provided by the Legal Aid Office (BAJ), which allows the appointment of a lawyer whose fees are fully or partially covered by the Belgian State.
By signing this agreement, the client expressly declares his willingness to renounce the possibility of using this service and his decision to use the services of the lawyer, which will be entirely at his expense.
2. Staff
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2.1. Making an appointment
LEXPAT only consults by appointment. It is therefore unnecessary to come to the office unannounced to obtain an interview.
2.2. Subcontractors
In order to carry out the missions entrusted to her, the lawyer regularly calls upon the services of collaborators, intervening - either punctually, or in the capacity of file manager - under his full responsibility as "Dominus Litis", of which the client acknowledges having been informed and accepting without restriction.
3. Means of contact
3.1. Office hours
LEXPAT can be contacted every working day from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm:
o either by phone: via its secretariat on 0484697611 ;
o or by email: to lexpat@lexpat.be.
3.2. Secretariat
LEXPAT never answers the phone personally. Thus, calls are handled by the above-mentioned secretariat, which takes note of any questions or messages, which are immediately transmitted by email, so that the lawyer is aware of them immediately. The lawyer undertakes to contact the caller as soon as his or her schedule permits, generally within a few hours.
3.3. Online booking system
Clients can also make an appointment via the online booking system available on the firm's website: https://lexpat.be/en/home/ via the "BOOK NOW" icon.
4. How clients are informed
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Each client is notified of any new developments as soon as the lawyer is informed.
The lawyer always prefers to communicate by email but the lawyer could also contact the client by email, phone, WhatsApp, SMS or post.
There is therefore no need to call or make an appointment, only to receive information on the progress of a case. This will reduce the services charged to the client.
5. Fees and charges
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5.1. Entry into force of the contract
The parties agree that this agreement shall only come into force on the day of full payment of the first invoice, including the first monthly instalment and the deposit.
In case of partial payment, the amount paid will be refunded with a deduction of 150 € VAT included. In this case, the file will be closed immediately
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5.2. Termination
The lawyer may terminate the contract in the event of non-payment of the fees after formal notice in accordance with the terms of Article 5.5.
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5.3. Billing
5.3.1. Flat rate billing
Most of the time, the value of the services of the lawyer and his staff is defined as a lump sum.
Then, the contract only starts on the day of full payment of the fees (suspensive condition).
This exceptional billing method has two corollaries:
1. Consultations in the office or by videoconference that are not related to this agreement are not included in the package;
2. The amount of the fixed fee remains with LEXPAT even if the client terminates the assignment early, for whatever reason.
In case that :
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The client has paid the global fee requested by the lawyer;
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The lawyer would then have sent him all the instructions relating to the documents to be sent to the firm in order for him to prepare the requested procedural documents;
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But that one year after the signature of the contract, the client would still not have sent to the lawyer the documents allowing the lawyer to prepare the requested procedural acts, for whatever reason, the firm ris the allowed to close the client's file without retrocession of fees.
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5.3.2. Billing at hourly rate
Otherwise, the fees of LEXPAT and its associates are evaluated according to the time spent on each case.
The working time is valued at between 4 eur per minute (+ 21% VAT) and is calculated in 3-minute irreducible time slots.
This rate includes all fees and general expenses (secretarial, photocopying, telephone, fax, email, travel, etc.) relating to the services provided by the lawyer and her associates, with the exception of:
✓ legal fees: court fees, copies of court files, copies or dispatch of judgements, certificates of non-appeal, etc.
✓ disbursements: civil status certificates, official copies from the national register, fees and charges required by the authorities, etc.; services provided by professionals outside the firm: court bailiffs, experts, etc.
In order to determine the value of the services as they are performed, they are timed and recorded in real time within the firm's computer system.
A detailed account of the services provided is permanently kept up to date and attached to each invoice.
5.4. Contingency fee
The damages granted to the successful party in any legal proceedings will be kept by the lawyer as a "contingency fee". The same will apply to the amount of the docket fee paid to the successful applicant at the end of an administrative procedure before the "Conseil du Contentieux des Étrangers” or “the Conseil d’État".
In addition, if the assignment is successful, the amount of the deposit or the eventual unused part of the retainer will also be retained by the lawyer as a "contingency fee".
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5.5. Late payment
All invoices issued by the lawyer are payable in full. In the event of late payment of more than 14 days, the client will automatically, by rights and without prior notice, owe the lawyer a compensation of €50, exclusive of VAT, per reminder or formal notice, in order to cover the related costs.
Furthermore, as soon as a formal notice is sent to the client by registered mail, the lawyer will limit her intervention to urgent services only and will cease all services as from the 7th day following the sending of this letter. The client acknowledges that in such case, the lawyer's professional liability will not be engaged. Furthermore, in the event of breach of contract in accordance with this clause, the deposit will be retained by the lawyer and deducted from the unpaid balance, the possible surplus being retained as compensation.
The client also undertakes to pay without delay any invoice that he receives from any professional whom the lawyer has had to call upon in order to carry out his assignment (court bailiffs, experts, translators and interpreters, etc.).
6. Deadlines
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As he has no control over the functioning of judicial or administrative institutions, the lawyer cannot be held responsible for the delays in proceedings or in the processing of his clients' cases by these institutions. It follows that the information provided by the lawyer on this subject is purely indicative, without his responsibility being engaged in the event of exceeding the deadlines thus informed.
The client acknowledges that the lawyer has drawn his attention to the very short response times imposed by the law in certain procedures, particularly administrative procedures, so that he undertakes to transmit to the lawyer by email or fax, on the same day as it is received or the following day at the latest, any document relating to the dispute which is the subject of the mission which he receives of which he has knowledge by any means whatsoever. Should he fail to do so, the lawyer's professional responsibility shall in no case be engaged.
7. Prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing
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The lawyer complies with his legal obligations regarding the identification of the client or his mandator. The latter undertake to spontaneously provide all documents allowing the establishment of their identity and authorise the lawyer to take copies of them. The obligations of the lawyer and the client derive more particularly from the provisions of the law of 18 September 2017 on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing and on the limitation of the use of cash. The information to be provided by the client varies depending on whether the client is a natural person, a legal person or a proxy. The client shall inform the lawyer as soon as possible and without delay of any change in his situation and provide proof thereof.
When the nature of the case (assistance to the client in the preparation or execution of operations such as the purchase or sale of real estate or commercial undertakings; management of securities funds or other assets belonging to the clients or its principal; opening or management of bank, savings or portfolio accounts; organisation of the contributions necessary for the constitution, management or direction of companies; constitution, management or direction of trusts, companies or similar structures or interventions in the name and for the account of the client in all financial and real estate transactions) or when the particular situations provided for by the aforementioned law of 18 September 2017 (country of origin, identification difficulties, unusual relationship between the client and the lawyer or the nature of the transactions, public figure or similar) impose on the lawyer an obligation of reinforced vigilance, the client undertakes to answer any question from the lawyer enabling her to comply with his legal obligations in terms of the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
When the lawyer assists the client in his legal defence or when he gives legal advice (assessment of his legal situation), he is bound by strict professional secrecy.
However, the law requires lawyers to inform the President of the Bar as soon as they become aware of facts that they suspect to be related to money laundering or terrorist financing during their legal defence or legal advice. The President of the Bar, who is the guarantor of professional secrecy, shall, if necessary, forward the report of suspicion to the CTIF (Cellule de Traitement des Informations Financières).
8. Right of withdrawal
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The client acknowledges that he has been informed that any contract for the provision of legal services concluded outside the lawyer's office is subject to a 14-day withdrawal period, so that - in such a case - the lawyer will only begin the execution of the contract after the expiry of this period. Any client who would like the lawyer to start the performance of the services immediately, must expressly request this in writing, thus losing his right of withdrawal.
9. Disputes relating to the application of the agreement
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Any dispute relating to the content, execution, interpretation or implementation of this agreement shall be referred to the President of the French Bar Association of Brussels by the most diligent party.
Any dispute that remains unresolved after referral to the President of the Bar and is the subject of legal proceedings shall fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the French-speaking Court of First Instance in Brussels.
10. Consent of the client(s) to the processing and exchange of his/her (their) personal data in the context of the management of the file
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Why do we collect your data? What data? Who is responsible?
Within the framework of the mission you wish to entrust to your lawyer, he must collect a certain amount of information concerning you, in order to carry out the tasks related to this mission: management of your file, correspondence with yourself, correspondence with your opponents as well as their lawyer(s), correspondence with any professional outside the firm whose services are required in the treatment of your file: administrative services, experts, translators, etc., correspondence and procedural documents transmitted to the competent jurisdictions, invoicing; etc...
Your collected data may also be used for another purpose closely related to those listed above. The data collected are your identity data, your correspondence and billing address, as well as all the information strictly necessary to accomplish the tasks listed above. This data may, if necessary for the processing of your case, be sensitive data, such as medical images, laboratory reports, biological sample data, letters and written reports from the doctors who have treated you, or data relating to your race, sexual orientation, trade union membership or religious, philosophical or other beliefs. This data is collected and used with your consent and in accordance with European and national data protection laws. Even if you decide not to give your consent, your lawyer will deal with your case as best as possible. Your lawyer is responsible for your data. You can contact your lawyer to ask any questions you may have.
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How is your data stored?
Your data is stored in the form of a paper file and/or an electronic file, under the responsibility of your lawyer who takes all necessary measures to ensure their security.
If your data needs to be shared for the processing of your case, it will be shared through a secure electronic information exchange system and/or in court proceedings, through the electronic deposit/DPA system or any other name.
Your data is stored for the duration of your case. Once your case is closed, your data will be stored for a maximum of 10 years, starting from the end of your lawyer's services, in order to enable her to meet his obligations in terms of liability.
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What are your rights?
You have the right to give or withdraw your consent to the processing and exchange of your data.
If you agree today to give your data and have it processed as part of your case, you can always withdraw your agreement later. In this case, your lawyer will explain how your data will be removed from your file. However, it may not be possible to remove all the information, especially that which has been used to bring a legal action or to defend your legal rights.
You have the right to be informed about the purposes for which your data will be processed and who will have access to your data. Your lawyer will tell you which persons will be involved in the processing of your file and which persons will have access to your file.
You have the right to ask what information about you is stored and to request corrections if any information is incorrect.
You have the right to receive all information about you that is stored in a portable and readable format.
Your lawyer who collects your data directly is responsible for this data.
Your lawyer has a duty to ensure that your data is handled securely and to warn you if the security of your data is not respected.
If you are concerned about how your data is being processed, you can contact your lawyer or the Privacy Commission:
Rue de la Presse 3S, 1000 Brussels, Tel: 02 274 48 00 or commission@privacycommission.be
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Who will have access to your data?
The members of your lawyer's office will have access to your file, so that they can process it.
If required for the processing of your case, this consent form will also authorise your lawyer to share all data in your case with other lawyers and legal actors.
If your case is to be handled outside Belgium, in the European Union (EU), and if you and your lawyer agree, your data collected by your lawyer may be shared with legal professionals in other EU countries. Your lawyer can tell you more about the professional(s) who will handle your case in that EU country or countries.
11. MISSION, QUOTATION & INVOICE
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Mission: Our service mission was clearly explained to you in our consultation follow-up which was sent to you by e-mail.
Quotation: Please expressly agree to the quote that will be sent to you via the WIX application.
Invoice: An invoice will be sent to you immediately after acceptance. We will start our mission as soon as the invoice is paid.
12. RENUNCIATION OF LEGAL BENEFIT AID
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12. 1 General information
Where circumstances warrant, the lawyer shall inform the client, prior to the conclusion of a contract, of the conditions of access to legal aid, either totally or partially free of charge, and of the cases in which a legal aid case may give rise to payment of a fee for the lawyer's services and those in which legal aid may be withdrawn.
The client acknowledges that he/she has received the following information regarding access to legal aid prior to the conclusion of the contract, that he/she has received from the lawyer all the information on legal aid to which he/she may be entitled, so that it is in an informed manner and prior to the conclusion of the contract that the client has renounced to benefit from legal aid.
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12. 2 Conditions for access to legal aid
To know the updated amounts for access to legal aid, go on this link:
LEXPAT.BE Bd Saint-Michel 65, 1040 Etterbeek Belgium
+32 2 315 58 73
BANK ACCOUNT BE88 3632 0847 2541
Conditions of sale