General conditions

General Terms and Conditions of Lexys Advocaten B.V.

1. Lexys Advocaten B.V. (hereinafter: Lexys) is a private limited company under Dutch law. Lexys is registered in the commercial register of the Chamber of Commerce in Rotterdam under number 85769347.
2. These general terms and conditions apply to all work performed by Lexys and its affiliated lawyers on behalf of third parties, including follow-up assignments.
3. Exclusively Lexys will count as the contractor in assignments that Lexys performs for its clients, even if a certain lawyer associated with Lexys performs (part of) an assignment. Both the attorney who directly or indirectly holds shares in Lexys and the attorney employed by Lexys shall act exclusively on behalf of Lexys. Articles 7:404 and 7:407 paragraph 2 of the Dutch Civil Code expressly do not apply to the services of Lexys.
4. Any liability of Lexys and its affiliated lawyers and employees shall be limited to the amount paid by Lexys' insurer in the case in question. If, for whatever reason, no payment is made by Lexys' insurer, the liability of Lexys and its affiliated lawyers and employees will be limited to the fees charged in the case concerned, with a maximum of EUR 25,000.
5. This limitation of liability applies regardless of the legal basis on which a claim for damages or compensation for loss is made, including, in any event (but not limited to), a breach of contract, a tort, and mistake.
6. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 6:89 of the Dutch Civil Code, any claim against Lexys and/or its affiliated attorneys or employees shall in any event expire twelve months after the event that caused the damage or loss was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered.
7. Written communication between Lexys and the client shall, in principle, take place exclusively via email. Notifications, instructions, the transmission of documents, and other messages relevant to the case must be sent by the client exclusively via email (or by using an upload link to be provided by Lexys for that purpose) to the email address of the attorney handling the case as specified in the engagement agreement. The parties acknowledge that the use of messaging apps (such as WhatsApp, Signal, or similar services) is only suitable for short and practical messages, such as making or confirming appointments or phone calls. The client cannot derive any rights from substantive communications, documents, or instructions sent via messaging apps. Lexys will not process such messages, even if they are replied to. Instructions or substantive requests must be sent exclusively via email to the attorney handling the case or to Lexys’s general email address.
8. Any damages resulting from the client’s failure to provide documents, instructions, or notifications, or from providing them late or in an incorrect manner (i.e., not via email), shall be at the client’s expense and risk. Lexys is not liable for damages resulting from the failure to receive or the untimely processing of messages received via messaging apps. The client guarantees the accuracy and completeness of the information provided by email. Lexys may rely on the content of email messages from the client.
9. Lexys is entitled to engage third parties in the performance of assignments if it deems this necessary. Lexys and the attorneys and employees affiliated with it are not liable for any failures on the part of these third parties; Article 6:76 of the Dutch Civil Code is hereby explicitly excluded.
10. Except for claims resulting from intent or gross negligence on the part of Lexys, the client shall indemnify Lexys and its affiliated attorneys and employees against all third-party claims related to the assignment.
11. Unless otherwise agreed, Lexys’s fee is calculated based on an hourly rate set by Lexys, plus the applicable sales tax. In addition, a percentage of the fee will be charged to cover general expenses (such as postage, telephone, printing, and copying costs, etc.). Lexys is entitled to adjust its hourly rates and the surcharge for office expenses periodically. This is also possible for ongoing assignments with consumers, provided that these were entered into with Lexys three months or more prior to the adjustment.
12. In principle, Lexys will charge the client on a monthly basis for fees due and expenses incurred that are not included in its rates.
13. Expenses paid by Lexys on behalf of the client (such as court fees, travel, bailiff, courier, delivery, interpretation and translation costs) will be charged separately - and at Lexys' discretion: in advance.
14. Lexys has a payment term of fourteen days. If the client fails to pay the invoices within this period, Lexys is entitled to suspend its work immediately without being obligated to compensate the client for any damages resulting therefrom.
15. Lexys is entitled to require the payment of an advance. A paid advance shall be offset against the final invoice at the conclusion of the case.
16. If Lexys has agreed with the client that an advance will be paid, Lexys shall be entitled to set off this advance against the final invoice.
17. As soon as Lexys has access to an account for holding third-party funds (the Third-Party Funds Account), that account will be managed by a foundation to be established for that purpose, which will be named ‘Stichting Beheer Derdengelden Lexys Advocaten’ (hereinafter: the Foundation). These terms and conditions are agreed upon with respect to the management of client funds, in part for the benefit of the Foundation. The management of client funds is carried out at the client’s expense and risk: in this context, Lexys and the Foundation are entitled, among other things, (1) to charge any negative interest on the funds under management, as well as bank and transaction fees, entirely at the client’s expense and to be charged to the third-party funds account; (2) to charge a management fee based on the agreement in effect between the Foundation and Lexys, which will be provided upon first request if applicable; and (3) to set off third-party funds available to the client against an invoice from Lexys for which the payment term has expired, unless the invoice has been disputed with justification within a reasonable period (but in any case within the due date). Neither Lexys nor its affiliated attorneys and employees, nor the Foundation, are obligated to invest funds under their management at interest.
18. If the client fails to object in writing to the amount of the fee charged—or at least to the amount of the invoice in general—within two months of the invoice date, the invoice shall be deemed irrevocably final.
19. If the client acting in the exercise of a profession or business fails to pay the invoices on time, he shall be liable to pay the statutory commercial interest from the due date and Lexys shall be entitled to charge extrajudicial collection costs estimated at 15% of the principal amount.
20. Lexys is entitled to retain case records in the form of a digital copy or scan only and to destroy scanned case records. Lexys shall be entitled to destroy the file five years after closing a case without further notice. If the client wishes to retain a document issued to Lexys in original form, the client must indicate this in writing at the time of issue. The document in question must be requested from Lexys without delay, but no later than three months after the closing of the file.
21. Pursuant to the current personal data protection legislation, professional use and processing of client data within the framework of the execution of the assignment(s) is permitted without notification. In addition, this data will be used in new cases to check for possible conflict of interest (with the client). Lexys' privacy statement can be accessed at: https://www.lexysadvocaten.nl/privacy-policy/
22. The legal relationship between the client and Lexys is governed by Dutch law. Furthermore, the Lexys Office Complaints Procedure applies to all engagements entered into between Lexys, as the service provider, and third parties. This Office Complaints Procedure will be sent free of charge upon request and can be viewed at: http://lexysadvocaten.nl/kantoorklachtenregeling/
23. If any internal complaint resolution process does not lead to a solution, all disputes relating to Lexys’s services, including billing disputes, will be resolved in accordance with the Rules of the Bar Association Dispute Resolution Committee, without prejudice to Lexys’s right to bring the matter before a court if the client has not referred any billing dispute to the Dispute Resolution Committee within fourteen days of being notified to pay. The date of filing is deemed to be the date on which Lexys is notified by the Dispute Resolution Committee that it has taken up a billing dispute submitted to it. If the client is a consumer, the Dispute Resolution Committee will issue a binding opinion, unless the client, who is a consumer, files a lawsuit within one month after the attorney has resolved the complaint. The Rules of the Dispute Resolution Committee for the Legal Profession will be provided upon request.
24. The court in Rotterdam shall have jurisdiction in the event a dispute is submitted to the ordinary court.
25. The Dutch text of these terms and conditions shall be binding in the event of any discrepancy with the text of the terms and conditions in a foreign language, or in the event that the translation is open to multiple interpretations.

 

Version Number: 2.0

Date: August 25, 2026