Unless otherwise agreed, work carried out under the heading of fees shall be charged on the basis of an hourly rate. VAN LEEUWEN LAW FIRM determines the hourly rate in function of the nature of the case, the stakes involved, the degree of difficulty of the case, the experience of the attorney in the legal matter concerned and the urgency of the assignment. The hourly rates are indexed annually and can also be adjusted at any time, on an individual basis per attorney. The client can always request all updated hourly rates from VAN LEEUWEN LAW FIRM.

If you’d prefer to rule out any financial surprises at the end of the day, the best option is to agree beforehand on a set price. In most cases, it’s fairly straightforward to divide a case into a number of separate components. By estimating the amount of time we are likely to spend on each component, and then factoring in any additional expenses (i.e. out-of-pocket expenses such as registry fees and bailiff’s charges), we can propose a price for each one. Thanks to our extensive experience, we’re pretty good at estimating beforehand how much time things are likely to take.

Although success may not be guaranteed, what we can guarantee is that we’ll do our very best to obtain the best possible result for you. Under their professional code of conduct, Dutch lawyers are forbidden from entering into ‘no cure, no pay’ deals. What we can do, however, is to agree beforehand on the hourly rates we charge as a function of the results obtained in your particular case. In other words, we agree up front on two hourly rates, a high rate and a low rate. If we do not obtain the result you want, for example if the

If your income and assets are below the statutory limit, you may be eligible for legal aid. This means that the Dutch State pays some or all of your lawyer’s fees. You then only have to pay a personal contribution, which VAN LEEUWEN LAW FIRM will pass on to you. To find out whether your income is below the statutory limit, please visit the website of the Dutch Legal Aid Board (www.rechtsbijstand.nl). This is the body that deals with and assesses applications for legal aid.

Have you taken out legal aid insurance? In that case you have the right to choose your own lawyer, at the insurer’s expense, if you are involved in a judicial or administrative procedure. That is what the Court of Justice of the European Union has decided. You also have this right to freely choose a lawyer if it is not mandatory to engage a lawyer (e.g. cases before the sub-district court). The Court of Justice has ruled that dismissal proceedings before the UWV are considered an ‘administrative procedure’. In that case, too, you have the right to choose a lawyer

Notwithstanding the charging of fees, administration and office costs, including costs for opening a case or subsidiary file in a case, typing costs, printing and photocopying costs, postage costs, telephone costs, etc. will be charged under the heading ‘administration costs’ as a fixed 8% of the fees charged.

The costs which VAN LEEUWEN LAW FIRM has advanced to third parties, such as registries, mortgage offices, registration offices, diplomatic offices, official or unofficial databases, bailiffs, notaries, translators, accountants, auditors, experts and (domestic and foreign) bodies, will be charged separately under the heading of costs on the basis of the costs actually incurred (+ VAT if applicable).

VAN LEEUWEN LAW FIRM reserves the right to ask the client a provision before starting and in the course of its activities, by means of a provisional invoice and reserves the right to only to start or continue its activities or to advance costs after payment thereof. A statement of expenses and fees in these terms and conditions shall also be understood to be a provisional invoice. A provision is a lump sum paid by the client to VAN LEEUWEN LAW FIRM prior to an interim statement or final statement. This provision may relate to services already rendered or costs