General Terms and Conditions

These general terms and conditions apply to all services provided by the lawyers of BV FAIRWAY PARTNERS IN LAW AND MEDIATION, located at 1800 VILVOORDE, Grote Markt 14, and registered in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises under number 0473.608.537 (RPR BRUSSELS). The term "client" refers to any natural person, legal entity, or government that instructs FAIRWAY to act on its behalf, both judicially and extrajudicially, or in the context of advisory services or mediation.

Whenever a client uses the services of FAIRWAY, they are deemed to be aware of these general terms and conditions and to accept them without reservation. Any conflicting general terms and conditions from the client shall only apply if they have been accepted in advance in writing and expressly by FAIRWAY. Unless published or communicated by FAIRWAY in any form, these general terms and conditions also apply to future relationships between the parties.

Any additions, modifications, or deviations to or from these general terms and conditions must be accepted in advance, in writing, and expressly by FAIRWAY.

It is permissible for FAIRWAY and the clients to draw up an additional express agreement for legal services. In the absence of such, these general terms and conditions will govern the contractual relationship between the parties, and any remaining agreements will be derived from mutual communication. FAIRWAY is subject to VAT regulation.

1. The Collaborative Relationship

The law firm promptly informs the client about the execution of their assignment and the progress of the case.

The lawyer is bound by professional secrecy, while the client also respects the confidentiality of the documents provided by their counsel.

The client provides all useful information to the lawyer promptly and throughout the duration of the assignment, possibly at the request of the lawyer.

The law firm operates as a team. The dominus litis of the file works together with other lawyers from the respective specialized section to provide the client with the highest quality service.

2. Use of Third Parties

The file is handled and followed up by the lawyers working within the law firm, but the client agrees that specific assignments may involve other lawyers to perform the task, albeit under the responsibility of the law firm.

If it is necessary for the execution of the task to involve a bailiff or a translator, the client leaves the choice to the law firm.

The law firm only uses other third parties, such as notaries, experts, or accountants, with the client's express consent, chosen in consultation with the client.

3. Costs and Fees

The statement of costs and fees from the law firm can contain three elements: the costs of the law firm, the court costs, and the expenses, and the fee.

The costs of the law firm, also subject to VAT, may include the following items:

• Kilometers
• Color copies
• Copies
• Printouts
• Faxes
• Administrative cost of opening a file
• A minute is charged for importing incoming emails into the digital file based on the agreed hourly rate.
• Facilitative & typographical costs are charged at a flat rate per block of five pages started for drafting an email, letter, or other document. This cost is calculated per individual document and is additional to the time charged at the prevailing hourly rate.

The court costs and expenses are the costs that the law firm has had to advance on behalf of third parties, such as the registry, translators, and public authorities.

These costs are specified and detailed in the statement of costs and fees.

The fee is the compensation for the services provided by the law firm. The rate of the fee varies depending on the lawyer providing the services.

The applicable hourly rate will be included in the collaboration agreement or intake email.

These hourly rates are indexed annually, specifically on January 1st of each calendar year.

The law firm will ask for one or more advances during the assignment and the handling of the case. An advance or provision is an amount that the client pays to the law firm, prior to a detailed statement of costs and fees.

In certain files, especially in the period leading up to the start of a possible procedure and during the first months of the procedure, many efforts – and thus work hours and costs – are typically required on a relatively short basis.

The amount of the first provision is therefore determined based on these expected efforts and also the difficulty and urgency of the file.

In the final statement of costs and fees, the advances are deducted from the total amount.

The client pays the advances and the final statement of costs and fees of the law firm within fourteen days (14) after receiving the payment invitation. The law firm may, if necessary for the provision of good service, set a shorter payment term. The law firm reserves the right to start the activities only after receiving the requested advance.

If the client does not agree with the requested advance or the final statement, they are required to contest this in writing within fourteen days (14) of receipt.

4. Late Payment – Reciprocal Obligations

In the absence of payment on the due date of an amount owed by one of the parties in this collaboration agreement, after sending a notice of default in the form of a first reminder and after the expiration of the specified period of at least fourteen (14) calendar days, the following will be owed:

• Default interest from the calendar day following the day on which the reminder is sent, against the reference interest rate increased by eight (8) percentage points as provided in Article 5, second paragraph, of the Act of 2 August 2002 on combating payment arrears in commercial transactions;
• A flat-rate fee equal to:
• 20 euros if the outstanding balance is less than or equal to 150 euros;
• 30 euros plus 10% of the amount due on the tranche between 150.01 and 500 euros if the outstanding balance is between 150.01 and 500 euros;
• 65 euros plus 5% of the amount due on the tranche above 500 euros up to a maximum of 2000 euros if the outstanding balance is greater than 500 euros.

The period of fourteen (14) calendar days begins on the third working day after the reminder is sent to the other party. When the reminder is sent electronically, the period of fourteen (14) calendar days starts on the calendar day following the day on which the reminder was sent to the other party.

5. Third-Party Funds

The law firm deposits all amounts it receives for its client within the shortest possible time to the client. If the law firm cannot immediately transfer an amount, it notifies the client of the receipt of the amount and the reason why the amount is not transferred.

The law firm may, except concerning personal maintenance funds, withhold sums from the amounts it receives on behalf of the client to cover the outstanding advances or statements of costs and fees. It informs the client of this in writing. This provision does not affect the client's right to dispute the fee statements from the law firm and demand payment of these withheld amounts.

The law firm deposits all amounts it receives from the client for the account of third parties immediately to these third parties.

6. Privacy

The client signs the information and consent form for the processing of personal data in the context of the handling of their file.

This form is an addendum to the collaboration agreement.

The privacy statement is available at www.fairway.law and is also available for inspection at the office.

7. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

If the law firm was requested to defend the client's interests in a dispute that has arisen between the client and a counterparty, the law firm will inform the client about the existence of alternative dispute resolution in accordance with Article 444, second paragraph, Ger.W.

More information about these different approaches can be found on the website of the Order of Flemish Bars www.advocaat.be. If the client has any questions about this, they can always contact the law firm.

8. Liability

The law firm and the lawyers working within the law firm are insured for their professional liability with Amlin. The liability of the lawyer is limited to the amount of the coverage of the professional liability insurance. The lawyer is not liable for performances delivered by third parties who are called upon.

From the termination or conclusion of the assignment, the file is kept for five years, after which it is destroyed. It is the client's responsibility to request the return of any (authentic) documents in a timely manner.

9. Termination of the Agreement

The client may terminate the agreement at any time by informing the law firm in writing. The law firm submits its final statement of costs and fees to the client, taking into account its performances up to the termination of the agreement. The law firm may not ask for compensation.

At first request, the law firm will return the client's file documents.

The law firm may terminate the agreement at any time by notifying the client in writing. In determining the moment at which it ceases its performances, the law firm must take into account the possibility for the client to obtain the necessary assistance from another lawyer in a timely manner.

10. Applicable Law and Competent Court

Belgian law applies. Only the Dutch-speaking courts of the Brussels judicial district are competent, without prejudice to the right of the law firm to take legal steps before the courts of the client's jurisdiction.