FEES

Fees are the compensation for the services rendered by the lawyer such as the study of the case, legal research, legal advice, representation before the Courts or other authorities, the drafting of legal documents, correspondence, meetings and negotiations.

In Belgium, there are no statutory fees for attorneys and each individual lawyer determines his fees, but he must comply with the requirements of the Belgian Judicial Code, prescribing that the fees should be determined equitably and with moderation.

Our office determines the fee depending on the time spent, the complexity of the case and the achieved result.

Three methods of calculating the fee can be agreed upon:

• Hourly Rate

• Flat fee

• Collection Fee

The hourly rate is agreed in advance with the client, taking into account the nature of the case.

The fee is charged per hour. Of course only hours actually spent of your case are being charged.

On top of the fees an office expenses will be charged.

The costs are calculated as follows:

• correspondence and / or fax: 10,00 EUR / unit (letter or fax)

• photocopies: € 0.20 per unit

• displacement: € 0.50 / km

The indicated rates are exclusive (21%) VAT.

Flat fee means that the costs and fees for a specific performance are agreed upon and confirmed in advance.

For example, a fixed fee can be agreed upon when a (default) judgment has to be claimed before court.

The flat fee method can’t be applied to disputed legal proceedings in which it can’t be estimated in advance which actions will be required.

Sometimes it is impossible to predict which disputes will be raised by the opponent and what performances will be required to bring the case to a successful conclusion.

Collection rate means that the fee is calculated by applying a percentage to the value of the case or the collected sums.

The applicable rate of collection is agreed upon before the file is opened and confirmed in writing.

Agreements on a 'no cure no pay' basis are legally forbidden for attorneys in Belgium, even for debt collection cases.

However, the costs of legal representation have to be reimbursed by the debtor.

A compensation for lawyers’ fees is granted by the court to the winning party by means of a ‘case preparation allowance’ to be paid by the losing party. The compensation is a one-off contribution calculated according to a fixed legal rate, based on the amount of the claim.

For example, the statutory legal costs (basic) for a debt collection case for an amount between 10,000 and EUR 20,000 EUR is 1,210, and for an amount between EUR 20,000 and EUR 40,000 EUR: 2,200 EUR.

The lawyer's fee is never less than the legal 'case preparation allowance' when it is paid by the debtor.

The above three methods of calculating the fees are not incompatible with each other. They can be applied cumulatively.

Bailiff costs and court costs are always charged to the client.

Feel free to get a detailed quote for a specific case.