The consultation fee is a flat rate of €120.00 excluding VAT. It allows you to ask any questions you may have during a meeting at the office lasting up to 60 minutes.
What documents should I bring with me? Please bring any useful, recent and relevant documents relating to your matter so that your solicitor can provide an appropriate and accurate response and a swift solution.
Fees are calculated as follows:
These charges are subject to VAT at 21 per cent
The amounts listed are subject to indexation, based on the base index for the month preceding the signing of this agreement.
An outlay is a sum advanced by the solicitor on behalf of their client to the various suppliers or service providers with whom the client has contracted directly.
These include, in particular:
These disbursements are invoiced at cost.
These cover the lawyer’s work (consultations, correspondence, telephone calls, meetings, expert reports, review of case files, research, preparation of hearing briefs, applications, summonses, submissions and other procedural documents, appearances at hearings for the setting of a date, judgments in default or oral arguments, various routine dealings with the court registry, travel, waiting time prior to hearings, etc.).
Our fees are calculated on an hourly rate basis. This rate is quoted exclusive of 21% VAT. In specific circumstances, fees may be calculated on a flat-rate basis or as a percentage of the value of the dispute. The method of calculation is always chosen to be the most appropriate and best suited to the client’s interests.
PRINCIPLE: THE HOURLY RATE
The hourly rate ranges from €75 to €175 (the average rate is €125). It will be determined according to the urgency with which the solicitor is required to act, the complexity of the case, the technical nature of the subject matter or the stakes involved in the dispute. In addition to the fees referred to above, you may be asked to pay a success fee. This will be capped at 10 per cent of the principal and interest recovered, depending on the nature of the case and the interests at stake.
Any sums paid as fees will, of course, be deducted from the amount of this success fee. Finally, even if no sums are recovered, in the event of a successful outcome or where significant benefits are secured for the client, the basic hourly rate may be adjusted by applying a multiplier of 1.25.
The solicitor undertakes to draw up a statement detailing the services provided and the time spent on them. The base amount will be calculated by multiplying the number of hours recorded in the file by the hourly rate.
EXCEPTION:
In Belgium, under Article 1022 of the Judicial Code, the party who prevails at the conclusion of legal proceedings is entitled to receive, at the expense of the losing party, a lump-sum payment known as a procedural allowance. This allowance is payable to the solicitor, who takes it into account when drawing up the statement of fees and costs. This procedural allowance varies according to the stakes involved in the dispute and its amount is set by the King (Royal Decree of 26 October 2007).
This is an advance on the fees and costs payable to the lawyer. The lawyer regularly requests payment of an advance, taking into account the progress of the proceedings and the work carried out or to be carried out. Payment of these advances by the client allows the cost of the lawyer’s services to be spread out, as the sums paid as advances will be deducted from the final bill for costs and fees sent by the lawyer upon closure of the case.
