Article 1.
Bowmer & Nuiten Advocaten/Legal, hereinafter referred to as 'B&N,' is a collaborative partnership comprising of two independent offices, namely the private limited liability companies Veldhuijzen & Nuiten Advocaten B.V. (company number: 24319275) and Bowmer Legal B.V. (company number: 73766569). The participating legal entities are hereinafter referred to as ‘participants’. The participants each run an independent law practice at their own risk and for their own account and are each an independent contractor with regards to any instructions given by their respective clients.
Article 2.
Instructions or assignments can be given to a participant orally or in writing. However, a contract for services only comes into existence when one of the participants of BNN has sent the client a written confirmation of services, which has then been signed by the client. All assignments are deemed to have been given and accepted by the individual participant to B&N, who independently receives and accepts the assignment. That participant is the party that is solely obligated to carry out that instruction. The participant is entitled to engage third parties in the execution of the assignment.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 7:404 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW), the participant alone determines which of the persons working for them, whether or not under an employment contract, will perform the work for the assignment. The operation of Article 7:407, paragraph 2, of the Dutch Civil Code is explicitly excluded.
In the event of an agreement with a natural person not acting in the exercise of a profession or business ('consumer'), which qualifies as a distance contract within the meaning of Article 6:230m BW, the client is expressly informed of their right to cancel the agreement within 14 days of concluding the agreement by signing the confirmation of services. The consumer expressly consents to the commencement of the work by the participant within the statutory cancellation period and, even in the event of cancellation, is liable to pay the agreed fee for the work performed up to the time of cancellation.
Article 3.
The participants are each insured for professional liability according to the guidelines of the Dutch Bar Association.
The participant’s liability is limited to the amount that is paid out in a given case by its professional liability insurer, in addition to the amount of excess that the participant carries in connection with such insurance.
In such case where there is no coverage provided by said insurance, any liability is limited to the fee charged in the matter concerned in the relevant year of the incident, up to a maximum of 25,000 Euro only.
Article 4.
The written confirmation of services as described in Article 2 also states the fees applicable to the contract and the other terms and consditions upon which the assignment is accepted. The participant's rates stated in the confirmation are always exclusive of VAT, unless expressly stated otherwise. In the event of an agreement with a consumer, an hourly rate including VAT is agreed upon. Disbursements paid by the participant on behalf of the client, including fees, postage, court fees, bailiff's costs, etc., will be invoiced separately to the client and itemized on the monthly invoice.
The participant is entitled to adjust the hourly fees periodically. In the event of an agreement with a consumer, the consumer has the right to terminate the agreement within 14 days of notification of the fee increase.
Article 5.
Any work by the participant is carried out exclusively for the client. Third parties cannot derive any rights from the content of the work performed. The accepted instruction creates an obligation to perform to the best of the participant’s ability and not an obligation to guarantee any certain result.
Article 6.
The client indemnifies B&N and its participants against claims by third parties relating to work carried out by the participant on behalf of the client. Furthermore, in such cases where third parties are engaged on behalf of the client by the participant, the participant is not liable for shortcomings of these third parties.
Article 7.
The participant is entitled to require the client to pay a retainer before commencement of any work, both in case of paying clients as well in legal aid cases. In legal aid cases, the retainer will be tailored to the expected level of the personal contribution set by the Dutch legal aid board (‘Raad voor Rechtsbijstand’), court fees and other costs. Any retainer will remain in bond with the participant during the course of the assignment and will only be settled/ repaid at the end of the assignment.
Article 8.
The client is obliged to pay the participant’s invoices, retainers, disbursements and (advances to) personal legal aid contributions within 14 days after the invoice date, unless another payment term has been explicitly agreed.
Article 9.
If the client fails to pay any invoice within the payment term, the participant may claim compensation at the applicable statutory interest rate, plus 2% per year, unless the client is a consumer, in which case only statutory interest pursuant to Article 6:119 of the Dutch Civil Code is due.
Furthermore, the participant may claim extrajudicial collection costs. The amount of the compensation for extrajudicial collection costs calculated in accordance with the amounts stated in the Dutch ‘Besluit vergoeding buitengerechtelijke incassokosten’ (Stb. 2012, 141 and 142).
If the client fails to pay any invoice within the stated payment term, the participant has the right to immediately suspend further work for the client.
Article 10.
The client gives the participant permission in advance for providing information to other employees of B&N and its participants, not directly involved in the case, which may be useful or necessary for the case.
In legal aid cases, the client gives permission in advance to provide the Dutch legal aid board (‘Raad voor Rechtsbijstand’) with all information and / or documents required for obtaining legal aid and / or compensation under the legal aid scheme.
Article 11.
These general terms and conditions also apply to additional and subsequent assignments/ instructions from the client.
Article 12.
Contracts between the participant and the client shall be exclusively governed by Dutch law.
Article 13.
B&N may use artificial intelligence (AI) in the execution of assignments to perform activities that assist with the execution of the assignment, such as, but not limited to, the management of organizational and secretarial activities, legislative and case law research, preliminary document analysis, summaries, and translations. The participant shall always ensure legally compliant and correct use of AI during the execution of the assignment.
Article 14.
The complaints procedure of B&N applies to all agreements concluded between the participant and the client. The client must submit complaints about the services or invoices to the complaints officer within two months after the client becomes aware of them, or within two months after the invoice date. The complaints officer, together with the client, will attempt to resolve the complaint. Upon request, the participant will send the complaints procedure to the client free of charge.
If the internal complaints procedure does not lead to a solution, the Rotterdam District Court has exclusive jurisdiction to decide on disputes between the participant and the client. Nevertheless, the participant has the right to submit disputes to a competent judge in the place of residence or business of the client.
Article 15.
The English language version of our general terms and conditions is provided for your information only. B&N's General Terms and Conditions are drafted in Dutch and English. The filed Dutch text shall be binding in the event of any disagreement regarding the content and intent of the general terms and conditions.
Dordrecht/ Rotterdam, January 28th, 2026.
Filed at the Court of Rotterdam on January 28th, 2026, under deed number 5/2026.