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General terms and conditions
Application
These general terms and conditions shall apply to assignments and services provided to clients by the law firm Sigeman & Co (hereinafter referred to as the Law Firm or we/our). In addition to these general terms and conditions the code of conduct established by the Swedish Bar Association shall apply.
Unless otherwise agreed, these general terms and conditions shall also apply for any other assignments instructed by the client to the Law Firm.
The assignment
Upon the acceptance of an assignment the scope of the assignment is established in consultation with you. For each assignment the Law Firm will designate a lawyer, either a partner or an associate possessing required skills, to be primarily responsible for the client. The client responsible lawyer has the overall responsibility for the assignment. Depending on the character of the assignment, several lawyers of the Law Firm may be designated to the task.
Each assignment accepted is a contract between you and the Law Firm, not with a private individual working for the Law Firm, regardless of which lawyer will perform the assignment as such.
Any given advice is based on and adapted to the circumstances of the specific assignment. Hence, it follows that the advice may not be relied on in any other matter or used for any purpose other than that for which it was given. Unless specifically agreed otherwise, we do not undertake to update the advice we have provided to take account of subsequent changes in any legal position. The advice does not include advice on potential tax consequences unless specifically agreed.
The Law Firm’s advice never entails any guarantee of a certain outcome.
The Law Firm’s advice does not include advice on tax or possible tax consequences.
The Law Firm only provides advice in respect of, or based on, the laws of Sweden. Due to our general experience, we may express views on legal issues in other jurisdictions. What we express in those situations is not advice that you may rely on. Such advice must instead be obtained from lawyers in the relevant jurisdiction.
In connection with providing our services we are happy to assist you in identifying and instructing other advisers for particular matters if needed. If we instruct, engage or work together with other advisers, any such advisers will be considered to be independent of the Law Firm and we assume no responsibility or liability for recommending them or for any advice given by them. Furthermore, we do not assume any responsibility for fees or expenses charged by such advisers.
Communication
The Law Firm normally uses various means of communication, for example the internet, e-mail and video calls. These are effective methods of communication, which, however, may involve certain risks for which we do not undertake any liability unless otherwise provided by mandatory law. If you, during a specific assignment, prefer specific means of communication, for example regular mail, please inform the responsible lawyer.
Our spam and virus filters may sometimes reject or filter out legitimate e-mails. Therefore, important e-mails should be followed up by telephone.
Fees, expenses and invoicing
The Law Firm´s principles for charging fees mean that several factors are taken into consideration, including (i) time spent, (ii) qualifications and experience required, (iii) amounts and values involved, (iv) time constraints imposed and (v) potential risks assumed (if any) by the Law Firm. The current hourly rates are explained and accounted for upon the acceptance of an assignment. Normally, the hourly rates are adjusted in connection with the turn of the year. Upon request we can provide you with an estimate of our likely fees for the performance of the assignment. An estimate is based on the information to which we have access at the time of the estimate and does not constitute any offer of a fixed price.
In addition to our fees disbursements for travelling, register excerpts, accommodation and other expenses may be charged.
Our standard practice is to send invoices on a monthly basis. However, longer periods may occur in individual cases. The Law Firm may at its own choice also charge the total fee accrued upon completion of the assignment. If the invoice has no due date it is payable within 15 days of the invoice date or of the date on which claim for payment was presented. Interest on any overdue amount will be charged upon default according to the Swedish Interest Act.
If our legal fees and expenses are to be covered by a legal costs and expenses insurance this should be clarified by the client immediately upon the acceptance of the assignment. Such insurance may, under certain circumstances, entitle you to certain compensation for lawyers’ fees. Normally, such right to compensation is limited by e.g. provisions on excess and maximum compensation. The Law Firm is not in its billing restricted by the compensation standards as stipulated in the terms and conditions of the insurance and you are liable for the full payment of fees and expenses also to the extent they exceed whatever is paid out under the insurance.
The Law Firm reserves the right to request advance payment either upon the acceptance of an assignment or while it is on-going. The advance payment will be set off against future invoices and expenses. The final fee may exceed or fall below the advance payment.
Further, the Law Firm reserves the right to charge a preliminary fee on account. In such cases, the final invoice will set out the total amount of our fees and deduct all fees payable according to any preliminary invoice.
All fees are exclusive of value added tax. Value added tax will be charged according to applicable law.
Responsibility for legal expenses
Regardless of whether you are the winning or losing party, and regardless of whether you receive compensation for your legal costs, you are required to pay our fees and reimburse us for our expenses in accordance with these general terms and conditions.
Conflict of interest
The law Firm may be prevented from representing a client if there is a conflict of interest. As a result of this, we check if there is a conflict of interest according to generally accepted legal practice (Sw: god advokatsed) before accepting an assignment. Even if suck a check has been made, circumstances may occur later that makes the Law Firm unable to present you in ongoing or future assignments.
With reference to the foregoing, it is important that you, before and during the assignment, provide us with the information that you believe may be relevant to determine whether an actual or potential conflict of interest exists.
Reporting to the Swedish Tax Agency
In some cases, the Law Firm may be obliged to provide information to the Swedish Tax Agency on inter alia your VAT registration number. By engaging the Law Firm, you are deemed to have given your consent to the Law Firm providing such information to the Tax Agency in accordance with regulations as in effect from time to time.
Under Council Directive (EU) 2018/822 (DAC6) and the corresponding national legislation, counsel are required to provide information on certain crossborder arrangements to the competent tax authorities. Due to the duty of confidentiality applicable to lawyers, we cannot submit such information without your explicit instruction. You are instead responsible for ensuring that the required reporting is carried out.
Actions against money laundering and terrorist financing
According to the Act on Measures Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (SFS 2017:630), the Law Firm is, with regard to certain kinds of assignments, obliged to check the identity of our clients, their ownership structure, as well as the nature and purpose of the assignment. Therefore, the Law Firm may require you to provide information and certain documents, such as evidence of your personal or corporate identity as well as the identity of any other person involved in the matter on your behalf, as well as information and documentation showing the origin of funds and other assets. Additionally, we may need to verify the information provided by you and for this reason obtain information from external sources. The Law Firm is also obliged to retain said information.
The Law Firm is obliged to report suspicions of money laundering or financing of terrorism to the relevant police authorities, and is also prevented by law from informing you of such suspicions or that a report has been made. If money laundering or financing of terrorism is suspected, the Law Firm is obliged to refuse the assignment or to withdraw from the assignment.
The Law Firm is not liable for loss or damages caused as a consequence of compliance with the obligations above.
Confidentiality
The Law Firm is obliged to observe confidentiality according to law and the code of conduct established by the Swedish Bar Association. The fact that you are a client of the Law Firm as well as any information provided by you is adequately protected. Thus, information is only disclosed to third parties, if disclosing such information is part of performing the assignment, if you have consented to such disclosure, or if an obligation to disclose such information is required under law.
If the Law Firm is permitted to engage or work with other advisers, subject to your consent, the Law Firm is entitled to provide them with material and other information deemed relevant in order for the adviser to be able to give adequate advice and in order to carry out an assessment according to the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act (see the subparagraph on this subject above).
Intellectual property rights
The copyright and other intellectual property rights in all work produced by the Law Firm within the assignments vest in the Law Firm. Nevertheless, you are entitled to use such work for such purposes for which they are provided. Unless otherwise agreed, no document or work generated by the Law Firm may be generally circulated or used for marketing purposes.
Document retention
For the duration of an assignment the Law Firm may store documents and work. The storage may be made electronically.
After the conclusion of an assignment the Law Firm will keep or store itself or with a third party all documents and work relevant for a period deemed appropriate by the Law Firm, however not for a period shorter than required under the code of conduct established by the Swedish Bar Association.
Following the conclusion of an assignment the Law Firm will, unless otherwise agreed, return all original documents to you. However, the Law Firm is entitled to keep copies of such documents for its own record.
Personal data
In connection with the assignment, we will process personal data relating to you or your representatives.
The Law Firm processes your personal data in order to prepare, carry out, and administer the legal assignment. Such processing is necessary for the Law Firm to fulfil the assignment.
Under data protection legislation, you have several rights to control your personal data.
- Right of access: the right to obtain confirmation as to whether the Law Firm processes your personal data and to receive a copy of such data.
- Right to rectification: the right to have inaccurate data corrected.
- Right to erasure: the right, in certain circumstances, to have your data erased.
- Right to object: the right to object to processing based on the Law Firm’s legitimate interests.
The above is a summary. Full information regarding the Law Firm’s processing of personal data is set out in our privacy policy.
The privacy policy is available on our website: www.sigeman.se
Liability insurance
The Law Firm keeps a liability insurance adapted to the needs of its business.
Limitation of liability
The liability of the Law Firm for any loss or damage suffered by you as a result of our fault or negligence in performing the assignment shall, be limited to an amount of five times the fee for the assignment (but never below the applicable amount according to the compulsory liability insurance of the lawyer), and a maximum amount of 25 million Swedish kronor. A price reduction or any other remedy cannot be available in addition to damages. Neither can we accept any obligation to pay penalties.
The liability of the Law Firm shall be reduced by any amount that may be obtained under any insurance maintained by you or maintained on your behalf or under any contract or indemnity to which you are a party or a beneficiary.
The Law Firm has no liability to any third party as a result of your use of documents or any other advice provided by the Law Firm.
The Law firm is not liable for any loss or delay caused by circumstances beyond our control which we could not reasonably have been expected to foresee at the time of accepting the assignment, and the consequences of which we could not reasonably have avoided or overcome.
The Law Firm shall not be liable for any damage arising through your use of our work product or advice in any other context or for any other purpose than for which it was provided.
The Law Firm shall not be liable for any damage caused by us following the generally accepted legal practice (Sw: god advokatsed).
The limitation of liability under these terms applies both to the Law Firm and to each individual working for the Law Firm.
Claim procedures against the Law Firm
If, for any reason, you are dissatisfied or have complaints about the services provided by the Law Firm you should notify the client responsible lawyer as soon as possible.
Claims shall be submitted per e-mail, and presented as soon as you have become aware of, or following reasonable investigations should have become aware of, the relevant circumstances. No claim may be presented more than twelve months after the latter of i) the date on which the relevant circumstances became known to you or should have become known to you following reasonable investigations, or ii) the date on which the last invoice was issued as regards the assignment to which the claim refers. The aforementioned implies no limitation of your obligation to give notice without undue delay.
If your claim against the Law Firm is based on a claim from a third party or an authority, the Law Firm is entitled to respond to and settle such claim on your behalf, provided that you are indemnified by the Law Firm. If you take any actions without the consent of the Law Firm relating to such a claim, the Law Firm has no liability for the claim. Any reimbursement in relation to claims paid by the Law Firm to you is conditional on the right of recourse against third parties being transferred to the Law Firm or our insurer.
Amendments
These general terms and conditions may be amended by the Law Firm from time to time. The latest version is always available on our website: www.sigeman.se. Amendments to the terms and conditions will become effective only in relation to assignments initiated after the amended version has been posted on our website. A copy of the latest version of these terms and conditions will be sent to you on your request.
Agreements on deviations from these terms and conditions are valid only if made in writing.
Governing law and dispute resolution
These terms and conditions and all issues regarding our assignment shall be governed by and construed in accordance with substantive Swedish law.
Any dispute arising out of these terms and conditions or questions relating to our engagement or services in relation to an assignment shall be finally settled by arbitration in accordance with the Rules for Expedited Arbitrations of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. The arbitration proceedings shall be held in Malmö.
The arbitration proceedings are subject to confidentiality. The confidentiality obligation covers all information disclosed during the arbitration. The same applies to any decision or arbitral award issued as a result of the proceedings. Confidential information may not be disclosed in any form to any third party without the other party’s written consent.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Law Firm is entitled, in respect of overdue claims, to apply for a payment order with the Swedish Enforcement Authority, or to initiate proceedings against you before the general courts.
In case of a dispute between a consumer and the Law Firm, the consumer has, under certain conditions, a right to request that a Consumer Disputes Board set up by the Swedish Bar Association settles the dispute. The procedure for such disputes is regulated in sections 52-68 of the charter of the Swedish Bar Association, available on the Swedish Bar Association’s website www.advokatsamfundet.se.
A consumer is defined as a natural person acting for purposes outside business or professional activities. For a dispute to be considered by the Swedish Bar Association’s Consumer Disputes Board, the amount in dispute must be at least SEK 1,000 and no more than SEK 200,000.
Contact details for the Consumer Disputes Board of the Swedish Bar Association: Box 273 21, 102 54 Stockholm E mail: konsumenttvistnamnden@advokatsamfundet.se
For further information about the Consumer Disputes Board of the Swedish Bar Association, please refer to: https://www.advokatsamfundet.se/konsumenttvistnamnden