These general terms of engagement apply to all assignments that Holmqvist & Partners Law Firm AB (“the Law Firm”) carries out for its clients. The Law Firm’s activities are conducted in accordance with the rules and principles established by the Swedish Bar Association. For further information, please refer to the Bar Association’s website; http://www.advokatsamfundet.se.
The client has access to the Law Firm’s collective expertise in the form of all lawyers. The Law Firm undertakes the assignment as an assignment for the Law Firm and not as an assignment for an individual person. Considering the nature of the assignment, several lawyers may work on a single assignment. The Law Firm’s advice in an assignment is tailored to the assignment and based on the circumstances presented to the Law Firm. Unless otherwise agreed, the advice does not include any potential tax consequences.
The fee is calculated, unless otherwise agreed, based on the nature and scope of the assignment, the time spent on the matter, and according to the principles established by the Swedish Bar Association.
The Law Firm invoices ongoing fees for work performed as well as expenses and disbursements. Value-added tax is added to the services. Invoicing is done monthly unless otherwise agreed.
Certain types of insurance include a legal protection component, which, in the event of a dispute, entitles the client to insurance compensation for financing fees and expenses to counsel. It is the client’s responsibility to inform the Law Firm that such insurance is available. In the event the client has been granted legal protection and no other agreement has been reached, the client will be invoiced and billed for fees in accordance with the Law Firm’s customary fee standards and billing procedures. The compensation received from the insurance company under the insurance agreement will be offset thereafter. Thus, the client is responsible for any difference between the Law Firm’s fee and what the insurance company pays.
In certain cases, a client, contracting the Law Firm as a private individual, may be entitled to general legal aid. In such cases, special terms apply to the billing of fees.
The Law Firm assists, if necessary, in safeguarding the client’s right to legal protection or legal aid.
Payment of invoices must be made within ten days from the invoice date unless otherwise agreed. Late payment will incur interest according to law. In the event the client does not pay on time, the Law Firm reserves the right, after notice thereof, to cease all further work for the client and to withdraw from the assignment.
To cover fees and expenses, the Law Firm has the right to charge advance payments. The advance payment is a standing advance, which is accounted for when the assignment is completed. Advance payments are thus not offset against the invoicing that occurs on an ongoing basis unless otherwise agreed.
By law, the Law Firm must obtain and retain satisfactory evidence of the client’s identity and ownership structure, as well as, in some cases, the origin of funds and other assets. Therefore, the Law Firm may request identity documents and other documentation concerning, among others, the client, the client’s company, or any other person related to the client involved in the assignment. Such request may be made both before and after an assignment has commenced. If the requested documentation is not provided to the Law Firm, the Law Firm may, by law, be obligated to decline or immediately withdraw from the assignment. By law, the Law Firm is obligated to report suspicions of money laundering or terrorism financing to the Financial Police and is prevented from informing the client or potential client that such suspicion exists and that such a report has been made or may be made.
Our policy for processing personal data can be found here: https://holmqvistpartners.se/en/personuppgiftspolicy
In the event the client is a trader in another EU country, the Law Firm is, by law, required to disclose, among other things, the client’s VAT number in periodic reports to the Swedish Tax Agency regarding VAT-free sales to other EU countries. The VAT number is unique, and therefore, the reporting may result in the client’s identity becoming known. By providing the Law Firm with the VAT number, the client also gives consent for the Law Firm to disclose it in such reporting as mentioned above.
Upon agreement with the client, the Law Firm may engage an external consultant in an assignment. Such a consultant shall be considered independent of the Law Firm. In the event the Law Firm makes payments to an external consultant on behalf of the client, the client is fully responsible for payment to the Law Firm.
The Law Firm expects that a client wishing for the Law Firm to establish and maintain an insider list so that the client can fulfill its obligations under the Market Abuse Directive (2003/6/EC) and underlying regulations, makes such a request. If the client requests a copy of the insider list, it will be provided to the client as soon as possible, provided that the request is made within five years and one day after the list was established or dated. It is the client’s responsibility to keep the insider list confidential and to use it only to fulfill the aforementioned obligations.
In addition to what is otherwise stated in these terms of engagement, the following limitations of liability shall apply. Unless otherwise agreed, the Law Firm is not liable to the client for the completeness or accuracy of the information provided by the client or others in an assignment. The Law Firm is not liable to the client for any loss or damage arising from the client’s use of the Law Firm’s work product or advice in other contexts or for other purposes than those for which they were given. The Law Firm has liability insurance tailored to its business. The Law Firm’s liability to the client is limited to the amounts that can be obtained through this insurance. Unless the assignment specifically involves tax advice, the Law Firm is not liable to the client for any loss or damage arising from the client, as a consequence of the Law Firm’s work product or advice, being subject to tax or tax penalties or at risk of being subject to such. If the assignment involves advice on potential tax consequences, the Law Firm’s liability does not cover taxes that the client is to pay, unless it was clear at the time of the Law Firm’s advice that the client could have achieved its commercial objectives by using an alternative structure or method at no additional cost or risk and thereby completely avoided payment of those taxes. The limitations of liability of the Law Firm also apply to the Law Firm’s partners and other staff as well as former employees.
Disputes related to these general terms of engagement or any issue regarding the Law Firm’s assignments and services shall be finally settled by arbitration administered by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. Rules for Expedited Arbitration shall apply if the disputed value is less than one million SEK. If the disputed value amounts to one million SEK or more, Arbitration Rules shall apply. The arbitral tribunal shall consist of one arbitrator if the disputed value is more than one million SEK but less than ten million SEK. If the disputed value amounts to ten million SEK or more, the arbitral tribunal shall consist of three arbitrators. The disputed value includes the claimant’s claim in the request for arbitration and any counterclaims made in the response to the request for arbitration. The seat of arbitration shall be Stockholm. The language of the proceedings shall be Swedish. Notwithstanding the above, the Law Firm always has the right to bring a claim for overdue debts to court or take other debt collection measures, such as applying for a payment injunction. These general terms and all issues arising from them, the Law Firm’s assignments, and its services shall be governed and construed in accordance with Swedish law.
If a client is a consumer and dissatisfied with the service provided by the Law Firm, the client shall contact the Law Firm to discuss the matter and attempt to reach a solution amicably. If it is not possible to reach an amicable solution, the client may have the right to have the matter adjudicated by the Bar Association’s consumer dispute resolution board. A prerequisite for the dispute to be adjudicated by the board is, among other things, that the dispute is not being handled or has been decided by a court and that the client contacts the board within one (1) year after the complaint was made in writing to the Law Firm. However, there are certain disputes that the board does not adjudicate; more information is available on the board’s website: https://www.advokatsamfundet.com/complaints-about-lawyers/
Postal address: Consumer Dispute Resolution Board, Swedish Bar Association,
Box 27321, 102 54 Stockholm.