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Information
Information
General terms and conditions
1. Introduction
1.1 These general terms apply to all assignments undertaken or performed by the firm's lawyers or employees pursuant to PART I.
1.2 These general terms are provided to the client upon the establishment of the assignment and are considered accepted by the client unless the client reasonably informs the responsible lawyer that the terms are not accepted.
1.3 Unless otherwise agreed, the terms apply to repeated assignments for the same client.
1.4 The goal and commitment of the Sterk Law Firm are to promote the client's interests in the best possible way, within the framework of this assignment agreement, the Courts of Justice Act, the Lawyer Regulations, the Rules of Good Legal Practices, the law firm's internal case handling procedures, and other relevant regulations.
1.5 By agreement with the client, the law firm may assist in engaging other advisors (in technology, economy, etc.), and lawyers in Norway or other countries. Unless otherwise agreed, such engagements will occur on behalf of the client, and the client will be responsible for the payment of the engaged advisors' or lawyers' remuneration and expenses. The law firm shall have no responsibility for advice and assistance provided by such advisors and lawyers. This applies even if the advice is received by the law firm and then relayed to the client, and even if the law firm appears as the engaged advisor's or lawyer's client or client.
1.6 All lawyers and associate lawyers associated with the firm have licenses or authorizations to practice law in Norway issued by the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice. All lawyers and associate lawyers are members of the Norwegian Bar Association and thus subject to the Bar Association's special decisions and arrangements for mandatory continuing education and handling of disciplinary complaints.
1.7 The law firm is only qualified to advise and assist clients on Norwegian law. The firm does not take responsibility for any assessments of or legal consequences under foreign law.
1.8 In accordance with the Bar Association's guidance on how human rights are expected to be respected in legal practices, the responsible lawyer will take the initiative to discuss actual and potential human rights violations that the assignment may entail, aiming to assist the client in avoiding such violations. The law firm reserves the right to withdraw from the assignment if the client decides not to follow the lawyer's advice, and it becomes clear to the lawyer that the whole or part of the assignment might lead to human rights violations.
2. Establishment and execution of the assignment
2.1 The description of the assignment is found in PART I, supplemented by agreements resulting from other oral or written correspondence. In the case of significant changes to the assignment, the client will receive an updated PART I of the assignment confirmation.
2.2 All assignments are linked to a responsible lawyer in the law firm, who can receive assistance from the firm's other employees in executing parts of the assignment.
2.3 In accordance with the Money Laundering Act, customer measures with identification control should generally be carried out. The client is obliged to participate in the implementation of customer measures. It is noted that the law firm, if there is a suspicion that transactions are linked to the proceeds of a criminal act, etc., is required to notify ØKOKRIM about this, without informing the client or third parties.
2.4 Before an assignment is established, it will be clarified whether there is a conflict of interest or other circumstances that suggest that the law firm cannot or should not undertake the assignment. The client is obliged to contribute to such clarification. The same assessment is made in established assignments with new parties entering the case. If it is in the client's interest to do so and it is considered harmless, the assignment may commence before the clarification is complete. In such cases, the law firm may later have to withdraw from the assignment due to this.
2.5 To best promote the client's interests, the law firm depends on the client providing complete and prompt information about the factual circumstances of the case and what outcome the client wants to achieve in the case.
2.6 All communications to and from the opposing party must be coordinated with or through the law firm. The law firm and the client should keep each other mutually informed about the communication taking place with involved parties.
3. Fee calculation and invoicing
3.1 Unless otherwise agreed, the basis for invoicing the assignment is the time spent on the assignment. Our indicative hourly rates are outlined in the assignment confirmation PART I.
3.2 Our fee is not dependent on the final result or outcome, and we do not guarantee specific results or any definitive development in any case. The scope of our services, as well as the complexity and duration of the assignments, may vary significantly, depending on circumstances unknown in advance.
3.3 If we provide an estimate of our fee, this should not be considered a monetary limitation or fixed-price agreement. An estimate is merely an indication, based on the information we have at the time it is given, regarding what our fee for executing the assignment, excluding VAT and expenses, is likely to be. It is not binding. We will try to inform the client as soon as practically possible of significant deviations from such estimates, but the client will be responsible for our full fee even if it exceeds the estimate.
3.4 The minimum time unit is 0.25 hours (15 minutes). Phone calls and similar are charged with a minimum of 0.25 hours.
3.5 The law firm reserves the right to request advance and/or on-account payment, and/or a deposit at any time. If a deposit is created to secure the law firm's fee claims, the deposit with any accrued interest will be used to cover the law firm's final invoice to the client, sent when the assignment is concluded. Such deposited amounts can also be used to cover the law firm's other outstanding invoice claims.
3.6 The law firm reserves the right to suspend assistance until any disagreements regarding disputed amounts are resolved, or until undisputed due amounts are settled, or a requested advance, on-account amount, or deposit is paid. This also applies in litigation assignments before the courts or in arbitration.
3.7 If a loss of income occurs for the law firm when the case or assignment is canceled at short notice or lapses for reasons not attributable to the law firm, the law firm reserves the right to reasonable compensation for this.
3.8 The client is responsible for court fees, costs of expert witnesses, and other costs incurred in legal proceedings. The client is also responsible for the opposing party's legal costs if they are imposed. Legal costs may often, but not always, be charged to the party not prevailing.
3.9 The law firm's fee claim against the client is not limited by the client being awarded less in reimbursement for legal costs than the fee claim's face value.
3.10 Legal limitations on the client's access to claim reimbursement of legal aid costs from the opposing party do not limit the law firm's fee claims against the client. Such limitations are set in, among other things, cases before conciliation boards and in small claims processes.
3.11 Invoices must be accompanied by a specified overview of work done, expenses, etc.
3.12 All costs and expenses advanced by the law firm will be invoiced together with the fee claim. The further invoicing of expenses may result in VAT on the expense.
3.13 In the case of delayed payment, late payment interest is accrued according to the provisions of the Interest on Overdue Payments Act.
3.14 The law firm reserves the right to apply a different and/or higher fee rate to the opposing party than the one agreed with the client when the court has awarded the law firm's client legal costs, or when a settlement has been reached where the opposing party covers the law firm's client's legal expenses. In such cases, the law firm can demand a fee rate that reflects the market fee for similar services, which may exceed the originally agreed fee rate with the client. The law firm can demand such adjusted fee rate directly from the opposing party.
4. External coverage of fee costs
4.1 According to the Legal Aid Act, for certain cases, there may be a right to legal assistance covered by the public (free legal aid). Some types of cases always qualify for free legal aid, while others require that the client does not have income or assets above NOK 350,000 (single individuals), NOK 540,000 (married couples, registered partners, etc.), and NOK 150,000 (net assets). The Governor can, in certain cases, make exceptions from the limits. More information about free legal aid can be obtained from the Governor or at our office. Clients are encouraged to raise the issue of free legal aid coverage with the responsible lawyer for a specific assessment.
4.2 The client's possible legal expense insurance, home insurance, travel insurance, or other insurance arrangements might cover costs of legal assistance in certain types of cases, depending on the terms of the insurance agreement. The client is obliged to provide the law firm with the necessary information for an assessment of the insurance agreement's coverage. The client is responsible for any deductible or the difference between the law firm's fee claim and the amount covered by the insurance company.
5. The law firm's responsibility
5.1 The law firm is responsible under general rules of professional liability for lawyers and is covered by the mandatory security for the practice of legal services, which applies without geographical limitation. The law firm's guarantor is Gjensidige Forsikring ASA.
5.2 The law firm provides only legal advice and assistance and takes no responsibility for advice related to non-legal matters, such as technical, economic, commercial, and environmental issues. Unless stated in the assignment confirmation or agreement, or in writing in a special agreement, our advice and assistance will not cover criminal, tax, and duty law matters or any criminal, tax, and duty consequences of the dispositions that the advice pertains to.
5.3 The law firm is not responsible for indirect loss, including lost profits.
5.4 The law firm is not responsible for errors made by advisors to whom the firm has referred or for subcontractors to whom the firm, by agreement with the client, has entrusted parts of the assignment execution.
5.5 The law firm is not responsible for losses resulting from the case's outcome not matching the assessment the law firm has previously provided about the possible outcome of the case.
5.6 The law firm is not responsible for loss of managed client funds due to bankruptcy or other conditions on the bank's side. The firm notes that the bank's guarantee fund does not guarantee more than NOK 2 million in deposits per depositor (law firm) per bank. Only by special agreement will the law firm take measures to increase the degree of guarantee coverage for the client's funds.
6.1 Lawyers at the law firm are prohibited from unlawfully disclosing entrusted secrets. Additionally, lawyers are also obliged to treat information beyond that confidentially. In certain legally prescribed cases, exceptions from the duty of confidentiality and privacy apply.
6.2 Unless otherwise agreed, the law firm's lawyers are allowed to share information with other employees of the firm as far as necessary. The firm's other employees are subject to the same duty of confidentiality and privacy as the lawyers.
6.3 To the extent necessary for the fulfillment of the assignment, the law firm will process personal data, including special categories of personal data if necessary, in accordance with the Personal Data Act and other regulations. Other parties, such as opposing parties, courts, and public bodies, will only have access to the personal data to the extent necessary for the assignment. The client has the right to access and information about the processed data and access to request correction of incomplete data. The data controller under the Personal Data Act is the law firm by the daily manager, and questions about our processing of personal data can be addressed to the case-responsible lawyer. See also about data processing in the law firm's privacy policy: https://www.advokats.no/personvernerklæring
6.4 The law firm notes that electronic data communication generally suffers from weaknesses that imply that unauthorized persons may, under certain conditions, gain insight into the communication. Insofar as confidentiality is necessary, security measures (including encryption and redaction) may be taken to prevent unauthorized insight into such communication. As an element of assessing whether confidentiality is necessary, the client's sending of unsecured electronic information to the law firm will be emphasized.
6.5 At the conclusion of the assignment, any original documents in the case will be returned to the client or destroyed according to further agreement. The law firm is required to store certain documents and information after the conclusion of the assignment. The firm can retain copies of other case documents after the conclusion of the assignment, within the framework of the law. Copies can be provided for a fee.
6. Handling of information
7. Complaint
7.1 If the client is dissatisfied, they are encouraged to immediately contact the responsible lawyer or the daily manager. The law firm will promptly assess the complained issues.
7.2 The Bar Association's Disciplinary Committee handles complaints that the lawyer has acted in violation of the Rules of Good Legal Practices. For more information on the complaint system, see www.advokatenhjelperdeg.no.
7.3 Disputes related to the assignment agreement are decided under Norwegian law and can only be brought before Norwegian courts.
8. Annual adjustment of hourly rates
Our hourly rates usually change at the beginning of each calendar year to take into account the development in the competence and experience of the lawyers performing the work, changes in general costs, and other factors. The client is notified of such changes with the last invoice sent with the old hourly rates, or potentially by a special written notice.
The general terms of the assignment are normally revised once a year and otherwise when necessary. Changes unfavorable to the client, which are not necessary due to binding regulations, can only be enforced after one month's notice.
1. Introduction
1.1 These general terms apply to all assignments undertaken or performed by the firm's lawyers or employees in accordance with PART I.
1.2 These general terms are provided to the client at the establishment of the assignment and are considered accepted by the client unless the client notifies the responsible lawyer within a reasonable time that the terms are not accepted.
1.3 Unless otherwise agreed, the terms apply to repeated assignments for the same client.
1.4 The goal and commitment of the Sterk Law Firm are to promote the client's interests as effectively as possible, within the framework of this assignment agreement, the Court Act, the Lawyers Act, the Rules of Proper Conduct for Lawyers, the firm's internal case handling procedures, and other relevant regulations.
1.5 By agreement with the client, the firm can assist in engaging other advisors (in technology, finance, etc.), and lawyers in Norway or other countries. Unless otherwise agreed, such engagements will occur on behalf of the client, and the client will be responsible for paying the fees and expenses of the engaged advisors or lawyers. The firm will not be responsible for advice and assistance provided by such advisors and lawyers. This applies even if the advice is received by the firm and then conveyed to the client, and even if the firm acts as the engaged advisor's or lawyer's principal or client.
1.6 All lawyers and associate lawyers connected to the firm hold licenses or authorization to practice law in Norway issued by the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice. All lawyers and associate lawyers are members of the Norwegian Bar Association and are therefore subject to the association's special decisions and orders for mandatory continuing education and handling of disciplinary complaints.
1.7 The firm is only qualified to advise and assist clients on Norwegian law. Sterk Law Firm is not responsible for any evaluations of or legal consequences under foreign law.
1.8 In accordance with the Norwegian Bar Association's guidelines on how human rights are expected to be respected in legal practices, the responsible lawyer will initiate discussions on current and potential human rights violations that the assignment may entail, with the aim of assisting the client in avoiding such violations. The firm reserves the right to withdraw from the assignment if the client decides not to follow the lawyer's advice and it is clear to the lawyer that all or part of the assignment may entail a violation of human rights.
2. Establishment and execution of the assignment
2.1 The assignment description is included in PART I, supplemented by agreements resulting from other oral or written correspondence. In case of significant changes to the assignment, the client will receive an updated PART I of the assignment confirmation.
2.2 All assignments are linked to a responsible lawyer in the firm, who may receive assistance from the firm's other employees in carrying out parts of the assignment.
2.3 According to the Anti-Money Laundering Act, customer due diligence with identity verification is generally required. The client is obliged to assist in the implementation of these measures. It should be noted that the firm, if there is suspicion that transactions are related to the proceeds of a criminal act, is required to inform the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (ØKOKRIM) about this, without informing the client or third parties.
2.4 Before an assignment is established, efforts will be made to determine if there is a conflict of interest or other conditions that suggest the firm cannot or should not undertake the assignment. The client is obliged to contribute to this clarification. The same assessment is carried out in established assignments when new parties enter the case. If it is in the client's best interest and deemed unproblematic, the assignment may commence before the clarification is complete. The firm may in such cases have to resign from the assignment later due to this.
2.5 To best promote the client's interests, the firm relies on the client to promptly and fully provide information about the factual circumstances of the case and the outcome the client wishes to achieve.
2.6 All communications to and from the opposing party should be cleared with or go through the firm. The firm and the client shall mutually inform each other about the communication taking place with involved parties.
3. Fee calculation and invoicing
3.1 Unless otherwise agreed, the basis for invoicing the assignment is the time spent working on the assignment. Our indicative hourly rates are included in PART I of the assignment confirmation.
3.2 Our fee is not dependent on the final result or outcome, and we do not guarantee specific results or any final development in any case. The scope of our services, as well as the complexity and duration of assignments, can vary significantly, depending on unforeseen circumstances.
3.3 If we provide an estimate for our fee, it should not be considered a limit or a fixed-price agreement. An estimate is only an indication, based on the information we have at the time of providing it, of what our fee for executing the assignment, excluding VAT and expenses, is likely to be. It is not binding. We will attempt to inform the client as soon as practically possible in the event of significant deviations from such estimates, but the client will be responsible for our full fee even if it exceeds the estimate.
3.4 The minimum unit of time is 0.25 hours (15 minutes). Telephone calls and similar matters are billed with a minimum of 0.25 hours.
3.5 The firm reserves the right to at any time demand advance and/or on-account payment, and/or a deposit. If a deposit is set up as security for the firm's fee claim, the deposit with any accrued interest will be used to cover the firm's final invoice to the client, sent when the assignment concludes. Such deposited amounts may also be used to cover any of the firm's other unpaid invoice claims.
3.6 The firm reserves the right to suspend assistance until any disputes concerning contested amounts are resolved, or until undisputed amounts due are paid, or a requested advance payment, on-account amount, or deposit is paid. This also applies to proxy assignments for courts or arbitration.
3.7 Should a loss (loss of income) occur for the firm due to a case or assignment being cancelled at short notice or falling away for reasons not attributable to the firm, the firm reserves the right to reasonable compensation for this.
3.8 The client is responsible for court fees, costs for expert witnesses, and other expenses that accrue during a legal process. The client is also responsible for the opponent's legal costs if they are imposed. Legal costs will often, but not always, be charged to the non-prevailing party.
3.9 The firm's fee claim against the client is not limited by the client's compensation for legal costs awarded being less than the fee claim amount.
3.10 Statutory restrictions on the client’s ability to claim reimbursement of legal aid costs from the opponent do not limit the firm’s fee claim against the client. Such restrictions are established, inter alia, in proceedings before the Conciliation Board and in small claims processes.
3.11 Invoices will include a specified overview of work performed, expenses, etc.
3.12 All costs and expenses advanced by the firm will be invoiced along with the fee claim. Re-invoicing of expenses may result in VAT on the expense.
3.13 In the event of late payment, interest will accrue in accordance with the Late Payment Interest Act.
3.14 The firm reserves the right to apply a different and/or higher hourly rate to the opposing party than that agreed with the client when the court has awarded the firm's client legal costs, or when a settlement has been reached where the opposing party is to cover the firm’s client’s legal costs. In such cases, the firm can claim an hourly rate that reflects the market fee for similar services, which can exceed the originally agreed hourly rate with the client. The firm may demand such an adjusted hourly rate directly from the opposing party.
4. External coverage of legal costs
4.1 Under the Legal Aid Act, for certain cases, there can be a right to legal assistance covered by the public (free legal aid). Some types of cases always qualify for free legal aid, while others require the client to have income or assets not exceeding NOK 350,000 (single individuals), NOK 540,000 (married couples, registered partners, etc.), and NOK 150,000 (net worth). The County Governor may in some cases make exceptions to these limits. Further information on free legal aid can be obtained from the County Governor or our office. The client is encouraged to discuss the matter of free legal aid coverage with the responsible lawyer for an individual assessment.
4.2 The client’s potential legal protection insurance, home insurance, travel insurance, or other insurance schemes may cover legal assistance costs in certain types of cases, depending on the terms of the insurance agreement. The client is obliged to provide the firm with the necessary information to assess the coverage scope of the insurance agreement. The client is responsible for any deductible or difference between the firm’s fee claim and the amount covered by the insurance company.
5. The firm's responsibility
5.1 The firm is responsible in accordance with the general rules on lawyers' professional liability and is covered by the statutory security for the practice of law, which applies without geographical limitation. The firm's surety provider is Gjensidige Forsikring ASA.
5.2 The firm only provides legal advice and assistance and accepts no responsibility for advice related to non-legal matters, such as technical, economic, commercial, and environmental issues. Unless stated in the assignment confirmation or agreement, or written in a separate agreement, our advice and assistance will not include criminal, tax, and duty law matters or potential criminal, tax, or duty law consequences of the transactions covered by the advice.
5.3 The firm is not responsible for indirect losses, including lost profits.
5.4 The firm is not responsible for errors made by advisors it has referred to or subcontractors to whom the firm, by agreement with the client, has assigned parts of the assignment execution.
5.5 The firm is not responsible for losses resulting from the case’s outcome not matching the assessment the firm has provided of the potential outcome.
5.6 The firm is not responsible for loss of managed client funds due to bankruptcy or other circumstances on the bank’s part. The firm points out that the banks' guarantee fund does not guarantee more than NOK 2 million in deposits per depositor (law firm) per bank. Only by separate agreement will the firm take measures that can increase the guarantee coverage for the client's funds.
6. Handling of information
6.1 Lawyers in the firm are prohibited from unlawfully disclosing entrusted secrets. Additionally, lawyers are required to handle information beyond this confidentially. In certain statutory cases, there are exceptions to the duty of confidentiality and confidentiality.
6.2 Unless otherwise agreed, the firm's lawyers are permitted to share information with other employees in the firm as necessary. The firm's other employees are subject to the same confidentiality and secrecy obligations as the lawyers.
6.3 To the extent necessary for fulfilling the assignment, the firm will process personal data, including special categories of personal data where necessary, in accordance with the Personal Data Act and other regulations. Other parties, such as opposing parties, courts, and public authorities, will only have access to personal data to the extent necessary for the assignment. The client has the right to access and information about the processed data, as well as the right to demand correction of incomplete information. The data controller under the Personal Data Act is the firm’s daily leader, and in case of questions about our processing of personal data, the case-responsible lawyer can be contacted. See also the processing of personal data in the firm's privacy statement: https://www.advokats.no/personvernerkl%C3%A6ring
6.4 The firm points out that electronic data communication in general suffers from weaknesses that allow unauthorized access to communication under certain conditions. To the extent that confidentiality is necessary, security measures (including encryption and redaction) will be implemented to prevent unauthorized access to such communication. As part of the assessment of whether confidentiality is necessary, consideration will be given to the client’s sending of unsecured electronic information to the firm.
6.5 Upon conclusion of the assignment, any original documents in the case will be returned to the client or destroyed as agreed. The firm is required to store certain documents and information after the assignment concludes. The firm may retain copies of other case documents after the assignment has concluded, within the framework of the law. Copies can be provided for a fee.
7. Complaints
7.1 If the client is dissatisfied, they are encouraged to immediately address this with the responsible lawyer or the daily leader. The firm will immediately assess the issues complained about.
7.2 The Norwegian Bar Association's Disciplinary Committee handles complaints about the lawyer having acted in violation of the Rules of Proper Conduct for Lawyers. For more information about the complaints process, see www.advokatenhjelperdeg.no.
7.3 Disputes related to the assignment agreement are resolved according to Norwegian law and can only be brought before Norwegian courts.
8. Annual adjustment of hourly rates
Our hourly rates are usually adjusted at the beginning of each calendar year to account for developments in the competence and experience of the lawyers performing the work, changes in general costs, and other conditions. The client will be notified of such changes by the last invoice issued with old hourly rates, or alternatively by special written notice.
The general terms for the assignment are normally revised once a year and otherwise when needed. Changes that are disadvantageous to the client, which are not necessary due to binding regulations, can only be enforced after one month's notice.
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