The following conditions apply exclusively to all assignments given to Greenstone Advocaten NV ( trade name "Greenstone Legal"). These general terms and conditions also apply if the client intends to give the assignment to a specific person or to a specific lawyer.

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1. Greenstone Advocaten N.V ( trade name"Greenstone Legal") is a public limited company (PLC) with its address and office officially registered in Eindhoven, which meets the requirements set by the Netherlands Bar Association ("Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten") for a law firm. A list of the law firm’s directors will be sent upon request.

2. The stipulations in these general terms and conditions have also been made on behalf of the directors of the public limited company and all its staff as well as the directors of Greenstone Holding B.V.

3. The general terms and conditions of Greenstone Legal  are applicable to all assignments allocated by its clients. The general terms and conditions also apply to any additional or follow-up assignments.

4. All assignments are exclusively accepted and executed by Greenstone Legal. The applicability of articles 7:404 and 7:407 paragraph 2 of the Dutch Civil Code are explicitly excluded. The assignment given by the client is deemed to have been issued to Greenstone Legal and accepted by it, even if and insofar as the explicit or tacit intention of the client is that one specific person or lawyer carries out the assignment.

5. Greenstone Legal  is free to carry out issued assignments under its responsibility by the directors and/or staff of Greenstone Legal with the assistance of auxiliary persons and/or third parties when appropriate.

6. Greenstone Legal  will take the utmost care in carrying out its assignments and in the selection of auxiliary persons, executing these assignments in a manner according to which can be expected of a reasonably competent and reasonably acting lawyer. Greenstone Legal will strive to achieve the result intended by the client but does not guarantee that this intended result will actually be attained. During the execution of its tasks, Greenstone Legal will be led entirely by the client’s interest.

7. For the work and/or services carried out by Greenstone Legal , a fee and disbursements are to be extended, increased with V.A.T.  The fee is calculated on the basis of an hourly rate set in advance by Greenstone Legal, unless the parties explicitly agree on a fixed fee in respect of certain defined activities or services. Greenstone Legal. is entitled to charge an invoice in advance. Greenstone Legal is entitled to adjust the hourly rates once a year unilaterally, with a maximum of 10% (ten percent) in comparison to the hourly rate applied in the previous year.

8. The bills and/or invoices of Greenstone Legal that are sent in advance must be paid within 14 days of the invoice date. Failing to do so will result in the charge of a statutory interest with a minimum rate of 2% (two percent) per month and the suspension or termination of legal assistance provided by Greenstone Legal. The judicial and extrajudicial costs of collection are carried out at the expense of the client. The extrajudicial costs amount to 15% (fifteen percent) of the amount stated on the invoice, but at least € 250 (two-hundred-and-fifty Euros).

9. The communication, in the context of the execution of the agreement between Greenstone Legal  and the client, including the sending of messages, documents, files, as well as invoices, reminders and/or notices, is carried out by electronic mail, including email, unless parties explicitly agree otherwise. Data extractions from the computer systems of Greenstone Legal  lawyers provide compelling evidence of the (content of the) electronic communication sent and received by Greenstone Legal until the moment that evidence to the contrary has been provided.

10. Complaints ("recht van reclame")

    1. Greenstone Legal uses an office complaints procedure as referred to in Article 6:28 of the Dutch Regulation on the Legal Profession, which applies to every agreement of an assignment between Greenstone Legal and the client.

    2. A complaint regarding services rendered and/or work carried out must be submitted in writing within 10 (ten) days after the service provided, or at the latest within 10 (ten) days after the discovery of a defect in the service provided if the client demonstrates that they were unable to reasonably detect that defect earlier, to notify Greenstone Legal  Failing to do so will no longer allow the client to appeal to any shortcomings in the service provided.

    3. A complaint regarding an invoice issued by Greenstone Legal to the client must be submitted in writing within 14 (fourteen) days of the invoice date.

    4. A complaint as referred to under sub b or sub c of this article does not suspend the payment obligation of the client.

    5. If the complaint is not received on time, all rights of the client accruing in that context expire. Claim rights arising from justified complaints will expire 6 (six) months after at the work carried out by Greenstone Legal at the latest.

11. In case of a joint assignment, the clients are joint and severally liable ("hoofdelijk aansprakelijk") for the fulfilment of obligations on the client side, including the payment of invoice amounts, and possibly any cost and interest owed. 

12. The joint liability of Greenstone Legal, the directors and staff of Greenstone Legal, is in its entirety still limited to the amount that is paid out under the professional liability insurance of Greenstone. in the relevant case plus the amount of the deductible excess that will be charged to Greenstone Legal in accordance with the applicable insurance contract in the relevant case. The client irrevocably waives the recovery of any payment which exceeds the payment of the relevant case by the insurer.

13. If, for whichever reason, no payment is made under this insurance, any liability on behalf of Greenstone Legal is limited to three times the amount it has charged in the respective case in the respective year, up to a maximum of € 50,000 (say: fifty thousand Euros).

14. Greenstone Legal is only liable for shortcomings of auxiliary persons and/or third parties if and insofar as the ensuing damage can be recovered from the auxiliary person and/or the third party. Greenstone Legal  is authorized to accept any liability limitations of auxiliary persons and/or third parties on behalf of the client. The client indemnifies Greenstone Legal against all third party claims, of which the costs to be incurred by Greenstone Legal in connection therewith are in some way connected with the work carried out by Greenstone Legal for the client except in case of deliberate intent or gross negligence on behalf of Greenstone Legal. Greenstone Legal is entitled at all times, if and insofar as possible, to amend any damage suffered by the client, for which Greenstone Legal is demonstrably liable, by rectifying or improving the defect. 

15. Privacy 

    1. During the course of carrying out its assignment, it may be necessary for Greenstone Legal to process personal data of the client. The client, by allocating the assignment, gives Greenstone Legal permission for the processing of personal data and to provide this information to third parties if necessary, in the context of executing the assignment or activities as well for purposes that are reasonably related thereto or for objectives that are determined with mutual consent.  

    2. Greenstone Legal N.V. shall take appropriate technical and organizational methods to protect the client’s personal data against loss or unlawful processing. Greenstone Legal will ensure when engaging or cooperating with third parties that those third parties involved meet the relevant requirements accordingly.

    3. As a processor (within the meaning of Article 4 paragraph 8 of the General Data Protection Regulation), Greenstone Legal N.V. will enable the client to comply with its obligation to report data leaks. Greenstone Legal will inform the client within a reasonable period of time after the detection of a breach in security of personal data and the client will fully cooperate with Greenstone Legal in investigating and remedying the detected infringement and the consequences thereof.

    4. In connection with the identification of clients and former clients, conflicts of interest and due to the position of proof, the stored data is kept in our systems for the full statute of limitations of a judgement.

16. The legal relations to which the contract and these general terms and conditions apply will be governed by Dutch law. Unless explicitly agreed otherwise, all disputes that may arise as a result of the forming or execution of the agreement over the assignment, the quality of the service, as well as all claim disputes, after – where appropriate – a dispute with the client has not led to a solution via the office complaints procedure, are to be settled by the authorized judge of the District Court of East-Brabant, unless the parties explicitly agree to a different means of dispute resolution.

17. These general terms and conditions are drawn up in Dutch and in English. In the event of any difference or inconsistency between the English text and the Dutch text of the provisions in the general terms and conditions or the explanation thereof, the Dutch text shall be binding at all times.