Terms and conditions

  1. Services provided:

Any task entrusted by a client to Lexentia is governed by the terms of the mandate defined in the letter of engagement. In the course of handling the matter, the scope of the legal work required may be adapted to the needs of the case.

Lexentia provides a service focused on the pragmatic, logical and efficient character of the solution to be devised. At each stage, the lawyer communicates with the client in order to meet the client’s expectations, and endeavours to respond to any request as promptly as possible, taking into account any urgencies that may require priority treatment.

Procedural deadlines are met provided that the client has transmitted all necessary information and documents in a timely manner. Any delay in transmission may either release Lexentia from any liability as regards compliance with the relevant deadline, or give rise to a fee supplement on account of the urgency thereby generated.

  1. Responsible lawyer, external assistance and collaborative network:

The mission is conducted by Lexentia. The dominus litis designated in the letter of engagement is personally responsible for the services rendered. Another lawyer from Lexentia may join the handling of a matter in the course of the mission, without affecting the responsibility of the dominus litis. Lexentia endeavours to provide an efficient and high-quality service in its preferred areas of practice. Should a matter fall outside its area of competence, this will be discussed with the client, who may be referred to one of Lexentia’s collaborators or to an external lawyer, so as to ensure that the client receives sound and high-quality advice in all circumstances.

  1. Liability:

Lexentia is exclusively civilly liable for the handling of the matter on a contractual basis, for any loss, damage, costs or expenses suffered by the client as a result of a direct fault, irrespective of the person – lawyer, collaborator, trainee or other auxiliary – at the origin of such fault, save in cases of fraud or force majeure. Any claim based on non-contractual liability against Lexentia, its lawyers or its auxiliaries is expressly excluded.

Lexentia holds professional indemnity insurance. The client acknowledges having been informed of the existence and level of that coverage, and accepts its limits as an essential and determining condition of this agreement. Compensation shall not exceed five times the amount of fees received exclusive of VAT in the matter concerned.

Under no circumstances may the client invoke the client’s own acts, negligence, omissions, misrepresentations or incomplete representations, or unlawful acts – committed personally or by the client’s managers, directors, employees, agents, subcontractors or auxiliaries – in order to engage the liability of Lexentia.

  1. Communication with the client:

Lexentia favours electronic means of communication. At the outset of the relationship, the client may express a preference for another means; depending on the choice made, Lexentia reserves the right to charge any additional cost thereby incurred and shall not be held liable for any delay attributable to the means of communication selected.

The client elects domicile at the e-mail address provided in the letter of engagement for all communications relating to the mission, until such time as a different address is notified to Lexentia. Any change of contact details must be transmitted without delay. Lexentia shall not be held liable for a communication sent to an address that has not been updated by the client.

Lexentia guarantees the confidentiality of the client’s identity and the nature of the client’s dispute, provided such information is not in the public domain. Disclosure deemed necessary for the handling of the matter may be made to members of Lexentia, external collaborators or any professional consulted to that end. The relationship may be terminated in the event of a breakdown in communication between Lexentia and the client.

  1. Transmission of documents and case management

The client undertakes to transmit all relevant documents and information in a clear, complete and orderly manner. Failing that, Lexentia reserves the right to charge the time spent sorting, reconstituting or organising the documents thus transmitted, at the applicable hourly rate.

The lawyer maintains, for each matter, a chronological record of the procedural steps and deadlines, available upon request by the client. Such record is an internal management tool and does not create a separate obligation of result as regards compliance with deadlines attributable to the client.

  1. Use of automated assistance tools

The client undertakes to inform Lexentia of any recourse, even partial, to an artificial intelligence or automated assistance tool for the drafting, translation or analysis of documents transmitted. This obligation is intended to prevent any bias, inaccuracy or prejudice liable to affect the legal analysis or the strategy of the matter. Lexentia disclaims all liability for the consequences of erroneous or biased information originating from an undisclosed automated tool.

Use by the lawyer. The lawyer reserves the right to have recourse, on an occasional and selective basis, to automated assistance tools in the interest of the efficient handling of matters. Save for any express derogation agreed between the lawyer and the client on account of particular circumstances – such as the volume of data to be processed in cases of urgency, giving rise to specific discussion and agreement between the parties – the lawyer does not rely exclusively on information processed by artificial intelligence. Legal analysis, assessment of the facts, strategy and all advice provided to the client remain in all circumstances the exclusive work of, and engage the personal responsibility of, the lawyer in charge of the matter.

  1. Holding of funds in a third-party account

Any sum received on behalf of a client is deposited in the third-party account of the lawyer in charge of the matter. That account bears no interest and the sums deposited therein are held on a temporary basis.

  1. Intellectual property and rights

Any document drafted by Lexentia for the purposes of handling a matter may only be used by the client for private and individual purposes, subject to the express consent of Lexentia. Lexentia is entitled to use, copy or transpose any idea, development or document drafted for the purposes of one matter in the handling of other matters, subject to compliance with confidentiality obligations.

Lexentia shall not be liable for any damage arising from the use of documents in any form other than that transmitted by Lexentia to the client.

  1. Archiving

Lexentia retains its files – both physical and digital – for a maximum period of five years from the closure of the matter. Upon express request by the client and subject to payment of the costs incurred, files may be retained for a longer period.

  1. Fees and costs

Fees are set at the all-inclusive rate indicated in the letter of engagement, which covers all administrative costs. Only external disbursements – court registry fees, registered mail, DHL, legal costs and the like – are charged in addition, at actual cost.

Fees are determined having regard to the specific features of the matter, the subject matter addressed, any urgency, the complexity of the case and the experience of the lawyer in charge.

Billing arrangements are linked to the mission defined in the letter of engagement and may vary from one mission to another, subject to prior information and agreement of the client. Hourly rates are reviewed periodically; any new rate is communicated to the client prior to application and requires the client’s approval. Any estimate provided by Lexentia is indicative only and does not constitute a cap on fees.

External disbursements are not subject to VAT at 21%, provided that the relevant invoice is issued in the name of the client and that the client’s full billing details have been communicated to Lexentia. Failing that, they shall be recorded as supplementary costs subject to VAT.

Fees are subject to VAT at the rate of 21%, save where an exemption applies.

Fees and costs are payable exclusively in euros (EUR). Any costs arising from payment made in another currency, from currency conversion or from any exchange mechanism shall be recharged in full to the client.

Fees are payable on receipt, within fifteen days of the invoice date. Any sum remaining unpaid at its due date shall automatically bear interest at the rate of 8% per annum.

In the event of non-payment of an invoice at its due date, Lexentia shall send the client a reminder by e-mail to the address provided in the letter of engagement. In the absence of any response or payment within fifteen days of that reminder, Lexentia reserves the right to suspend all services, without prejudice to the accrual of late-payment interest. Suspension is notified to the client by e-mail at the same address. Should non-payment persist, Lexentia shall be entitled to terminate the mission in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 15.

Where a third party intervenes to pay the invoices, the client remains jointly and severally liable for payment and authorises Lexentia to communicate directly with such third party to that end.

  1. Contingency fee

A contingency fee is legally permissible only insofar as it is partial and supplemented by a reduced base fee. The amount of the applicable reduced rate and the percentage or amount of the success fee – which may be degressive by tranche – are agreed jointly and recorded in the letter of engagement.

From the commencement of any phase covered by a contingency fee arrangement, the agreed reduced rate is applied to the services invoiced for that phase. In the event of a change of lawyer, withdrawal by the client or early termination of the mission, whatever the cause and at whatever stage, the standard hourly rate – as it would have applied in the absence of any contingency fee arrangement – becomes immediately due as of right, retroactively, in respect of all services previously invoiced at the reduced rate. The difference between the reduced rate invoiced and the standard rate thus applicable is immediately due by the client, without prejudice to any other fees or indemnity.

Where the termination of the mission occurs at an advanced stage of the proceedings and the essential acts having contributed to the achievement of the outcome have been performed by Lexentia prior to that termination, the success fee remains in full due, even where the outcome is ultimately obtained under the aegis of another counsel. This applies in particular where Lexentia has drafted the principal procedural instruments, constituted the substance of the file or pleaded the case, and where the favourable outcome flows directly or principally from those services.

The definition of success triggering the contingency fee is set out in the letter of engagement. In the absence of any express definition, success shall be deemed to consist of any decision, agreement or outcome that has procured for the client a substantial advantage – financial, statutory or by way of compensation – compared with the client’s position at the time of first instruction of Lexentia.

  1. Taxation of costs – independence of fees

In the event of success in the proceedings, a taxation of costs may be organised in accordance with the rules applicable before the court seised. In that context, certain services invoiced by Lexentia may not be considered indispensable within the meaning of the applicable taxation rules and may be excluded, in whole or in part, from the recovery awarded to the client.

Such a decision has no effect on the existence, validity or enforceability of the invoices issued by Lexentia. The fees invoiced remunerate services effectively and usefully rendered in the interest of the client; the fact that they may not be recoverable in the context of a costs taxation procedure does not call into question the reality or value of the services provided. Lexentia’s invoices are neither reduced nor annulled by reason of a costs taxation decision, which does not bind Lexentia in its contractual relationship with the client.

The client is informed of this distinction from the time the matter is opened and accepts it as an essential condition of this agreement.

  1. Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism

Lexentia is subject to the legislation on the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and is accordingly required to identify its clients and exercise due vigilance. Any suspicious conduct must be reported to the competent Bar President (Bâtonnier). Lexentia reserves the right to suspend or cease all activity, upon notice given as promptly as possible, in the event of a substantiated suspicion of money laundering or terrorist activity.

  1. Data protection

In the course of its activities, Lexentia processes personal data concerning its clients within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 (GDPR). Such data are processed solely for the purpose of performing the mission entrusted and complying with Lexentia’s legal and regulatory obligations. They are not transferred to third parties, save where required by the handling of the matter or by a legal obligation. The client has the right of access, rectification and erasure of personal data, which may be exercised by e-mail addressed to the dominus litis.

  1. Termination of mission

Lexentia may terminate the mission upon reasonable notice allowing the client to make the necessary arrangements, in particular in the event of persistent non-payment following a reminder that has remained unanswered, loss of mutual trust, a conflict of interest arising in the course of the mission, a serious breach by the client of the client’s cooperation obligations, or any situation rendering the continuation of the mission incompatible with the applicable professional conduct rules. Upon termination of the mission, all fees and disbursements due up to the date of cessation of services shall become immediately payable.

  1. Disputes

Any dispute relating to the mission entrusted by the client to Lexentia shall fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts and Tribunals of Brussels and shall be governed by Belgian law. A conciliation procedure may, where appropriate, be organised before the Bar Association.

Version March 2026