TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. Scope etc.
1.1 At Advance Advokatbyrå Stefan Flemström AB legal operations are carried out. All terms and conditions shall apply to all assignment contracts entered in to by on the one side the client and on the other side the lawyer, potential associates and the law firm where they carry out their operations. If nothing else is agreed upon in writing, the terms and conditions shall be considered as accepted by the client.
2. Relation to and Information About the Swedish Bar Association’s Code of Conduct
2.1 The Terms and Conditions is only applicable when nothing else applies according to peremptory law, the Code of Conduct or through a contract.
2.2 The law firm and its employed lawyers and associates are subject to the requirement of following the Code of Conduct produced by the Swedish Bar Association (https://www.advokatsamfundet.se/globalassets/advokatsamfundet_eng/code-of-professional-conduct-with-commentary-2016.pdf). This is a reassurance for the client, since it, among other, entails that the law firm must exercise confidentiality, continuously update the client on their case, and have all necessary insurances. The law firm will within the framework of the Code of Conduct and applicable law serve the clients interests.
3. Carrying Out the Assignment
3.1 For every assignment there is one lawyer in charge. This lawyer has full discretion to internally assign the lawyer/s and associate/s, which the lawyer finds suiting, to carry out the assignment. It is the law firm which is assigned the case by the client, and not a specific lawyer or associate.
3.2 The advisory services and support provided by the law firm is adjusted after the current circumstances in the specific case, the facts presented to us and the instructions presented by the client.
3.3 An assignment is normally initiated through a personal meeting. During this meeting we will assess the prerequisites for the case with the client as well as provide a preliminary assessment of the case based on the prerequisites. We will thereafter provide our advice on how to continue with the case and inform on our billing model and hourly rate.
3.4 The assignment provides a right for the law firm to carry out actions considered adequate to complete the assignment, of which the law firm has been assigned for, and in relation to this incur reasonable costs for the client.
3.5 The law firm’s legal assessments are derived from the law firm’s collective experience and knowledge, as well as the information provided by the client to the law firm. The law firm can never guarantee success in a legal dispute. There is always an uncertainty with pre-assessments of an expected decision/verdict in court. The courts can, rightfully or wrongfully, assess a legal dispute differently from the law firm’s assessment.
3.6 The law firm’s advisory services never covers an assessment of fiscal or accounting consequences.
4. The Issuing and Receiving of an Assignment
4.1 An assignment can be issued out in writing or orally. This includes e-mail.
4.2 The law firm will assume that the assigned contact persons are authorized to issue out instructions etc. to the law firm. This is applicable also in the absence of a written power of attorney or comparable document.
5. Identification
5.1 In purpose of fulfilling obligations laid down in law, the law firm might be obliged to control client’s, and for the client other involved persons’, identity cards. For legal entities this also applies to the natural persons representing the legal entity. The law firm can therefore ask the client to provide identity cards.
6. Communication Between the Client and the Law Firm
6.1 If nothing else is instructed by the client, or agreed upon through a written contract, the law firm may communicate with the client through e-mail, even though this might entail some risk in a security and confidentiality perspective. The law firm is not liable for these risks.
7. Confidentiality
7.1 The law firm adheres to the Swedish Bar Association’s Code of Conduct for confidentiality. This means that the law firm will uphold its obligation to maintain client confidentiality insofar as the firm is not obligated by law to disclose the client’s information.
8. Intellectual Property
8.1 The law firm owns the copyright and all other intellectual property rights generated by its work. The client only owns the right to use the work results for the purpose of which they were created an in relation to the assignment.
9. Fees
9.1 A fee shall according to the Swedish Bar Association’s Code of Conduct be reasonable. The law firm’s charges is based on an hourly fee. The hourly rate is derived from the assignment’s nature and scale. The client is informed at the start of the assignment which hourly rate is applicable in the specific case. The law firm generally charges for all work that is laid down in the case. The hourly fee is charged per commenced six minute period.
9.2 Beyond the fees, the law firm also charges the client for necessary costs relating to the carrying out of the assignment, i.e. application fees, travels and accommodation.
9.3 if the assignment includes a court action or arbitration tribunal, a loss generally entails that the losing party must pay the winning party’s legal fees. In some cases the entire legal fees a party has generated is not covered, but the client is still liable to the law firm to pay the entirety of the legal fees.
10. Invoicing
10.1 Invoicing is performed on an on-going basis and the law firm reserves the right to request payment within a 10 day-deadline. An invoice entails the final fee relating to the law firm’s work at the assignable period.
10.2 The law firm owns the right to request a payment in advance, which will be deducted from the following invoice/s.
10.3 The law firm owns the right to, after an invoice, draw down payment as described above, from a client’s funding account.
11. Deposit
11.1 To cover fees and additional expenses the Law Firm owns the right to request a deposit. The deposit acts as a collateral for the Law Firm, which is accounted for at the termination of the assignment. The deposit is not deducted from the invoicing if not specifically agreed upon. No interest follows on the deposit. The deposit is put in a client’s funding account, separated from the Law Firms other accounts, and is controlled in accordance with the Swedish Bar Association’s Code of Conduct.
If the Law Firm has not obtained the deposit for a specific reason, it may be used to cover the client’s invoices (this does not affect the client’s right to make objections against these invoices).
12. Legal Aid and Legal Assistance Assurance
12.1 The conditions for a grant of legal aid is stipulated in the Legal Aid Act. The National Legal Aid Authority, alternatively the court, decides if legal aid is to be granted. If granted, certain conditions apply to the charging of fees.
12.2 For the possibility of receiving legal assistance assurance it falls on the client to inform the law firm if there is an insurance. If an insurance exists, the law firm takes it upon themselves to help the client apply for legal assistance assurance at the client’s insurance company.
12.3 The insurance company decide themselves if legal assistance assurance is to be granted in every specific case, according to their own terms and conditions. The hourly rate charged by the law firm might exceed the legal assistance assurance received from the insurance company. The client is then obligated to pay the exceeding amount to the law firm.
12.4 in addition to the above stated, the client normally pays an excess according to the insurance company’s terms and conditions.
13. Limitation of Liability
13.1 The Law firm’s liability for damages caused to the client due to wrong-doing or negligence from the law firm, when executing the assignment, is limited to 3 million SEK.
14. Termination of Assignment
14.1 The client may at any given time, without notice or stating of any reason, terminate the assignment issued to the law firm.
14.2 The law firm shall withdraw from the assignment if obligated by law or the Code of Conduct. The law firm also owns the right to terminate the assignment due to defaulted payment, inadequate information from the client, or if there is no trust between the client and the law firm.
14.3 If an assignment is terminated by either party, the client is obligated to pay the fees relating to the law firm’s work until the termination, as well as for a potential reasonable fee due to the phase-out.
15. Documents and Archive
15.1 The law firm does not undertake any assignments regarding safekeeping of original documents. Original documents are always handed to the client during the execution of the assignment or after the assignment has ended. The law firm will save copies of all documents and working material in their archives, in accordance with applicable law and the Code of Conduct.
16. Disputes
16.1 If a client raises economic claims towards the law firm, or if the reasonableness of the fees is disputed, a client who is a consumer may contact the Swedish Bar Association’s Consumer Disputes Committee (https://www.advokatsamfundet.se/konsumenttvistnamnden/about-the-committee/). The law firm is obligated, due to the Code of Conduct, to accept the Committee’s decision. If the Committee is to try the client’s application, the client must first have tried to reach a solution with the law firm.
16.2 Disputes which are not covered by paragraph 15.1 shall be tried in public court. The client must however, primarily, try to reach a solution with the law firm.
17. Changes to the Terms and Conditions
17.1 These terms and conditions might be subject to change. The latest version is always available on the law firms web page (https://advanceadvokatbyra.se/en/allmanna-villkor/). Changes to the terms and conditions only apply to the assignments which have been issued after the changed version has been published on the web page.
18. Processing of Personal Data
18.1 Regarding processing of personal data information can be found on the law firm’s web page (https://advanceadvokatbyra.se/en/personuppgifter/).