Complaints

Our services are subject to the Complaints and Dispute Resolution Scheme for the Legal Profession.

If you are dissatisfied with the quality of the service or the amount of the invoice, please first submit your concerns to your lawyer. Our complaints procedure serves as a guideline for handling your complaint. You can request a copy of the office complaints procedure from our office. You must submit your complaint within three months of the date you became aware, or reasonably could have become aware, of the action or omission that gave rise to your complaint.

Our office will always confirm a solution to the problem in writing within four weeks of receiving the complaint. If you believe our office has not satisfactorily resolved your objections, you can submit a complaint to the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession. This option is also available to you if our office has not addressed your objections in writing within four weeks of submitting them.

The Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession will handle the case in accordance with the Disputes Committee Regulations in effect at the time the complaint is filed with the committee. You can request a copy of these regulations from the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession at: P.O. Box 90600, 2509 LP The Hague.

You can submit your complaint to the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession at the address above up to twelve months after receiving our written response. After that date, this option expires.

Our office can submit unpaid invoices for collection to the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession.

If services are provided to a private client, the regulations provide for binding advice, unless the client turns to the regular court within one month of our office handling the complaint. In the event of a debt collection from a private client, binding advice is only granted if the client deposits the outstanding amount with the Disputes Committee. If the client fails to do so, the collection will be subject to arbitration.

The Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession is authorized to adjudicate complaints concerning the quality of lawyers’ services and the amount of all types of invoices. In addition, the Disputes Committee is authorized to adjudicate claims for damages up to a maximum of €10,000. You may submit higher claims for damages to the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession only if you limit the claim to €10,000 and waive the excess amount in writing.

Rulings by the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession regarding the quality of service are not final and binding in any legal proceedings before a regular court concerning claims for damages exceeding €10,000. This means that you cannot rely on a ruling by the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession in any potential legal proceedings before a regular court concerning a claim for damages exceeding €10,000.

The Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession rules to the exclusion of the ordinary courts. No appeal is possible against the decision of the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession.