General conditions
1. GENERAL
These general conditions are applicable when Bright Advokat AB (hereinafter “the Law Firm”) enters into an agreement concerning that the Law Firm shall provide legal services (“the Assignment”) for. In addition to these terms, the Code of Conduct of the Swedish Bar Association apply to the Assignment.
2. PRIVACY AND INFORMATION
The Law Firm, its partners and employees are subject to a duty of confidentiality in accordance with, among other, The Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure and Code of Conduct of the Swedish Bar Association. The Law Firm will not disclose any circumstance that is not public unless it is done as part of the execution of the Assignment or with the consent of the client. The Law Firm is obliged by law to collect and retain evidence and certain documentation regarding the identity of its clients. The Law Firm may therefore ask the client to provide identity documents and other documentation about the client or about another person involved in the Assignment. The Law Firm, despite the duty of confidentiality, is required by law to disclose information in connection with the investigation of certain crimes, and to submit information on VAT registration numbers to the Swedish Tax Agency. The rules on the lawyer’s duty of confidentiality also contain exceptions for, among other things, the lawyer’s recovery of his own claim for fees. Non-payment may therefore result in that information that would otherwise be covered by confidentiality become public.
3. EXTERNAL CONSULTANTS
The Law Firm will only hire external advisors (e.g. legal, financial or technical consultants or other experts) for the Assignment if the client instructs the Law Firm to do so. Such an appointment is made on behalf of the client and the Law Firm is not responsible for the recommendations or choice of such advisors, for the advice or services provided by the advisor, or for the fees and/or costs charged by the advisor. This applies regardless of whether the advisor reports to the Law Firm or directly to the client. The Law Firm’s liability insurance does not include counselling provided by external advisors.
4. FEES AND COSTS
The Law Firm’s fees are charged according to Code of Conduct of the Swedish Bar Association. Unless otherwise agreed, the Law Firm has the right to determine the fees, taking into account several factors, such as time spent, difficulty, required expertise and experience, resources required, the values the Assignment pertains to, risk exposure of the Law Firm, urgency and achieved results. The Law Firm charges reimbursement for costs, such as messenger costs, travel and subsistence expenses and, if representing a significant amount, copying costs.
5. BILLING
The Law Firm usually invoices at the end of each month, except in cases where the fees and/or costs accrued constitutes a small amount. An invoice can be a sub-invoice, i.e. the final fee and costs for the work that can be attributed to a certain period or a certain amount of work, an on-account invoice, i.e. a part of the total remuneration and the costs without definite connection to a certain part of work, or a final invoice. If account invoicing has taken place, the final invoice will indicate the total fee and the total cost of the Assignment, minus what has been invoiced on account. If so specifically agreed, or in case where one or more previous invoices have not been paid by the due date, the Law Firm has the right to request advances for fees and costs within a reasonable amount. The down payment will then be used to settle future invoices. The Law Firm invoices with 30 days maturity from the date of the invoice. In cases where one or more previous invoices have not been paid by the due date, the Law Firm is entitled to apply a due date of 10 days instead of the date of the invoice. In the event of non-payment, the Law Firm will charge interest on late payment according to the interest rate applicable in accordance with the Interest Act. If the Assignment has included representing the client in court or arbitration proceedings, the losing party may have been ordered to pay the winning party’s costs in whole or in part. However, any such imposition does not affect the client’s obligation to pay the Law Firm’s fees and costs. If the client has an insurance that includes compensation for legal services, part of the Law Firm’s fees and costs can be covered by the insurance provided that the Assignment as such is covered by the insurance. The Law Firm applies for such compensation on behalf of the client. If the Law Firm’s fees and costs exceed what can be obtained from a legal protection insurance, the client is obliged to pay the excess amount.
6. COPYRIGHT
The Law Firm has copyright and other intellectual property rights to the work result created in the Assignment. However, the client has the right to use the result for the purpose(s) for which it was produced in the Assignment.
7. LIABILITY
The client’s possible claim for compensation against the Law Firm due to the Assignment must be made no later than one year after the later of a) the date of the Law Firm’s last invoice in the Assignment or b) the day on which the circumstances on which the claim is based became known to the client or could have become known to the client if client had conducted reasonable investigations. If no compensation claim is made according to the previous, the right to compensation is restricted. The Law Firm’s liability for damages in the performance of the Assignment is limited to a maximum of SEK 100 million.
8. TERMINATION OF THE TASK
The client can terminate the Assignment at any time by requesting that the Law Firm’s resignation, and need not state any reason for this.
The Law Firm’s right or obligation to refuse or resign an assignment is regulated by law and by Code of Conduct of the Swedish Bar Association. This may be the case, for example, in the event of a conflict of interest, a lack of payment, a lack of advance payments, a lack of instructions or a lack of trust between the Law Firm and the client. If the Law Firm cancels the Assignment, or the relationship with the client, due to circumstances attributable to the client, or the Law Firm’s obligation under law or Code of Conduct of the Swedish Bar Association, the Law Firm has no responsibility for the damage this may cause. If the Assignment is withdrawn, for whatever reason, the client will still have to pay payment for the Law Firm’s fees and costs that have arisen before and which arise in connection with the termination of the Assignment.
9. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The Law Firm is usually prevented from undertaking an Assignment if there is a conflict of interest between the client and one of our other clients. Even if we check for possible conflicts of interest before undertaking an Assignment, we may find that conflicts of interest exist due to a circumstance occurred later. Should this occur, the Law Firm must, with the application of Code of Conduct of the Swedish Bar Association and with due regard to the interests of all the clients in question, ensure that the conflict of interest ends. To avoid this as far as possible, it is important that the client, both in connection with the initiation of the Assignment and continuously thereafter, keeps the Law Firm informed of such circumstances that may or may involve conflicts of interest.
10. PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA
Communication relating to the Assignment may be electronically processed. Information about the Law Firm´s processing of personal data, which is applied to the Assignment, can be found on the Law Firm´s website, https://brightadvokat.se/integritetspolicy/
11. APPLICABLE LAW AND DISPUTE SOLUTION
Swedish Law applies to the Assignment. However, the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods of 11 April 1980 (CISG) shall not apply. If the client is a consumer, disputes arising from the assignment must be tried by the Swedish public court. The client also has the opportunity to contact the Swedish Bar Association’s Consumer Disputes Committee, https://www.advokatsamfundet.se/Konsumenttvistnamnden/. Otherwise, disputes on the grounds of the Assignment shall be finally settled by arbitration in accordance with Arbitration Rules for the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC). The seat of the arbitration proceedings shall be Stockholm, the language shall be Swedish, and any information that may appear during the arbitration proceedings, as well as any decisions or arbitrations, shall be covered by confidentiality.