Relationship between lawyer and client
Painted by Honoré Daumier
The following contractual conditions apply to all professional relationships between Studio Legale Filimberti & Partners and its clients. They apply even when they have not been specifically underwritten insofar as they could have been ascertained with an average amount of diligence on the part of clients.
Definitions
1) A "professional advisor" is any professional who operates, in accordance with their authorization to practice prescribed by the law, in the law firm of Studio Legale Filimberti & Partners under the responsibility of Avv. Marco Filimberti.
2) A "client" is any person who entrusts to a professional advisor the carrying out of any professional activity whether in court or out of court or purely advisory, independently of whether a formal power of attorney has been given.
Obligations and rights of the law firm
1) The law firm is committed to handle the business with which it has been entrusted and to complete its mandate with the degree of care that would be expected of a professional law firm, without however being able to guarantee the result desired by its client.
2) The law firm is committed to keep its client informed of progress on his affairs, using normal methods of communication (telephone, fax, electronic mail) compatible with the efficiency and functionality of the firm's business.
3) The professional advisor may delegate under his responsibility certain tasks to his colleagues and other staff unless he has received a written request to the contrary from his client. The client accepts that the professional advisor can be substituted by a colleague at hearings and other meetings necessary to carry out the activity.
4) In the event that it becomes necessary to delegate, even partially, certain aspects of the client's business to third party lawyers, international correspondents or technical consultants, this will be done after agreement with the client who will have a direct contractual relationship with these third parties. The professional advisor will not be responsible for any breach committed by these third parties nominated in agreement with the client, and these third parties will respond directly to the client for their activities.
5) The law firm is committed to the maintenance by all of its staff of the confidentiality of all information, facts and documents acquired in the course of carrying out its mandate.
Obligations of the client
The client is obliged to:
1) Pay punctually any sums requested by the professional advisor as payments on account in line with practice in the sector and to pay the balance at the conclusion of his business, both for the expenses and fees due to the professional advisor.
2) Collaborate fully with the professional advisor, providing him with all the information and documentation necessary in order that the client's business can be analysed and managed as well as possible.
3) Communicate as soon as possible to the firm any changes in his contact details such as address, home and work phone number, mobile telephone number, e-mail address.
4) Communicate at the beginning of the relationship his fiscal code or, where applicable, his VAT tax code in order to enable the issue by the professional advisor of invoices or other legally required documentation.
5) Communicate, at the beginning of the relationship, the existence of any insurance coverage for legal proceedings.
Appointments
1) The client must arrive punctually for appointments with the professional advisor and bring with him all the documentation and other information necessary to reconstruct his case.
2) In the event that a client is unable to be present for an appointment, the client must advise the professional advisor with as much notice as possible so that he can reorganise his workload in the interests of his other clients. In the event that a client does not attend an arranged meeting without any justified motive, he will be expected to pay a 60€ penalty or any higher amount for damages caused, unless he has given good notice and has very valid reasons for his absence. An unexpected and unavoidable event represents a valid reason whereas traffic or other circumstances known by or attributable to the client do not.
3) Husbands, wives or partners who attend meetings fixed to discuss separation, divorce, custody or mediation, must do so without bringing young children with them. The reason for this is not due to a problem of the firm in this regard but in order to ensure compliance with the requirements for the protection of children. A professional advisor is entitled to send away a client who arrives for a meeting accompanied by children and to make a charge for the relative cost.
Responsibilities of the client
1) The client accepts full responsibility for the reconstruction of the facts made to the firm as well as the authenticity and the content of the documents that he provides to the firm and the truth in general of any information provided to the professional advisor for the purposes of carrying out his mandate.
2) Equally the client accepts full responsibility in the event that he does not follow advice given to him by the professional advisor during the course of his mandate.
3) The client is obliged to fully indemnify the professional advisor against any claim made against him by third parties in connection with the mandate received and to reimburse any costs, reasonably incurred, in defending himself against such claims.
Responsibilities of the firm
1) The professional advisors of the firm are all insured for third party liability with the insurance companies indicated on the firm's website as required by our current code of conduct.
2) The professional advisors of the firm, with the consent of their clients, do not accept responsibilities in excess of their professional liability insurance cover.
3) Where the client requires the firm to handle a matter in excess of the insurance cover at the moment the mandate is given, he is required to make a formal written request at the outset in order to enable supplementary insurance cover to be negotiated and underwritten.
4) Any claim made by a client against a professional advisor must be made, subject to the forfeiture of any rights to a claim, in writing setting out the precise motives and circumstances of a claim within one year from when the client acquired the knowledge, or could reasonably have acquired such knowledge, of the facts on which the claim is based.
Fees and payment
1) The firm's fees will be prepared in accordance with the tariffs foreseen by the law.
2) Where a client requires clarification regarding a bill received or wishes to discuss the amount, he should do so in writing within 15 days from its receipt. In the event that he is not satisfied with the discussions he can, within the next 15 days submit the bill for review by the Executive Body of the Law Society of Varese and their guidance will be binding on both parties.
3) After 15 days from the receipt of the bill by the client without any disputes being made or after 30 days without any request for a review by the Law Society of Varese, the bill will considered to be accepted and from that date interest for late payment will be due. Late payment is defined as payment made after 60 days from the receipt of the bill by the client. Interest for late payment will be at the rate established by article 4 of the law decree n. 231 of 9/10/2002 and will be calculated until the date of effective payment. Costs of recovery will also be payable by the client.
4) The amount of any bills accepted as defined above but not paid can be deducted from any amounts recovered on behalf of the client, who will be specifically advised of such a deduction.
Documents
1) The firm will never accept original documentation unless it is absolutely necessary, such as the case of a cheque required to initiate an execution proceeding or other similar cases.
2) The client is required to provide all the documentation possibly already copied, on paper or preferably in a file, and to work closely with the professional advisor in putting together all the paperwork necessary.
Fiscal and other legal requirements
1) IVA, contributions to the Law Society and all the other amounts prescribed by law are payable by the client who can, if the conditions are met, include them as a deductible expense by entering the invoice in his accounting records. The professional advisor, in this regard, is required to issue a fiscally correct invoice.
Resolution of the contract
1) The professional advisors of the firm may relinquish their mandate at any moment, with a simple communication to the client, including communication by telephone or electronic mail. When the firm relinquishes a mandate it will prepare a file containing all the pertinent documentation in the shortest time possible.
2) Equally the client may, at any moment, cancel the mandate to the professional advisor, remaining obliged to pay all the fees due until the date of cancellation.
3) The client, at the end of the mandate, is required to come and collect the file of documentation promptly and no more than a week later, once he has been notified that it has been prepared.
4) The firm, with the exception of particularly complex files, is required to prepare the file of documentation for return to the client within one week . When the client receives the file he will be required to sign a list of documents returned in copy, and in rare cases, in original, and make payment of any amounts still outstanding for the activity carried out up to the termination of the mandate.
Partial nullity
1) In the event that any of the conditions indicated herein become null and void in virtue of the application of an overriding law or due to non conformity with a code of conduct issued by the Law Society, these conditions will be considered to be replaced by the appropriate provisions of the law or code of conduct only in relation to those parts that are in conflict.
Applicable Court jurisdiction
1) For any dispute, the competent courts will be the Justice of the Peace for the local area or the Law Courts of Varese depending on the amount in dispute.
Applicable Law and jurisdiction
1) Any dispute between the client and the Professional Advisor will be subject exclusively to Italian law and jurisdiction. For this purpose any client who does not have or has not elected to have any domicile in Italy will be deemed to be domiciled at the Chancellery of the Varese Civil Law Courts. The firm will in any event have the option of notifying or communicating with the client at his effective address of residence or domicile and to make its claim before the Legal Authorities of the place of residence of his client for the recovery of amounts due.
