Fees

Warning: the following text is a translation of the French original version. Only the original version may be considered as official.

The legal and judicial services we provide are tailored to every individual situation and delivered within a time frame and financial setting that we endeavour to make as foreseeable as possible.

We are therefore permanently developing, adapting and fine-tuning our services in order to match them to the needs of every client.

These general conditions set out the framework and conditions of our services and obligations.

They are subject to permanent modification and give no established right other than an already existing contractual link.

The ULYS association

ULYS is an association with registered office in Belgium : 224, avenue de la Couronne, 1050 Brussels, and with a branch in Paris : 251 Boulevard Pereire 75017 Paris.

This agreement is recognised by the competent authorities under whose jurisdiction the aforementioned companies fall.

Our services

The ULYS association provides a study, advice, drafting and assistance structure, mainly in relation to intellectual and industrial property rights media and new technologies, from a national and international perspective.

ULYS association lawyers regularly contribute to published works of legal doctrine, and participate at conferences in France, Belgium and abroad, in order to keep up to date with the latest developments in national and international law, mainly in relation to the new technologies of information and communication.

Licence to use ULYS association documents

As part of its role, the ULYS association entrusts its clients with legal documents (statutes, contracts, written consultations …) of which it is the author and remains the owner, even after having provided a copy.

ULYS association clients benefit from a licence, together with the codicils and modifications that the ULYS association will recommend be made to the contracts.

The ULYS association’s remuneration for the licence to use its written documents is included in its standard remuneration.

Material and human resources

The ULYS association puts in place the material and human resources required for the successful completion of its duties. Where applicable, it carries out the hiring of all staff or secretaries at its own initiative. Also at its own initiative and under its sole responsibility, it solicits on behalf of clients all contractors required for prompt completion. Generally speaking, the ULYS association is the sole judge of the material and human resources deployed for the carrying out of its duties and fully responsible to its clients in this respect.

The ULYS association possesses two main sites, one of which is in Paris at 11, Rue Christophe Colomb 75008, and the other in Brussels 1050, at 224 avenue de la Couronne. Without exception, all meetings are held at one of these two sites.

Written correspondence should be sent to one of these two addresses, or to the fax numbers or e-mail addresses indicated on the Contact page.

The ULYS association is a member of the lawyers’ network EUROJURIS and the IT Law Group Europe (see Network page).

Invoicing basis

Our rates are generally and in principle determined in relation to the time our lawyers spend on the case, strictly in the carrying out of their duties as lawyers.

We also take into account related services provided by our partners, which will be clearly detailed on the invoice.

The hourly rate charged by the lawyers is fixed at the time the case is taken on and communicated to the client, in accordance with the compulsory ethical standards, most notably those of the harmonised internal regulations in the case of France and of the applicable regulations of the Dutch and French Orders of the Brussels Bar:

Remuneration and reimbursement of costs and expenses

The lawyer is entitled to payment of the fees and emoluments due to him in remuneration for the work supplied, the service rendered and the result obtained, together with the reimbursement of his costs and expenses.

Fees commensurate with the work already carried out are acquired by the lawyer entrusted with a case by a client, even if it is withdrawn from him before its conclusion.

Informing the client

The lawyer must inform his client of the terms and conditions of the calculation of his fees. Before any final payment is made, he must send the client a detailed statement.

For every case, the lawyer keeps a precise and distinct record of the fees, all sums which he may have received and the purpose for which they were used, except when a flat-rate fee has been agreed.

Elements of remuneration

In accordance with custom, the calculation of the lawyer’s remuneration depends principally on each of the following elements:

• research work; ;
• the nature and difficulty of the matter;
• the size of the interests concerned;
• the rate of expenses and charges of the firm to which the lawyer belongs;
• the reputation, status, experience and specialisation of the latter;
• the advantages and result obtained for the client through his work;
• the client’s situation

Methods of payment

Authorised methods

The lawyer has the right to solicit and obtain fees arising in a complementary capacity, depending on the result of the service rendered.

Flat-rate fees may be agreed.

The lawyer may receive periodic fees from a client, including in flat-rate form.

Prohibited methods

The lawyer is not permitted to set his fees by means of a champerty.

A champerty is an agreement reached between the lawyer and his client before a definitive legal ruling is made, which exclusively fixes the entirety of his fees according to the judicial ruling on the matter, whether these fees consist of a sum of money or any other asset or security.

The lawyer may only receive fees from his client or a representative of the latter.

Remuneration for transferral of business is prohibited.

Deposit on costs and fees

A lawyer who agrees to take on a case must ask his client to pay in advance a deposit on account towards its costs and fees, unless he adjudges that special circumstances make this unnecessary.

In the absence of payment of the deposit requested, the lawyer may refrain from accepting the case or withdraw from it.

Method of payment of fees

The fees are paid in accordance with the conditions provided for in the law and regulations, namely in cash, by cheque, bank transfer, promissory note or banker’s card.

Payment of fees by a third party

The lawyer is obliged to refuse payment of his fees by a third party if he knows that the third party concerned is not fully enlightened as to the circumstances of the payment or if on the occasion of this payment, this third party was in contravention of the law, the regulations, or if applicable, its statutes.

Flat-rate fees and incidental services

Instead of hourly rates, flat-rate agreements may be implemented in relation to medium or long-term assistance work. Remuneration shall then take place in the form of a written agreement between the ULYS association and its client.

Incidental services essential to the carrying out of the role of the ULYS association (trademark registration formalities, patents, company constitution, application services, representations abroad, research and enquiry services…) and, in particular, invoices from its foreign contacts are invoiced for directly to the client as costs or expenses.

Costs

With regard to the reimbursement of the firm’s fixed or standard costs (postage and telecommunications costs, copying, secretarial services etc.), a graduated percentage is applied in flat-rate form to the sum of the fees invoiced for in the case concerned, as follows:

• fees up to € 3,000: 20%
• fees from € 3,000 to 4,000: 15%
• fees from € 4,000 to € 6,000: 10%
• fees over € 6,000: 5%

The system applicable is fixed at the start of the case and communicated to the client.

In all cases, any specific costs and expenses (express and registered mail, accommodation costs in the event of travel in the context of the case concerned, etc.) give rise to reimbursement by the client, who may ask to see all documentary evidence.

Travel costs are invoiced for separately at the applicable revenue tariff.

Costs and fees for trips are subject to special agreements dependent upon the conditions, most notably the place and duration of the stay.

Payment

Payment owed are deemed to be effective only if and when received at the principal establishment of the firm or on the bank account mentioned on the bill. All payment from abroad must be made free of charge for the firm.

Disputes

All disputes arising from relations between a ULYS association lawyer and a client shall be subject to either the arbitration of the French Order of the Brussels Bar or the competent judicial authority  of Brussels district.