These terms apply to all services provided by KRZYMOWSKI to its clients.
1. Our approach
1.1. In order to offer you the best possible knowledge and resources, we at KRZYMOWSKI typically work as a team.
1.2. When hired for an assignment, we first agree on the scope of our services and the individuals who will work on the assignment. The scope may then change, increase, or decrease, and we may need to adjust the team accordingly.
1.3. All employees working for or hired by KRZYMOWSKI are subject to these terms.
1.4. We adhere to the rules of good legal conduct (Vägledande regler om god advokatsed) set by the Swedish Bar Association (Advokatsamfundet).
2. Changes
2.1. These terms may be subject to changes from our side; the latest version is always available on our website www.krzymowski.com. Only assignments accepted and initiated after changes to these terms have been published on our website are subject to the new terms.
2.2. A copy of the latest version of these terms will be provided to you upon request.
2.3. Changes to these terms regarding individual assignments shall be documented in writing upon acceptance of the assignment.
3. Fees and expenses
3.1. In our efforts to find the best solution for you, we offer various fee options such as hourly billing or fixed fee. Unless otherwise agreed, hourly rates apply.
3.2. Upon request, at the start of an assignment, we can provide you with an estimate of our fees and expenses so that you can better understand the cost structure. For certain types of assignments, we may also agree on a cost ceiling or other fee arrangements (see point 3.1.).
3.3. All fee amounts are exclusive of value-added tax and similar taxes, which will be added in accordance with the law in the relevant jurisdiction.
3.4. Several factors affect the size of our fees, such as a) time spent, b) specific knowledge and skills required for the assignment, c) the values involved in the assignment, d) any risks for KRZYMOWSKI, e) the time frame for completing the assignment, and f) results.
3.5. Travel and other expenses are normally charged in addition to our fees. We usually pay limited expenses on your behalf and bill them retrospectively. However, we may request advance payment for expenses or forward the relevant invoice to you for payment.
4. Invoicing
4.1. In order to achieve the best possible solutions, we will agree on the invoicing method at the beginning of the assignment. Unless otherwise agreed, we invoice on a monthly basis.
4.2. We reserve the right to issue a preliminary invoice "on account" for our fee in certain cases. If so, the final invoice for the assignment shall indicate the total amount of our fee, from which the fee paid "on account" will be deducted.
4.3. In certain cases, we may request an advance payment before commencing our assignment. This will be used to settle future invoices. The advance payment may exceed or be less than the total fee.
4.4. Unless otherwise agreed, our invoices are due for payment ten days after the invoice date.
4.5. Regarding invoices issued by KRZYMOWSKI, we will charge default interest on overdue amounts from the due date until the payment date at a rate of five percent per month.
5. Client Control and Information
5.1. For certain assignments, we are legally obliged to achieve "customer knowledge." For this purpose, we must verify our clients' identity and ownership relationships and inform ourselves about the nature and purpose of the matter before commencing the assignment. Therefore, we may request you to provide identity documents and other documentation about you and any other person involved in the assignment, and, if you are a legal entity, the natural persons having ultimate control over the legal entity or entities, as well as information and documentation showing the origin of funds and other assets. Such a request may occur even after an assignment has commenced. If you do not provide the requested documentation, we may be legally obligated to immediately terminate the execution of the assignment and the relationship with you. We are also obliged to verify the information provided to us, and therefore, we may obtain information from external sources. We will retain all information and documentation obtained in connection with these checks.
5.2. We are legally obliged to report suspicions of money laundering or terrorist financing to the Financial Intelligence Unit. Furthermore, we are legally prohibited from notifying you if suspicions exist or if a report has been made or may be made. In cases where suspicions of money laundering or terrorist financing exist, we are obliged to decline or withdraw from the assignment.
5.3. KRZYMOWSKI shall not be liable for any direct or indirect damages caused to you by our compliance with the obligations perceived by us under points 5.1. and 5.2.
5.4. We may be prevented from representing a party if there is a conflict of interest with another client. Therefore, it is important that you provide us with the information you deem essential to determine whether a conflict of interest exists or may arise before and during the assignment.
5.5. By engaging KRZYMOWSKI, you are deemed to have consented to our acting in accordance with our statutory obligation to, in some cases, provide information to the tax authorities about your VAT registration number and the value of the services we have provided to you.
6. Advice
6.1. Our advice is tailored to the circumstances of the specific assignment, the facts presented to us, and the instructions you provide us. Therefore, you cannot rely on the advice in another assignment or use it for any purpose other than that for which it was provided. Unless otherwise agreed, our advice in a specific assignment does not cover possible tax consequences.
6.2. We can only provide advice on the legal situation in the jurisdiction in which we operate, and we do not provide advice on the legal situation in any other jurisdiction. Based on our general experience of other jurisdictions, we may express opinions on legal issues in other jurisdictions; however, this is not legal advice. However, we are happy to assist you in obtaining necessary advice from lawyers in other relevant jurisdictions.
6.3. While it is our policy to, in certain cases and on a general basis (e.g., through newsletters), inform our clients and others about developments in the legal field, the advice we provide to you in an assignment is based on the legal situation at the time it is provided. Unless specifically agreed otherwise, we do not undertake to update the advice we have provided in light of subsequent changes in the legal situation.
7. Limitation of Liability
7.1. Our liability for pure economic loss caused to you as a result of error or negligence on our part in the performance of the assignment is limited to an amount equal to the higher of five times the fee for the assignment and five million kronor.
7.2. Our liability to you shall be reduced by any amounts recoverable under any insurance you have taken out or that has been taken out for you or under any agreement or indemnity where you are a party or beneficiary unless it is incompatible with your agreement with an insurer or other third party or if your rights against an insurer or third party are restricted as a result.
7.3. Except as provided in paragraph 7.5, we shall have no liability to any third party due to your use of documents or other advice from KRZYMOWSKI. Unless specifically agreed, we shall not be liable for ensuring that specified deadlines are met or that any part of the work for you is completed within proposed time frames, or that we are unable to commence or continue our work due to circumstances beyond our control.
7.4. If we have undertaken to advise on possible tax consequences, our liability does not cover taxes you are to pay unless at the time of our advice it was clear that you could have achieved your commercial objectives by using an alternative structure or method without additional cost or risk and thereby completely avoided payment of those taxes.
7.5. If, at your request, we agree that a third party may rely on a document prepared by us or advice given by us, this shall not increase or otherwise affect our liability, and we shall only be liable to such third party to the extent that we are liable to you. Any amounts paid to a third party as a result of this liability shall correspondingly reduce our liability to you and vice versa. If it is specifically agreed that a third party may rely on a document prepared by us or on advice given by us, no client relationship arises between us and that third party.
7.6. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this clause (clause 7), KRZYMOWSKI shall always be liable to you for damages caused by intent or gross negligence.
7.8. Limitation of liability that applies to KRZYMOWSKI under these terms and conditions or separate agreement with you shall apply in all respects also for the benefit of and be applicable to lawyers and other persons working for or who have worked for or are engaged or have been engaged by KRZYMOWSKI.
8. Collaboration with Other Advisors
8.1. We are happy to assist you in finding and instructing other advisors on specific matters.
8.2. If we instruct, engage, and/or work together with other advisors, these advisors shall be deemed independent of us, and we shall not be liable for having recommended them to you or for advice they give unless specifically agreed otherwise. We are not responsible for the fees or costs charged by such advisors. The authority to instruct advisors includes the authority to accept a limitation of liability on your behalf.
8.3. When we instruct other advisors, we can, at your request, obtain quotations for fees from them and/or agree on fees with them. Although we may assist you in discussions with other advisors, we are not responsible for such quotations and/or agreements.
8.4. If several advisors are responsible to you for damage suffered by you, our liability shall be limited to the share of the damage that corresponds in size to the entire damage in the same way as our fee in size corresponds to the total fees of all responsible advisors added together (regardless of whether these other advisors have excluded or limited their liability or would be unable to pay their share of the total claim).
8.5. If another advisor's liability to you is more limited than our liability, any liability we may have to you as a result of our potential joint liability with the other advisor shall be reduced by the compensation we could have received from the advisor if their liability to you had not been limited in that way (and regardless of whether the other advisor could have paid the compensation to us).
9. Communication
9.1. We communicate with our clients and other parties involved in an assignment in various ways such as via the internet and email. These are effective means of communication, but they may involve risks for which we do not accept any responsibility.
9.2. Our spam and virus filters and security arrangements may sometimes reject or filter out legitimate emails. Therefore, you should follow up important emails by phone.
10. Intellectual Property Rights and Confidentiality
10.1. Copyright and other intellectual property rights to the work product we generate for our clients belong to us, but you have the right to use the result for the purposes for which it is provided. Unless otherwise agreed, no document or other work product generated by us may be disseminated publicly or used for marketing purposes.
10.2. We protect the information you provide to us.
10.3. When an assignment is completed, we may inform about our assignment for you in our marketing materials and on our website. If we have reason to believe that you will react negatively, we will request your consent before providing our information.
10.4. If you allow us to engage or collaborate with other advisors in the assignment, we have the right to disclose materials and other information that we believe may be relevant for the advisor to provide advice to or perform services for you. The same applies to materials and other information that we have obtained as a result of the checks and verifications we have carried out under point 5.1.
10.5. During the course of an assignment, we may store documents and work products produced by us, you, or third parties electronically in a firm-wide system to facilitate access to necessary information for the lawyers working for you.
10.6. When an assignment is completed, we will retain (or store with a third party) all relevant documents and all relevant work products generated in an assignment, in paper or electronic form, for the period that we consider appropriate for the particular type of assignment, but under no circumstances for a shorter period than required by the rules of the Bar Association.
11. Consumer Dispute Board and Complaint Procedure against Us
11.1. We want to inform you about the Consumer Dispute Board operated by the Bar Association. You can turn to them if you are dissatisfied with the legal service provided by a lawyer or law firm. It costs 100 SEK to file a case, and the review by the board takes about 90 days. The lawyer or firm is obliged to follow the board's decision. More information can be found at advokatsamfundet.se/konsumenttvistnamnden.
11.2. We want to ensure that you are satisfied with our services and that they meet your expectations. If, for any reason, you are dissatisfied or have complaints, please notify KRZYMOWSKI as soon as possible. Upon your request, we will investigate your complaint and try to answer any questions you may have.
11.3. Claims related to advice provided by any entity within KRZYMOWSKI must be made as soon as you become aware of the circumstances on which the claim is based. Claims must not be made later than twelve months after the later of i) the date the last invoice was issued for the assignment to which the claim relates and ii) the date on which the relevant circumstances were known to you or, after reasonable inquiry, could have become known to you.
11.4. If your claim against us is based on a third party's, tax authority's, or other authority's claim against you, we shall have the right to defend, settle, and reconcile the claim on your behalf provided that we hold you harmless. If you settle, reach a settlement, or otherwise take action regarding such claim without our consent, we shall have no liability for the claim.
11.5. If you are indemnified by us for any claim, you must, as a condition of our indemnification, transfer the right of recourse against third parties through subrogation or assignment to us or to our insurers.
12. Applicable Law and Jurisdiction
12.1. These terms and all issues relating to them and all issues relating to our assignment(s) for you are governed by and construed in accordance with Swedish law.
12.2. Dispute, disagreement, or claim arising out of or relating to these terms or breach of the terms, termination, or invalidity of the terms or concerning any matter relating to our assignment(s) for you shall be settled in Swedish court.
13. Precedence of Swedish Version
13.1 In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the Swedish version and any translated versions of these Terms and Conditions, the Swedish version shall prevail. Any discrepancies or ambiguities found in the translated versions shall be interpreted based on the Swedish version, which shall be deemed the authoritative and controlling version. In the event of any discrepancy between the Swedish version and any translated versions, the Swedish version shall govern and be binding upon all parties."
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