Because Van Eeckhoutte complies strictly with the rules of the Dutch Law Society (NOvA) and an additional three terms of practice, his clients can be assured of the quality of his service.
NOvA
Based on the Lawyers' Act (advocatenwet), NOvA has imposed the following code of practice on all lawyers:
- a code of conduct (gedragsregels) which states amongst other things that the interests of the client prevail; the lawyer is obliged to respect client confidentiality and carries full responsibility for any cases represented;
- the obligation to keep up to date by following relevant courses (permanente opleiding). Van Eeckhoutte only follows courses relevant to his field of expertise;
- the obligation to take out occupational liability insurance (beroepsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering), with a minimum insured amount of € 453,780.00 per incident up to a total of twice this amount per insured year;
- in line with the Accounting Regulations of 1998 (Boekhoudverordening 1998), the obligation to have a trust for third party funds at their disposal, which administers money reserved for clients. The Van Eeckhoutte Registered Trust for Managing Third Party Funds (Stichting Beheer Derdengelden Mr Van Eeckhoutte) is also co-managed by a notary.
Terms of practice
As an additional guarantee to the quality of his services, as well as to ensure the best possible result, Van Eeckhoutte bides by the following terms of practice:
- the client is visited in person;
- fast and efficient means of communication are used and
- clear expense accounts.
The client is visited in person
You will not find directions to the office on this website, as Van Eeckhoutte will come to you. This means that you do not waste valuable time and that all the relevant paperwork and people are present. Project related cases often involve several company employees. It is therefore far more practical to hold meetings at the client's office.
Fast and efficient means of communication
E-mail:
Initial communication is via e-mail:mrvaneeckhoutte@xs4all.nl. Messages containing information sensitive to the case will always be marked confidential and can be sent encrypted or with a digital signature.
Telephone:
E-mails relevant to the case are often followed up by a telephone conversation, in order to discuss the (legal) merits of the case or to make an appointment. If there is no reply at the office, (033-4481004), clients can leave a message or call the mobile phone (0647074075).
Fax:
Documents which cannot (easily) be sent by e-mail (agreements, project plans, functional designs etc) are exchanged by fax (+31 847338362). To avoid persons other than the addressee reading the fax, no confidential documents are faxed to the client without prior permission. Where fax security is a problem documents will be sent by regular post.
Clear expense accounts
The timesheet:
An example of a timesheet can be found here.
Most important is the chargable time, as this is the time which is multiplied by the fixed hourly rate in order to calculate the fee. Clients can request to see the amount of chargable time on their file(s) at any time. Interim statements can be mailed. The statement is included in all final expense accounts.
The chargable time consists of the actual number of minutes worked (rounded off to 5) multiplied by a factor. In principle, that factor is 1 and so the minutes worked are the same as the chargable time. There is however a number of exceptions:
- Factor 1.2: work requested on working days between 18.00 hours and 23.00 hours
- Factor 0.7: traveling time;
- Factor 0.5: work that has exceeded the estimated time and for which it is only reasonable to charge half the usual fee;
- Factor 0: : for example for work that has been charged elsewhere.
The expense account:
An example of an expense account (or invoice) can be foundhere. All expense accounts have a unique number and carry the file name as the reference. Generally, expense statements are submitted when the outstanding balance is between € 1.000,-- and € 2.500,-- or if the file is expected to stay open for some time.
Clients should settle expense accounts within 14 days after the invoice date into bank account number IBAN: NL84 PSTB 0003 6193 33 BIC: PSTBNL21 in the name of Van Eeckhoutte BV, Amersfoort, stating the invoice number and the case name.