of the law firm Kruse
Friedrichsstrasse 95
10117 Berlin
(hereinafter: "law firm")
The following General Terms and Conditions of Engagement (hereinafter referred to as "Terms and Conditions of Engagement") form the basis for the relationship between the law firm and its clients. They therefore apply to contracts for the provision of legal advice and information, the provision of legal services (e.g. out-of-court representation of the client, drafting of contracts, etc.) or the representation of the client in court or official proceedings (hereinafter: "mandate" or "advisory services"); these also apply to the initiation of contracts and follow-up contracts with the client (hereinafter: "client"):
1. establishment and scope of the mandate
A mandate is concluded when the law firm accepts a corresponding offer from the client. The representations on the website or in other media do not constitute a binding offer.
The scope of the mandate results from the mandate agreement limited by the client's mandate application. Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing
(a) the consultancy service relates exclusively to the law of the Federal Republic of Germany,
(b) the advisory service does not include advice on tax law (the client must obtain advice on tax implications from expert third parties, e.g. tax lawyers, tax advisors, auditors, on his own initiative and at his own expense). Costs and to inform the law firm of any tax structuring requirements in good time or have them communicated by the client's tax advisors,
(c) the advisory service is provided exclusively to the client; the law firm assumes no liability or responsibility towards third parties, unless they are expressly included in the scope of protection of the mandate by written agreement,
(d) the law firm is only obliged to file appeals (e.g. appeal against a first-instance judgment) and legal remedies if this has been expressly agreed in writing as part of the mandate.
2. duties of the law firm
Within the scope of its activities, the law firm will provide the following services in particular:
a) Legal examination
The law firm will carefully examine the client's case, inform the client of the result of the examination and legally represent the client's interests vis-à-vis third parties to the extent instructed in each case;
b) Confidentiality
The law firm is bound by professional secrecy. This obligation relates to everything that is entrusted to the law firm by the client or otherwise becomes known to the law firm within the scope of the mandate. In this respect, the law firm is fundamentally entitled to Transcriptright of refusal. However, the law firm is entitled to disclose the client relationship (name, address, VAT ID of the client, subject of the mandate and amount of remuneration) to the tax authorities in order to fulfill its own tax obligations.
No obligation to maintain confidentiality applies to the use of a Legal expenses insurance of the client, see section 5;
c) Safekeeping of funds
The law firm shall hold monies received on behalf of the client in trust and - subject to clauses 4 and 5 - pay them out immediately upon written request by the client to the office designated by the client;
d) Data security
The law firm will take all proportionate and reasonable precautions against loss and access by unauthorized third parties to the client's data and continuously adapt them to the current state of the art.
3. obligations of the client
The handling of the mandate requires the client to observe the following obligations in particular:
a) Comprehensive information
The client shall inform the law firm fully and truthfully of all facts relating to the mandate and shall provide the law firm with all documents and data relating to the mandate in an orderly manner. During the term of the mandate, the client shall only contact courts, authorities, the opposing party or other parties in consultation with the law firm and shall forward to the law firm all information received from them during the processing of the mandate;
b) Provision in the event of absence and change of address
The client shall inform the law firm immediately of any changes to his contact details and, if he cannot be reached for more than one week, shall arrange for a replacement;
c) Examination of communications from the registry
The law firm may rely on the information provided by the client without carrying out its own checks and base its work on the facts communicated by the client. The client shall carefully check the messages, drafts and letters sent to him by the law firm to ensure that the facts contained therein are truthful and complete;
d) The transmission of the client's personal data for storage and processing within the scope of the mandate given.
4. remuneration
The mandate is invoiced in accordance with the German Lawyers' Fees Act (RVG), unless an individual remuneration agreement has been concluded with the law firm. With the exception of criminal matters or certain social law matters, the fees incurred for the law firm's work under the RVG are based on the value of the mandate and/or a separately agreed remuneration agreement.
If lower fees than those provided for in the RVG are agreed in extrajudicial matters, such an agreement is only binding if it has been concluded at least in writing or text form.
The client is advised that in labor court disputes out of court and in the first instance there is no entitlement to reimbursement of lawyers' fees or other costs. Costs in such proceedings, regardless of the outcome, each party shall bear its Costs itself. This also applies in principle to Costs in proceedings of voluntary jurisdiction.
The client is obliged to make a reasonable advance payment at the request of the law firm and to settle the law firm's claims for payment in full after the end of the mandate; this applies irrespective of whether the client has claims for payment or reimbursement against a third party in this context. Legal expenses insurancethe other party or third parties.
In order to secure the law firm's payment claims against the client, the client hereby assigns all claims against the other party, his Legal expenses insurance or other third party claims for the payment of money to the law firm accepting this.
If the client does not wish to make use of one of the Legal expenses insurance and instructs the law firm to claim insurance benefits, the law firm is irrevocably released from its confidentiality obligation.
The client's attention is drawn to the fact that by obtaining the CostsThe law firm will charge a business fee in accordance with VV 2300 RVG based on the value of the object (the value of the object is the expected costs to be incurred). Costs for the matter for which Costscover is requested) is incurred.
The existence of a Legal expenses insurance does not lead to any change in the contractual and service relationship between the client and the law firm; the law firm will provide and invoice its services exclusively for and to the client, and the client will in turn pay the remuneration owed to the law firm. Reimbursement payments received by the law firm will be paid out by the law firm to the client immediately, provided that the client is not in arrears with payments to the law firm.
The client is advised that an insurance benefit with regard to the remuneration of the law firm generally only covers the statutory minimum fees in accordance with the German Lawyers' Fees Act (Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz) less a deductible agreed in the insurance contract and that the insurance benefit generally does not fully cover the financial costs of legal advice or representation of the client.
The client agrees that the law firm in accordance with § 86 Insurance Contract Act in conjunction with the General Legal Protection Conditions of the legal protection insurers as a rule Costsreimbursements to the extent directly to the Legal expenses insurance in which the Legal expenses insurance has rendered services to the client.
6. communication
Unless a specific communication channel and, where applicable, precautions against access by third parties have been expressly agreed in writing, the law firm fulfills its duty to provide information by using one of the communication channels provided by the client. The contact details provided by the client in this respect shall be authoritative until a change is notified.
The client is advised that communication by e-mail in particular is not protected against access by third parties unless technical precautions (in particular encryption, no use of HTML format) have been taken by the sender and the recipient.
7. limitation of liability
The liability of the law firm arising from the mandate existing between it and the client for compensation for damage caused by simple negligence is limited to EUR 250,000.00 (Section 52 (1) sentence 1 no. 2 of the Federal Lawyers' Act). This limitation of liability does not apply in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, nor does it apply to liability for culpably caused damages due to injury to life, body or health of a person.
The law firm has taken out liability insurance that covers EUR 250,000.00 per insured event (maximum EUR 1,000,000.00 per insurance year). If the client wishes to insure liability in excess of this amount, there is the option of supplementary insurance for each individual case, which can be taken out at the client's request. Costs of the client can be concluded.
8. assignment
Rights arising from the mandate may only be assigned with the prior written consent of the law firm.
9. arbitration body and place of jurisdiction
The competent consumer arbitration board in Germany for property disputes arising from a client relationship is the arbitration board of the legal profession, Neue Grünstraße 17, 10179 Berlin. The law firm is not obliged to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board. The law firm is generally willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before the arbitration board of the legal profession.
For service contracts that are concluded online, there is the possibility of dispute resolution on the EU's online dispute resolution platform (ODR platform).
The place of jurisdiction shall be the registered office of the law firm if the client is an entrepreneur or, irrespective of this, in the event that the client moves his domicile or usual place of residence outside the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany after placing the order or if his domicile or usual place of residence is not known at the time the action is filed.
The place of performance is the registered office of the law firm, unless a different place of performance is expressly agreed in writing.
10. final provisions
All contractual relationships between the client and the law firm shall be governed exclusively by the substantive law of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Should one of these provisions of the mandate be or become invalid or unenforceable, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. In place of the invalid or unenforceable provision, the parties undertake to agree on a provision that comes as close as possible to the economic content of the invalid provision.
With regard to the collection, storage and processing of my data in the context of processing the mandate, reference is made to the separate data protection declaration.
Berlin, January 2021
of the law firm Kruse
Friedrichsstrasse 95
10117 Berlin
(hereinafter: "law firm")
The following General Terms and Conditions of Engagement (hereinafter referred to as "Terms and Conditions of Engagement") form the basis for the relationship between the law firm and its clients. They therefore apply to contracts for the provision of legal advice and information, the provision of legal services (e.g. out-of-court representation of the client, drafting of contracts, etc.) or the representation of the client in court or official proceedings (hereinafter: "mandate" or "advisory services"); these also apply to the initiation of contracts and follow-up contracts with the client (hereinafter: "client"):
1. establishment and scope of the mandate
A mandate is concluded when the law firm accepts a corresponding offer from the client. The representations on the website or in other media do not constitute a binding offer.
The scope of the mandate results from the mandate agreement limited by the client's mandate application. Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing
(a) the consultancy service relates exclusively to the law of the Federal Republic of Germany,
(b) the advisory service does not include advice on tax law (the client must obtain advice on tax implications from expert third parties, e.g. tax lawyers, tax advisors, auditors, on his own initiative and at his own expense). Costs and to inform the law firm of any tax structuring requirements in good time or have them communicated by the client's tax advisors,
(c) the advisory service is provided exclusively to the client; the law firm assumes no liability or responsibility towards third parties, unless they are expressly included in the scope of protection of the mandate by written agreement,
(d) the law firm is only obliged to file appeals (e.g. appeal against a first-instance judgment) and legal remedies if this has been expressly agreed in writing as part of the mandate.
2. duties of the law firm
Within the scope of its activities, the law firm will provide the following services in particular:
a) Legal examination
The law firm will carefully examine the client's case, inform the client of the result of the examination and legally represent the client's interests vis-à-vis third parties to the extent instructed in each case;
b) Confidentiality
The law firm is bound by professional secrecy. This obligation relates to everything that is entrusted to the law firm by the client or otherwise becomes known to the law firm within the scope of the mandate. In this respect, the law firm is fundamentally entitled to Transcriptright of refusal. However, the law firm is entitled to disclose the client relationship (name, address, VAT ID of the client, subject of the mandate and amount of remuneration) to the tax authorities in order to fulfill its own tax obligations.
No obligation to maintain confidentiality applies to the use of a Legal expenses insurance of the client, see section 5;
c) Safekeeping of funds
The law firm shall hold monies received on behalf of the client in trust and - subject to clauses 4 and 5 - pay them out immediately upon written request by the client to the office designated by the client;
d) Data security
The law firm will take all proportionate and reasonable precautions against loss and access by unauthorized third parties to the client's data and continuously adapt them to the current state of the art.
3. obligations of the client
The handling of the mandate requires the client to observe the following obligations in particular:
a) Comprehensive information
The client shall inform the law firm fully and truthfully of all facts relating to the mandate and shall provide the law firm with all documents and data relating to the mandate in an orderly manner. During the term of the mandate, the client shall only contact courts, authorities, the opposing party or other parties in consultation with the law firm and shall forward to the law firm all information received from them during the processing of the mandate;
b) Provision in the event of absence and change of address
The client shall inform the law firm immediately of any changes to his contact details and, if he cannot be reached for more than one week, shall arrange for a replacement;
c) Examination of communications from the registry
The law firm may rely on the information provided by the client without carrying out its own checks and base its work on the facts communicated by the client. The client shall carefully check the messages, drafts and letters sent to him by the law firm to ensure that the facts contained therein are truthful and complete;
d) The transmission of the client's personal data for storage and processing within the scope of the mandate given.
4. remuneration
The mandate is invoiced in accordance with the German Lawyers' Fees Act (RVG), unless an individual remuneration agreement has been concluded with the law firm. With the exception of criminal matters or certain social law matters, the fees incurred for the law firm's work under the RVG are based on the value of the mandate and/or a separately agreed remuneration agreement.
If lower fees than those provided for in the RVG are agreed in extrajudicial matters, such an agreement is only binding if it has been concluded at least in writing or text form.
The client is advised that in labor court disputes out of court and in the first instance there is no entitlement to reimbursement of lawyers' fees or other costs. Costs in such proceedings, regardless of the outcome, each party shall bear its Costs itself. This also applies in principle to Costs in proceedings of voluntary jurisdiction.
The client is obliged to make a reasonable advance payment at the request of the law firm and to settle the law firm's claims for payment in full after the end of the mandate; this applies irrespective of whether the client has claims for payment or reimbursement against a third party in this context. Legal expenses insurancethe other party or third parties.
In order to secure the law firm's payment claims against the client, the client hereby assigns all claims against the other party, his Legal expenses insurance or other third party claims for the payment of money to the law firm accepting this.
If the client does not wish to make use of one of the Legal expenses insurance and instructs the law firm to claim insurance benefits, the law firm is irrevocably released from its confidentiality obligation.
The client's attention is drawn to the fact that by obtaining the CostsThe law firm will charge a business fee in accordance with VV 2300 RVG based on the value of the object (the value of the object is the expected costs to be incurred). Costs for the matter for which Costscover is requested) is incurred.
The existence of a Legal expenses insurance does not lead to any change in the contractual and service relationship between the client and the law firm; the law firm will provide and invoice its services exclusively for and to the client, and the client will in turn pay the remuneration owed to the law firm. Reimbursement payments received by the law firm will be paid out by the law firm to the client immediately, provided that the client is not in arrears with payments to the law firm.
The client is advised that an insurance benefit with regard to the remuneration of the law firm generally only covers the statutory minimum fees in accordance with the German Lawyers' Fees Act (Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz) less a deductible agreed in the insurance contract and that the insurance benefit generally does not fully cover the financial costs of legal advice or representation of the client.
The client agrees that the law firm in accordance with § 86 Insurance Contract Act in conjunction with the General Legal Protection Conditions of the legal protection insurers as a rule Costsreimbursements to the extent directly to the Legal expenses insurance in which the Legal expenses insurance has rendered services to the client.
6. communication
Unless a specific communication channel and, where applicable, precautions against access by third parties have been expressly agreed in writing, the law firm fulfills its duty to provide information by using one of the communication channels provided by the client. The contact details provided by the client in this respect shall be authoritative until a change is notified.
The client is advised that communication by e-mail in particular is not protected against access by third parties unless technical precautions (in particular encryption, no use of HTML format) have been taken by the sender and the recipient.
7. limitation of liability
The liability of the law firm arising from the mandate existing between it and the client for compensation for damage caused by simple negligence is limited to EUR 250,000.00 (Section 52 (1) sentence 1 no. 2 of the Federal Lawyers' Act). This limitation of liability does not apply in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, nor does it apply to liability for culpably caused damages due to injury to life, body or health of a person.
The law firm has taken out liability insurance that covers EUR 250,000.00 per insured event (maximum EUR 1,000,000.00 per insurance year). If the client wishes to insure liability in excess of this amount, there is the option of supplementary insurance for each individual case, which can be taken out at the client's request. Costs of the client can be concluded.
8. assignment
Rights arising from the mandate may only be assigned with the prior written consent of the law firm.
9. arbitration body and place of jurisdiction
The competent consumer arbitration board in Germany for property disputes arising from a client relationship is the arbitration board of the legal profession, Neue Grünstraße 17, 10179 Berlin. The law firm is not obliged to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board. The law firm is generally willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before the arbitration board of the legal profession.
For service contracts that are concluded online, there is the possibility of dispute resolution on the EU's online dispute resolution platform (ODR platform).
The place of jurisdiction shall be the registered office of the law firm if the client is an entrepreneur or, irrespective of this, in the event that the client moves his domicile or usual place of residence outside the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany after placing the order or if his domicile or usual place of residence is not known at the time the action is filed.
The place of performance is the registered office of the law firm, unless a different place of performance is expressly agreed in writing.
10. final provisions
All contractual relationships between the client and the law firm shall be governed exclusively by the substantive law of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Should one of these provisions of the mandate be or become invalid or unenforceable, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. In place of the invalid or unenforceable provision, the parties undertake to agree on a provision that comes as close as possible to the economic content of the invalid provision.
With regard to the collection, storage and processing of my data in the context of processing the mandate, reference is made to the separate data protection declaration.
Berlin, January 2021
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German