by lawyer Wilko Bauer, Bölkendorfer Str. 36, 16278 Angermünde (hereinafter: RA Bauer or lawyer).
I. Scope
(1) These Terms and Conditions shall apply to all contracts between Bauer and the Client (hereinafter referred to as “Client”), unless the subject matter thereof is not the provision of advice and/or information by the Lawyer to the Client, including, if applicable, the provision of services and/or litigation.
2. the scope of application also extends to all future legal relations of the lawyer with the client.
(3) The attorney’s terms and conditions shall apply exclusively; the client’s general terms and conditions shall be excluded. Other contractual conditions shall not apply even if the attorney does not object to them and the contract is executed. Clients’ terms and conditions of business shall only apply if this has been expressly agreed in text form between the parties.
II. order
(1) The order shall come into effect only upon express confirmation by RA Bauer or upon commencement of RA Bauer’s activities in accordance with the order, whichever is earlier.
2. in the case of oral information, advice and statements, the burden of proof regarding their content, scope and binding nature shall be borne by the client.
(3) In the event that RA Bauer has proven that he was commissioned and that he acted in accordance with the order, the Client shall bear the burden of proving that the order was of a lesser scope and the burden of proving that RA Bauer’s work was of a lesser scope.
(4) RA Bauer shall only be obligated to file appeals and legal remedies if he has received and accepted an order to do so.
(5) If Attorney Bauer proposes a certain measure to the Client (filing or refraining from filing an appeal, conclusion or revocation of settlements, etc.) and the Client does not comment thereon within two weeks, although the Attorney expressly informed the Client of the significance of silence at the beginning of the two weeks, the silence shall be deemed to be consent to the Attorney’s proposal.
(6) If the client wishes to demand the surrender of voided titles, RA Bauer must be expressly instructed to do so. RA Bauer is to be informed that all relevant claims have been settled.
(7) The client shall not have any right to inspect files or extracts from files beyond that provided for in Section 50 of the Federal Lawyers’ Act (BRAO). § 666 BGB is excluded in this respect. Other surrender, information and accountability remain unaffected.
III. cooperation of the client
1. the client must provide complete and accurate information about the facts of the case and secure appropriate evidence, even if it is publicly available on the Internet. Individual web pages are to be provided by direct link or e.g. by screenshot. The client shall provide all necessary information without delay. Documents to be submitted to court should be provided scanned in PDF format. Documents to be scanned by RA Bauer are to be handed over in DIN A-4 format at the most and unstapled; costs will be incurred in accordance with the German Lawyers’ Fees Act (Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz). The information shall otherwise be provided in standard formats. Digital files must be named in a meaningful and unambiguous manner. Electronic documents are usually to be transmitted by e-mail. USB sticks for the transmission of electronic documents are excluded due to the associated security risks. The original of the power of attorney must be made available to RA Bauer without delay.
2. if contents on the internet are to be deleted, this is the client’s responsibility, unless otherwise agreed.
3. in case of doubt, the scope of the order shall be clarified by the client without delay.
4. changes of address (in particular also changes of a fax number or e-mail address) must be notified immediately, as this may lead to errors and delays, which may also result in complete loss of rights. Communication channels are usually letter mail, fax, telephone and e-mail.
5. an order for the creation of documents is concluded with the handover or delivery or provision of documents created in accordance with the order. When using such documents, the client must immediately seek legal clarification of any questions, regulatory gaps or problems that arise even after the conclusion of the order, especially those that are pointed out to the client by third parties. Documents that are pre-formulated for a number of contracts must be legally reviewed on a regular basis, usually every two years; this does not imply any limitation of liability.
As a rule, the client must set a deadline of at least 3 working days for RA Bauer.
7. should a publicly accessible evaluation on the Internet be intended, which is not clearly predominantly positive, it is politely asked for prior consultation.
8. publicly accessible evaluations on the internet, which refer to the lawyer and are not clearly predominantly positive, are permissible for reasons of fairness only with the use of the clear name.
9. publicly accessible evaluations on the Internet, which refer to the lawyer and are not clearly predominantly positive, are only permissible within 3 months after the conclusion of the matter.
10. within the framework of the defense against a not clearly predominantly positive evaluation, the lawyer is released from his duties of confidentiality, insofar as this is necessary for an appropriate defense.
11. of course, audio or video recordings are prohibited without the consent of all those present.
IV. Involvement of third parties
In case of doubt, third parties are not included in the scope of protection of legal advice or activities. Only if third parties are to be included expressly and in accordance with the order, shall any liability also extend to them.
V. Invoicing, payment and right of retention
1. the Client agrees to invoices (cost notes) being sent exclusively digitally in the so-called Pdf format.
2. the Client expressly declares if he/she wishes to receive a statement of activities for the cost note; otherwise he/she waives such a statement.
3. cost notes are due after 7 days. Advance cost notes (down payments) are due immediately. Interest on arrears shall amount to 9% above the respective base interest rate (§ 288 para. 2 BGB).
4. Attorney Bauer shall be entitled to demand reasonable advances at any time. This shall also apply to any post-contractual activities to be performed and which are not merely insignificant; the calculation for such shall be based on the usual rates.
5. attorney Bauer is allowed to withhold his activity due to open claims, also from advance cost notes, which are in arrears, until the claim is fully settled. This also applies to procedural and/or deadline-related – including emergency deadline-related – activities of any kind.
6. claims for reimbursement of costs arising in legal proceedings as well as other claims of the Client against the respective opponent, the court cashier or other third parties shall be assigned to the Lawyer Wilko Bauer in the amount of the outstanding claims for remuneration with the authorization to notify the party liable for reimbursement of the assignment on behalf of the Client.
VI. Legal Expenses Insurance, Counseling Assistance and Legal Aid
1 RA Bauer is also happy to cooperate with a legal protection insurer if the latter cooperates favorably. RA Bauer shall be informed immediately about the existence of a legal protection insurance. The Client is aware that correspondence with the legal expenses insurer constitutes a separate assignment and is not compensated with the fee in the matter itself. However, as a gesture of goodwill, RA Bauer will, from a value in dispute of € 2,000, undertake a simple coverage inquiry as well as the settlement with the legal protection insurer by sending the cost note as a service within the scope of the processing of the mandate without charge. Any further activities shall be assumed by the client or shall only be carried out on the basis of a special order for which remuneration is to be paid.
2 The client is aware that he remains the debtor for costs irrespective of a confirmation of coverage by the legal protection insurance. Thus, RA Bauer is entitled to claim the remuneration from the client even if there is a confirmation of coverage by a legal protection insurance.
(3) If the client is unable to raise the necessary funds according to his personal and economic circumstances and if no other means of assistance is available, the use of which the person seeking legal assistance can reasonably be expected to accept, and if the exercise of the rights is not wanton, the client shall be entitled to extrajudicial counseling assistance and judicial legal aid, as the case may be. Mandates on the basis of consulting assistance will only be accepted upon prior or simultaneous presentation of the corresponding original grant. In the event that legal aid is granted, the client is informed that the granting of legal aid in the event of (partial) defeat does not include the obligation of the State Treasury to bear the costs incurred by the opponent, Section 123 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
VII Limitation of liability
(1) The client’s claim for compensation for damage caused by negligence arising from the contractual relationship between the client and the lawyer shall be limited to four times the minimum insurance sum (i.e. € 1,000,000) in cases of simple negligence; insurance coverage exists in this respect. This restriction shall not apply to culpably caused damage resulting from injury to life, body or health of a person.
2. the limitation of liability shall also apply in the event of a subsequent further commissioning for judicial or extrajudicial action. In case of doubt, this limitation of liability agreement shall also apply to possible extensions or further mandates (rule of interpretation).
(4) The Client shall immediately notify RA Bauer of any identifiable liability risks above a possible damage amount of € 1,000,000. It is possible to take out individual insurance cover for damages exceeding € 1,000,000 or have it taken out by RA Bauer. The costs for this insurance shall be borne by the client.
VIII. appointment representation
(1) If RA Bauer acts as a date representative or sub-agent in third-party proceedings, the assignment shall relate to one date (on a specific date), not also to any continuation dates or similar on other days, unless this is expressly agreed.
2. the agreed fee shall also be due if deviating (e.g. for the issuance of a default judgment) or no applications are made during the appointment, provided this is within the scope of the commissioner.
3. attorney Bauer is allowed to appoint representatives for out-of-town appointments in his own proceedings.
IX. Other
(1) All disputes arising from the mandate relationship shall be governed by German law, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and conflict of laws provisions.
2. place of jurisdiction is Berlin.