Fees and costs
In accordance with the Judicial Code (Art. 446ter) the lawyer must estimate the fees with the caution expected of the profession, and that estimate must be fair and reasonable. According to the rules of the Bar, the lawyer may not advance costs, such as legal expenses (summons, court registration costs, etc.); this implies that a retainer will be asked to cover these expenses
Fees
In general, there are 3 methods to calculate the applicable fees:
- fee per unit of time: this is an amount per chargeable (part of an) hour for services provided. The rate depends on the aspects of the case. The tariff will be decided in the beginning of the professional relationship and will not be adapted, unless both the lawyer and the client agree to it. In general and unless another tariff is agreed upon, the hourly fee is set at € 150. For complicated or extremely simple cases the hourly tariff may be respectively higher or lower.
- fee related to the value of the case, in other words, charging a percentage of the value of the case expressed in money;
To calculate the value of the case, both the principal and the interests must be taken into account.
Unless agreed otherwise in writing, the following percentages apply (with a minimum of € 500):
from 0 € to 9.000 € 15 %
from 9.001 € to 50.000 €: 10 %
from 50.001 € to 125.000 €: 8 %
from 125.001 € to 250.000 €: 6 %
above 250.000 €: 5 %
This percentage applies to the amount that the client has won or saved.
Here too, corrections or other coefficients may apply.
When the claim is manifestly unfounded, or if the amount claimed is manifestly excessive, the lawyer doesn’t apply the percentage on the clearly excessive portion of the claim.
The percentage is reduced by half if the claim is undisputed, or if the result is obtained before a lawsuit is initiated. The plaintiff's lawyer reduces the percentage by at least half of the rejected portion of the claim, and the defendant's lawyer reduces the percentage by at least half of the amount of the claim awarded to the plaintiff.
If the result is obtained in appeal, the fees are increased by 50% for the appeal.
- fee related to the nature of the case, i.e. a fixed amount per service or series of services. However, this method can only be used in some specific cases. If applicable, the amount will be discussed beforehand.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: If the case is won, the defendant has to pay a compensation that covers (at least part of) the fees. The calculation of the compensation depends on the amount due; an example: an award into € 40.000 leads to a basic compensation of € 2.500.
Expenses
Besides fees, there are also expenses. They are charged separately to the client. Expenses are amounts that the lawyer incurs in carrying out a task assigned to him on behalf of the client.
Expenses: summons, court expenses, such as court registration, judgment costs, translation costs, etc. The exact amount is charged.
Other office expenses:
Opening (registration) file: € 30
Secretary costs: € 10/item (= typed page or mail)
Travel expenses: € 0,60/Km
In-house translation: € EUR 0,04 /character
VAT
- A Belgian lawyer provides a service to a private person or personal company liable for VAT in Belgium: the services are exempt from VAT
- A Belgian lawyer provides a service to a recipient who is liable for VAT in the EU: the service is located in the state of the recipient and taxed under the rules and the rate of that State. The Belgian lawyer is subject to administrative requirements.
- A Belgian lawyer provides a service to a private individual (or other non-taxable) in the European Union: the service is located in Belgium, there is exemption from VAT.
- A Belgian lawyer provides a service to a person established outside the EU (whether or not subject to VAT): no Community VAT applies.
Fee-notes
Unless agreed otherwise beforehand, all fee-notes and demands for payment of costs and/or expenses are due within 30 days of their issuing.