Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the following Terms of Business apply to all advice and other services that BIRCH Law Firm provides to its clients.

We follow the rules of professional conduct and legal ethics issued by the Danish Bar and Law Society. Our advisory services are based on Danish law, and our activities are regulated by the rules on the prevention of money laundering.

Instructions and scope of engagement

Together and on an ongoing basis, we agree on the legal services that we are to provide and the scope of each engagement as well as your and others’ participation and obligations.

We undertake to provide qualified legal advice at the agreed time and within the agreed scope.

Thomas Birch is appointed by the Danish Ministry of Justice, and as a member of the Danish Bar and Law Society, is subject to its supervisory and disciplinary system as well as the rules of professional conduct contained in s. 126 of the Danish Administration of Justice Act (in Danish: retsplejeloven). In addition, the Code of Conduct of the Danish Bar and Law Society applies.

All services are provided in compliance with the Code of Conduct issued by the General Council of the Danish Bar and Law Society, the rules contained in the Danish Administration of Justice Act and other relevant laws. The specific rules applicable to the practice of law can be downloaded from the website of the Danish Bar and Law Society (www.advokatsamfundet.dk).

If, with your consent, BIRCH Law Firm works with others to provide services to you, we will, at your request, supply you with information on the measures we take to avoid potential conflicts of interest in this respect.

We will give you the necessary rights to use written material provided to you in connection with your case, but we hold and retain all copyrights and other intellectual property rights to the material.

Conclusion of the engagement

As an unequivocal matter of principle, we take your case to its natural conclusion or carry out the work until you ask us to stop. However, we reserve the right to cease acting on your behalf if you significantly exceed the period of credit stated on our invoice despite reminders or if you become insolvent. We reserve the right to withdraw from a case if, on rare occasions, we feel we can no longer take responsibility for its handling or if we believe that it is in your best interests that we cease acting for you. In such an event, we will notify you promptly.

We usually return any original documents to you when we cease acting on your behalf, and we keep the case on file for at least five years from the invoice date.

Fees and invoicing

We base our fee on the scope of work requested, the case’s importance to you, the value our services add, the responsibility associated with the work, the case scope and complexity, and the outcome.

In addition to the fee for the services provided, you will be charged for all costs, expenses and disbursements associated with the serviced provided, including charges and fees, reasonable travel and hotel expenses, food, extensive photocopying, postage and courier costs.

On acceptance of your instructions, we will, on request, give you a fee estimate that takes into consideration the nature of the services requested. If a fee estimate cannot be given, we will explain how we calculate the fee, including our hourly rates.

We generally invoice our services on conclusion of a case. However, major external expenses are usually paid in advance. Prolonged cases will be invoiced on an on-account basis every third or sixth month unless otherwise agreed.

As a general rule, the payment terms are eight days net from the invoice date. In case of late payment, we will charge interest in accordance with the provisions of the Danish Late Payment of Commercial Debt Act (in Danish: renteloven).

Depending on the nature of your case, we may charge a deposit before starting work. If you are a first-time client or based outside Denmark, we generally require a deposit.

Client funds and client account

All client funds paid to us will be managed in accordance with the rules of the Danish Bar and Law Society and be deposited in client accounts.

Client funds are subject to the Danish Guarantee Fund for Depositors and Investors Act (in Danish: lov om garantifonden for indskydere og investorer). With effect from 1 June 2015, client funds will generally be covered up to a limit of EUR 100,000 per client per bank. We are not liable for any loss of client funds incurred as a result of insolvency proceedings against the account-holding bank.

Confidentiality and disclosure rules

We are liable for all services provided in accordance with the general rules of Danish law.

We maintain professional indemnity insurance in accordance with the requirements of Danish law, covering all legal services provided by us, regardless of the territory in which such services are provided.

The liability of BIRCH Law Firm and of its partners and employees is limited to DKK 5 million in each case, but the total amounts of damages payable to one client cannot exceed DKK 5 million in respect of all claims raised by the client within a calendar year.

When opening a new case, we encourage you to consider whether it is necessary or desirable to extend the policy cover and to inform us accordingly at once. In such case, we will take out extended cover for the case concerned, the associated costs of which will be borne by you.

In no case will the liability include financial consequential losses, including business interruption, loss of data, profit, goodwill, image, etc., or any other indirect losses.

We are not liable for advice or other services provided by third parties engaged by you on our recommendation, nor are we liable for services provided by subcontractors to whom we have outsourced elements of your case as per agreement with you.

Money laundering and filing

BIRCH Law Firm is subject to current legislation on preventive measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing (most recently amended by Act No. 155 of 28 February 2012), for which reason we will normally ask you to send a copy of your passport or driver’s licence, which will be kept in the case file.

We keep all case documents on file for at least five years from the conclusion of your case.

Complaints, choice of law and jurisdiction

We are obliged to observe the general rules of the General Council of the Danish Bar and Law Society on fee and conduct complaints.

If you are unhappy with our services or fees, please contact us so that we can resolve the matter swiftly and amicably.

All our services and these Terms of Business are governed by Danish law, and any disputes can only be brought before the courts of Denmark.