Fees

The law

Article 446 ter of the Belgian judicial code:
"Lawyers shall set their fees with the discretion that is to be expected of them in the performance of their duties. They are forbidden to enter into agreements on fees that are linked exclusively to the result of disputes in question."

Our fees are therefore set according to the criterion of fair judgement, in accordance with the importance of the case and the time spent working on it.

Since 1st January 2014, the costs linked to the work of Belgian lawyers are subject to VAT set at 21%. The amounts indicated are expressed excluding VAT.

Hourly rate

We apply an hourly rate that particularly takes into account the lawyer’s specialisation, the nature of the service provided, the level of urgency and the client’s situation.

It is set according to the following rates:

This hourly rate is most often applied for cases that cannot be evaluated in monetary terms. A surcharge due to the excellence of the result is permitted.
Codes of Conduct for the Bars of: Liège - Verviers, OBFG and CCBE.

Cases evaluable in monetary terms

As regards cases evaluable in monetary terms, the fees may be calculated on the basis of the case’s value, nonetheless taking into account a minimum hourly rate.

Cases evaluable in monetary terms are set in accordance with the actual value of the litigation, i.e. the principal and incidental amounts claimed by each of the parties.

The rates are as follows:

These rates are applicable to cases that require court action as well as legal proceedings.

Debt recovery

For simple debt recovery, i.e. debt recovery which does not give rise to legal proceedings and for which merely the granting of payment terms occurs, the following rates are applied:

Office expenses

As from 1 January 2023, the costs may be fixed at a flat rate of at a rate of 10% of the invoiced fees.

Disbursements

Charged at cost price (court fees, bailiff’s fees, expert’s fees, etc.).

Accruals and invoices

During proceedings, requests for accruals are sent to clients in order to cover part of the services as well as the costs incurred.

On completion of our work, a summary statement of costs and fees including the agreed calculation method as well as the detailed description of the expenses actually incurred shall be sent to the client.

It is now possible to obtain the payment of a procedural indemnity from the party that loses the case. This indemnity includes the participation (at a fixed amount laid down by law) of the opposing party in the payment of the statement of costs and fees for the lawyer of the party that wins the case.

This fixed participation paid by the opposing party shall be incorporated into the accruals received.

Naturally, we are always available to provide you with any useful information on the development of our services as your case progresses.