Complaints and dispute settlement procedure
Dirkzwager is committed to providing the highest quality of legal services. However, should you nevertheless be dissatisfied with the work of a lawyer or civil-law notary who has performed on behalf of Dirkzwager, or with an invoice sent to you, we kindly request that you submit your complaint to us in writing. In accordance with the procedures described in the Complaints and Dispute Settlement Procedure, we will carefully consider your complaint and strive to resolve it to your satisfaction within a reasonable period of time.
Lawyers
a. Dirkzwager participates in the Complaints and Dispute Settlement Procedure for the Legal Profession.
b. The Dirkzwager complaints procedure is the procedure applied by Dirkzwager for handling complaints from clients or a third party with direct interest of Dirkzwager regarding the services provided by a Dirkzwager lawyer.
c. In the event Dirkzwager is unable to resolve complaints from a client or a third party with direct interest regarding the services provided by a Dirkzwager lawyer to a solution acceptable to that client with the aid of this complaints procedure in, that client or a third party with direct interest will have the right to submit the complaints to the Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession (hereinafter: the Disputes Committee) within twelve months of their settlement in writing.
d. All disputes pursuant to the formation and/or performance of the services by a Dirkzwager lawyer, including all disputes concerning contested and/or unpaid invoices of Dirkzwager, will be settled by the Disputes Committee at the request of the client and/or Dirkzwager in accordance with the Legal Profession Disputes Committee Rules (hereinafter: the Rules). The Rules provide for a binding opinion if the dispute concerns an engagement granted by a private client, unless the client applies to the ordinary courts within one month after the complaint has been handled by Dirkzwager. In the event a claim is collected from a private client, a binding opinion will only apply if the client deposits the outstanding amount with the Disputes Committee. The collection in question will be subject to arbitration if the client fails to do so. The Rules provide for arbitration if the dispute concerns an engagement granted by a corporate client.
e. For the purpose of application of the Complaints and Dispute Settlement Scheme for the Legal Profession, a private client is understood to mean a client who is a natural person and therefore not a legal entity and who, when granting the engagement to Dirkzwager, does not act in the conduct of a profession or business. For the purpose of application of the Complaints and Dispute Settlement Scheme for the Legal Profession, a corporate client is understood to mean a client who is not a natural person according to the definition provided above.
Complaints officers:
Mr. H. Kragt
Postbus 111
6800 AC Arnhem
Mr. B. de Haan
Postbus 111
6800 AC Arnhem
Mr. J. Hagelaars
Postbus 111
6800 AC Arnhem
Or send an e-mail to: klachtenfunctionarisadvocatuur@dirkzwager.nl
The Rules may be requested from the secretary of the Disputes Committee at the address: PO Box 90600, 2509 LP The Hague.
Civil-law notaries
a. The Disputes Committee for the Legal Profession is not authorised to issue a decision about disputes between a (candidate) civil-law notary and a Dirkzwager client.
b. The Notarial practice complaints procedure applies to the handling of complaints from Dirkzwager clients concerning the services provided by a Dirkzwager (candidate) civil-law notary. See also https://www.knb.nl/english and https://degeschillencommissie.nl/english/
Complaints officer:
Mr. R. Berentsen
Postbus 111
6800 AC Arnhem
