General conditions for the provision of legal services

These General Terms and Conditions for the Provision of Legal Services (hereinafter referred to as the “General Terms and Conditions”) shall apply to all services and/or orders provided to clients of Rokas Janauskas Advocates’ Professional Partnership (hereinafter referred to as the “Advocate”), irrespective of whether a legal services contract has been concluded or not.

Upon the conclusion of the Legal Services Agreement (the “Agreement”), these General Terms and Conditions shall form an integral part of the Agreement and shall be interpreted and applied in conjunction with the terms of the Agreement. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the General Terms and Conditions and the terms of the Contract, the terms of the Contract shall prevail.

1. The parties may agree in the Contract on the payment of an advance. The Advocate’s obligation to execute any assignment shall become effective upon payment of the Advance (if applicable) by the Client.
2. Where the legal fee is based on an hourly rate, the time spent on the Client’s assignment shall be billed in increments of 1/10th of an hour and rounded. For the avoidance of doubt, the Client understands that the time required for document or situation analysis, oral or telephone consultations and/or negotiations, information gathering, or travel time required to complete the Assignment or provide the services will be billed and charged at the applicable hourly rate. The volume of documents served, the actual duration of the action, preparation time, information gathering time and volumes of information can all have an impact on the duration of the relevant legal service. The lawyer will periodically, and if requested by the Client, send the Client reports indicating the number of hours worked.
3. A preliminary estimate of the minimum number of hours of legal work to be provided or a fixed fee can be agreed by email. The lawyer will inform the client of changes to the agreed budget. In the absence of notification or agreement on a new budget, the actual charge will not exceed 50%. from the indicative budget.
4. The hourly rates applicable may be reviewed and amended by decision of the Advocate. The Client must be informed of any change in fees before accepting a new order. The services will be provided to the Client in the future upon receipt and acceptance by the Advocate of a new assignment, which may be subject to the Advocate’s then current hourly rates.
5. The Client shall reimburse reasonable expenses incurred directly in connection with the execution of orders (e.g.: travel outside Vilnius, hotel, communication services, public authorities and notaries, translations, etc.).
6. Invoices are submitted by email and may be sent unsigned. Unless otherwise specified in the Contract, invoices must be paid within 5 (five) days. Late payments are subject to interest at the rate of 18% per annum. The lawyer has the right to refer any claim arising from an unpaid invoice to a debt management company. The Client authorises the disclosure of information and documents to third parties for the purposes of debt recovery.
7. The Advocate may suspend the execution of orders if the Client fails to pay the invoice on time or fails to cooperate.
8. By signing this Agreement, the Client acknowledges that he/she is informed that if the Advocate’s invoice is not paid at least 2 (two) working days prior to the date of the court hearing scheduled in the case, the costs of the proceedings may be disallowed in favour of the Client. If the Client pays by bank transfer, the date of payment of the invoice shall be the date on which the amount paid is credited to the Advocate’s bank account.
9. The Client confirms that he/she is informed that in the event of a court decision favourable to the Client, the court may award only a part of the costs incurred by the Client, taking into account the amounts set out in the Recommendations approved by the relevant Resolution of the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania or the court’s internal conviction. In the event of losing the dispute/litigation, the Client may have to pay the costs of the other party(ies).
10. The services rendered shall be deemed to be accepted and to meet the Client’s requirements 14 (fourteen) days after they have been rendered, unless the Client submits to the Advocate within this period reasoned and motivated comments or objections.
11. The lawyer shall be liable only to the Client and only for direct damages up to a maximum of EUR 29 000, except in the case of intent. The lawyer is covered by compulsory civil liability insurance for lawyers.
12. The lawyer shall have the right to use all the results of the services and the knowledge and know-how acquired in the course of providing the services, provided that the Client’s confidential information is not disclosed.
13. The lawyer may, at his or her discretion, use other persons to provide services.
14. The Parties undertake to respect the requirements of confidentiality and protection of personal data. All information which has come to the knowledge of the Parties in the course of the negotiation, conclusion and performance of this Agreement shall be considered confidential and may be disclosed to third parties only if there is a legal basis for such disclosure or if the prior written consent of the other Party is obtained.
15. A Party shall be excused from liability for non-performance of the Contract if it proves that the non-performance of the Contract is due to circumstances beyond its reasonable control and foreseeable at the time of the conclusion of the Contract and that it could not have prevented the occurrence of those circumstances or their consequences.
16. The Client authorises the Advocate to use the Client’s name, logo and links to assignments and projects for which the Advocate has provided services to the Client for normal marketing purposes and procedures.
17. The Parties agree that the conclusion of the Contract by the exchange of electronic signatures or “pdf” signed documents by e-mail shall be deemed to be appropriate.
18. The Contract may be terminated by giving 14 (fourteen) days written notice to the other Party. Termination of this Agreement shall not relieve the Client from the obligation to pay for the services actually rendered by the Advocate.
19. Disputes shall be settled by mutual negotiation. The contract is governed by the law of the Republic of Lithuania.