General Terms of Business for Legal Clients

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The lawyers from Kanzlei Streifler provide their legal services in accordance with the Terms of Business as indicated below :

1.    Our law firm is authorized by German law (§ 9 German Law of Fees for Lawyers/Rechtsanwaltsverguetungsgesetz/RVG) to demand an appropriate retainer against existing expenses, ensuing costs and ongoing disbursements. More specifically, our legal firm may request an advance payment on projected travel expenses.

2.    As regards cases involving negligence of a lesser degree, liability claims for the legal services of a particular lawyer commissioned for a given case are limited to a maximum amount of EURO 250,000.00 per insurance claim, and EURO 1,000,000.00 for a full year of insurance coverage.
    In cases of deliberate or gross negligence, more inclusive liability claims on the part of the lawyer and his/her legal assistants remain unaffected by this provision. Should more inclusive insurance coverage be desired, the client must give his/her express consent that an appropriate indemnity insurance plan be arranged at higher liability terms, i.e., at the additional expense of the client.

3.    Our law firm is obliged to initiate legal proceedings, submit legal remedies and provide legal advice, but only after our law firm has received appropriate authorization from the client in this respect, and has subsequently accepted this authorization.

4.    Should the legal firm propose a specific legal measure to the client (e.g., the submission of legal remedies or the forbearance of the same, the negotiation or retraction of a legal settlement, etc.), and should the client not respond to this proposal within two weeks, despite the fact the client has been priorly informed about the significance of a non-response by his/her lawyer, this non-response assumes the status of legal consent to the proposed measure.

5.    Activities undertaken in compliance with a particular assignment by one of several clients or on behalf of one of several clients, are valid for and against all clients in a given case. Should the instructions of several clients contradict one another, our law firm is entitled to resign from legally representing those clients.

6.    Fees and expenses are due at the time of their origination. Consent is expected from all clients to the respect that remitted monetary sums be utilised to cover running charges and expenses in advance, and that these sums be booked accordingly in our accounts. Our lawyers are exempted from the restrictions defined by § 181 German Civil Code (Buergerliches Gesetzbuch/BGB).

7.    Our law firm reserves the right to deny the provision of legal representational services at any time, should advance payments for remunerations and expenses be in arrears, or should delivered invoices for legal fees not be paid within the designated period of time. Thus, the client bears responsibility for the timely payment of fees. Consequently, the client assumes sole responsibilty for preventing eventual disadvantages in the event a denial of services has ensued.

8.    It is not permitted that clients undertake deductions from remunerative demands issued by our law firm on the basis of any monetary claims whatsoever raised by the client in respect to our law firm. No monetary claims may be assigned to third parties based upon the contractual arrangement which regulates such remunerative payments between our clients and our law firm.

9.    As a general rule, the statutory period of limitation for remunerative claims (fees and expenses) raised by our law firm totals three years. The statutory period of limitation is legally defined by §§ 194 ff. German Civil Code (= BGB). Legal restrictions on the statutory period of limitation are likewise regulated by German law, in this context especially § 8 Para. 2 German Law of Fees for Lawyers (Rechtsanwaltsverguetungsgesetz/RVG).

10.    The obligation on the part of the law firm as regards the maintenance and availability of office files (as legally defined by § 50 Para. 4 German Federal Lawyers' Act (Bundesrechtsanwaltsordnung/BRAO) terminates five years subsequent to the conclusion of the commission. This obligation terminates prior to the conclusion of this term, however, provided the law firm has requested that the client assume personal possession of the office files, and the client has not taken possession of the files within six months of having received this request. Here, reference is taken to the right of retention as set forth by § 50 Para. 3 German Federal Lawyers' Act (= BRAO).

11.    Both contractual parties are obliged to maintain strict confidentiality standards in respect to all agreements made during exchanges between lawyer and client.

12.    According to § 29 Para. 1 German Civil Code (= ZPO), the main business offices of the law firm – as the contractual site of performance – is simultaneously the legal venue for any and all claims arising from the basic legal relationship and any resultant authorization.

13.    To the extent a remunerative agreement has already been settled with the client, such an agreement would take precedence over these General Terms of Business for Legal Clients, which would then acquire only a supplementary function.


Kanzlei Streifler : Attorneys-at-Law
Wilhelmstraße 46, 10117 Berlin


I have read and understood the conditions described above :


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Signature of Client