Scope of application
1 The services and advice provided by Tre Kronor Advokatbyrå AB ("TKA") in any matter are subject to these general terms and conditions and the Swedish Bar Association's Code of Conduct.
(2) These general terms and conditions shall apply to the entire engagement even if the engagement includes several elements or if we assist several legal or natural persons in the engagement or issue separate invoices.
Client knowledge
3. according to the law on measures against money laundering and financing of terrorism ("PTL"), we are obliged to verify the identity and ownership of our clients and to inform us of the purpose and nature of the engagement. As a rule, such information shall be provided by you before the engagement can begin. In the event that satisfactory information and documentation is not received, we are entitled to decline or withdraw from an engagement. We may therefore ask you to provide, without delay, identity documents and detailed information on ownership and the engagement in question. TKA may also be required to verify such information through external sources, such as databases. We are required by law to retain all information and documentation that we obtain in connection with these checks.
4. according to PTL, TKA is obliged to report suspicions of money laundering or terrorist financing to the police authorities. We are prevented by PTL from informing you that suspicions exist and that a report has been or may be made to the police authorities. If there are suspicions of money laundering or terrorist financing, TKA is obliged under the Code of Conduct and these general terms and conditions to decline or withdraw from the assignment.
5. TKA may be required by law to report to the tax authorities the details of our clients' value added tax (VAT) registration numbers and details of invoiced fees. By engaging us, you are deemed to have agreed that we fulfill the said reporting obligation. Should you oppose such reporting, we have the right to decline or withdraw from the assignment in accordance with good legal practice and these general terms and conditions.
6. We cannot be held liable for any damage caused to you directly or indirectly as a result of our compliance with our obligations or our refusal or withdrawal of an order under the same paragraphs because TKA was unable to meet its obligations.
Personal data
7. TKA is the data controller, as defined in the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679, for the personal data obtained in connection with the performance of assignments for our clients or otherwise processed when the assignment is prepared or administered. The personal data that is relevant is, for example, name, social security number, title, contact information, invoicing information and other business-related information provided by you, your representative or provided to us by counterparties. The personal data is processed, for example, to perform mandatory disqualification and money laundering checks and to safeguard your interests within the framework of started, ongoing or completed assignments.
Our services
8. The content and scope of our engagement may be set out in a written or oral engagement letter. However, the nature and scope of the engagement may change during the course of the engagement, depending on your instructions or the conditions applicable to the engagement at the time.
9. Our services and advice are designed solely on the basis of the conditions, facts and instructions presented to us in the specific engagement. You may therefore not rely on our services or advice in any other matter or for any other purpose than the specific engagement and purpose for which the service or advice was provided.
10. TKA does not provide tax advice, financial advice, accounting advice or advice on the commerciality of decisions, investments or transactions. Thus, we have no responsibility for the tax, financial, accounting or business consequences of the decisions, investments or transactions you make or undertake.
11. Our services only include advice on Swedish law. If, based on our general experience, we express an opinion on the legal situation in any other jurisdiction than Sweden, this does not constitute advice on which you are entitled to rely. In such a situation, however, we may, at your request, assist you in obtaining advice from other advisers in the relevant jurisdiction.
Professional secrecy
12. TKA observes statutory attorney-client confidentiality and also requires associates and others in the business to observe attorney-client confidentiality in accordance with good legal practice. In some cases, we may be required by law to disclose information. Furthermore, in some cases, good legal practice may also otherwise allow us to disclose information.
Fees and expenses
13. In accordance with the applicable rules of professional conduct, TKA's fees are based on a number of factors such as, but not limited to, (1) time spent, (2) the skill and experience required for the assignment, (3) the values involved in the assignment, (4) the risk to which TKA is exposed within the framework of the assignment, (5) time pressure and (6) the result achieved. Estimates of fees provided by TKA are only forecasts based on experience, but are not binding in any respect unless specifically stated in writing. In addition to TKA's fees, travel and other expenses may be charged.
14. TKA applies continuous invoicing. In some cases, TKA requests advance payment of fees and costs. Unless otherwise agreed, TKA's invoices are due for payment 14 days after the invoice date.
15. in disputes (both in court and in arbitration), the losing party is normally ordered to pay the winning party's legal costs (including lawyers' fees). However, regardless of whether you are the winning or losing party, you must pay for the services provided by TKA and the costs incurred by TKA in representing you in court or arbitration proceedings.
16. If the case involves a dispute, your or your company's legal expenses insurance may cover some of your and the other party's costs. Regardless of the wording of the insurance conditions and the decision of the insurance company concerned to reimburse these costs in full or in part, you are obliged to pay TKA's invoices in full.
VAT registration number
17. we are required by law in certain cases to provide information to the tax authorities about your VAT number and the value of the services we have provided to you. By engaging TKA, you are deemed to have consented to us providing such information to the tax authorities in accordance with current legislation.
Termination of mandate
18. you may terminate your cooperation with us at any time by requesting us to withdraw from the contract. However, you must pay us for the services we have provided and the costs we have incurred before the termination of the contract.
19. the law and the Code of Conduct set out the circumstances in which we are entitled or obliged to decline or withdraw from an engagement. If we withdraw from the engagement, you must pay us for the services and advice we have provided and for the costs we have incurred before withdrawal.
Limitation of liability
20. Our liability for damage caused to you as a result of error or negligence or breach of contract on our part is limited to an amount per engagement of SEK 50 million or, if our fee in the relevant engagement is less than SEK 1 million, SEK 3.5 million.
21. our liability for loss shall be reduced by any amount which you may receive under any insurance policy you have taken out or to which you are otherwise subject or under any contract or indemnity to which you are a beneficiary, provided that it is not inconsistent with the terms of the insurance policy or the terms of the contract or indemnity and that your rights under the insurance policy, contract or indemnity are not prejudiced.
22. We will not be liable for any damage caused by your use of our work product or advice in any other context or for any other purpose than that for which it was given. Subject to the above paragraph, we will not be liable for any damage suffered by third parties as a result of your use of our work products or advice.
23. We shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising from circumstances beyond our control which we could not reasonably have foreseen at the time the engagement was accepted and the consequences of which we could not reasonably have avoided or overcome.
24 If, at your request, we allow a third party to rely on our work results or advice, this shall not increase or otherwise affect our liability. We may be liable to such a third party only to the extent that we would have been liable to you. Any amounts that we may be required to pay to such third party shall correspondingly reduce our liability to you and vice versa. There is no client relationship between us and the third party. The above also applies in cases where we, at your request, issue a certificate, statement or similar to a third party.
Liability insurance
25. We hold the Swedish Bar Association's supplementary liability insurance and not only the Swedish Bar Association's compulsory liability insurance.
Archiving
26 When an engagement is completed or otherwise terminated, we will archive (with us or with third parties and in paper or electronic form) substantially all documents and work products accumulated and generated in the engagement. The documents and work results will be archived for the period that, in our opinion, is required by the nature of the engagement, but never for a shorter period than that required by law or good legal practice.
27. as we are required to archive virtually all documents and work products accumulated or generated in the engagement, we will not be able to comply with a request to restore (without making and keeping a copy) or destroy a document or work product before the end of the archiving period.
28. Unless otherwise agreed, we are not obliged to keep your original documents. Thus, we may provide you with all original documents when an engagement is completed or otherwise terminated. We may keep a copy of the original documents.
Applicable law and dispute resolution
29. These general conditions shall be governed by Swedish law.
30. Disputes between TKA and you shall primarily be resolved in the Stockholm District Court. If the subject matter of the dispute exceeds SEK 1 million, the dispute between you and TKA shall be resolved at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce in accordance with the SCC's arbitration rules. Swedish law shall apply to the arbitration, the language of the arbitration shall be Swedish and the place of arbitration shall be Stockholm.
31. notwithstanding the paragraph above, TKA always has the right to institute proceedings regarding overdue claims in connection with the assignment or otherwise in courts or with authorities (e.g. Kronofogden) that have jurisdiction over you or any of your or your company's assets.