Terms and Conditions
of Service Provision

The lawyers at Sense Avocats are subject to Law No. 71-1130 of December 31, 1971, the National Internal Regulations, and the regulatory provisions specific to the Bar Association to which they are registered. Sense Avocats' services on behalf of clients are governed by these General Terms and Conditions of Service, unless otherwise agreed.

 

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to determine the terms and conditions governing the services provided by Sense Avocats (hereinafter referred to as the “Firm”) in connection with the advisory, assistance, and/or representation services (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Services’) entrusted to it by the client, who may be a natural or legal person with the capacity to do so (hereinafter referred to as the “Client”).

These terms and conditions are supplemented, where applicable, by the engagement letter drawn up by the Firm (hereinafter the “Engagement Letter”), all of these documents constituting, subject to their acceptance by the Client, the entire agreement between the Firm and the Client (hereinafter the “Parties”) with regard to their subject matter (hereinafter the “Contract”), to the exclusion of any other document and, in particular, any general and/or specific terms and conditions of the Client.

 

2. MISSION

The nature, scope, terms, and conditions of the Assignment are set out in the Assignment Letter, and the Firm remains free to refuse any assignment that the Client may wish to entrust to it, particularly in the event of a conflict of interest.

In accordance with the ethical rules to which Sense Avocats lawyers are bound, any information provided by the Client or obtained in the course of performing the Assignment is treated as confidential. The relationship between the lawyer and their Client is based on mutual trust. 

In order to ensure the effectiveness of the assistance, the Client undertakes to provide the Firm with all the elements and information necessary for the proper performance of the Assignment.

 

3. FEES

3.1 Determination of fees

The fees covering the services and work expected to be performed as part of the Assignment, as well as the various costs and expenses anticipated, are determined in the Engagement Letter based on one of the billing methods below. Otherwise, fees are billed to the Client based on time spent, which is the usual billing method in the profession.

The Firm's fees are exclusive of taxes and do not include the costs and expenses referred to in Article 3.6.

 

3.2 Time spent

In accordance with industry practice, assistance and consulting services are billed on an hourly basis. The hourly rate is set based on the level of experience and specific skills of the professionals assigned to carry out the assigned task.

Our hourly rates range from €150 to €300 excluding tax, depending on the lawyer assigned to the case.

Upon request, the Firm shall periodically provide the Client with a statement of the services and work performed in connection with the Assignment, which statement shall indicate the time actually spent by the various parties involved.

 

3.3 Flat fee – Fee range

When it considers that the nature and scope of the assignment allow it to do so, the Firm may propose to the Client that it be billed on a flat-rate basis or within a defined range. In this case, the Engagement Letter shall specify the flat-rate amount or range of fees, as well as the scope of services and procedures included in the flat rate.

Unless otherwise specified, all services and procedures whose necessity, scope, or duration are not under the exclusive control of the Firm (in particular meetings or conference calls organized at the Client's request and negotiation and expert assessment phases) are expressly excluded from the fixed price or range. In the event of any overrun, the Firm undertakes to inform the Client in order to define the conditions for continuing the Assignment entrusted to it.

All services and tasks not included are billed to the Client on top of the base price, based on the time spent.

 

3.4 Subscription

When the assignment involves recurring services and tasks, the Firm may offer the Client the option of taking out a subscription for a specific period (monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly, depending on the circumstances).

The Engagement Letter specifies the flat-rate subscription fee, the flat-rate number of hours included, the consequences of exceeding this limit, and the scope of the services and procedures included.

 

3.5 Performance fees

When it considers that the nature of the assignment permits, the Firm may propose to the Client that part of its fees be determined on the basis of the results obtained, such performance fees being specified in the Engagement Letter.

 

3.6 Costs and expenses

The costs and expenses necessary for the performance of the Assignment are not included in the Firm's fees and remain the sole responsibility of the Client. These costs and expenses include, in particular:

(i) All costs specifically incurred by the Firm in connection with the performance of the Assignment and which are re-invoiced to the Client in euros, such as, in particular, postage, travel, and court fees;

(ii) Fees and remuneration of external parties which, unless otherwise stipulated, are invoiced directly to the Client by said parties (in particular applicants, lawyers, bailiffs, notaries, experts, and translators).

 

3.7 Billing and payment of fees

In the event of billing based on time spent, fees are billed to the Client on a monthly basis, unless otherwise specified in the Engagement Letter.

When specified in the Engagement Letter, the Firm's fees are subject to one (or more) requests for advance payment in accordance with the provisions thereof.

Unless otherwise specified, invoices issued by the Firm are payable upon receipt.

In the event of late payment:

(i) Clients who are professionals shall be automatically liable to the Firm, without prior notice, for late payment penalties equal to three times the legal interest rate in force, as well as a fixed compensation fee of €40 for recovery costs, as provided for in Article D. 441-5 of the French Commercial Code;

(ii) In all cases, the Firm reserves the right to suspend the performance of the Assignment, in which case the Firm undertakes to inform the Client of any consequences of such suspension.

 

4. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The results of Sense Avocats' interventions and services (hereinafter the “Results”) may take the form of written documents of all kinds and on all media (contracts, studies, consultations, summonses, conclusions, briefs, motions, meeting minutes, manuals, scientific articles, training materials, etc.). Each of the Results may be protected by copyright, subject to its originality. By default, Sense Avocats remains the sole owner of all intellectual property rights relating to the Results delivered. Under the terms of this agreement and subject to payment of fees, costs, and expenses by the Client, the Client shall have a non-exclusive right to reproduce and represent the Results worldwide for the legal duration of copyright protection in force in France, limited to its internal needs. However, this limitation shall not prevent the reproduction or representation of the Results for the purpose of communication to third parties, provided that such operations correspond to the usual purposes of the Deliverables.

No form of commercial exploitation of the Results is permitted, in particular with regard to contract templates, consultations, or training materials. Translation or modification of the Results is expressly permitted, but Sense Avocats shall not be held liable for any resulting documents.

 

5. LIABILITY

In carrying out the Assignment, the Firm is bound by an obligation of means, in strict compliance with the regulatory and ethical obligations applicable to the legal profession.

As the Firm's advice in connection with the performance of the Assignment is provided on the basis of specific facts prevailing at a given time, the Firm shall not be liable for the application or reuse of such advice in any other context, whether by the Client or by a third party.

Furthermore, as all legal proceedings are inherently subject to uncertainty, the Firm cannot be held liable for any harmful consequences for the Client arising from such uncertainty.

 

6. PERSONAL DATA

The Client is informed that Sense Avocats, as data controller, processes personal data (surname, first name, postal address, email address, telephone number, financial data, etc.) for the purposes of management, billing, case tracking, and electronic prospecting. This data is necessary for the proper management of files and Clients and is intended for the departments authorized by Sense Avocats. This personal data will be processed on the basis of the Client's consent expressed in the agreement on the Engagement Letter.

If the Customer considers that the processing of their personal data constitutes a violation of the legislation in force, they are entitled to In accordance with Law No. 78-17 of January 6, 1978 relating to information technology, files, and civil liberties, individuals have the right to access, rectify, query, and object on legitimate grounds to the processing of their personal data and to prospecting, at the following email address: contact@sense-avocats.fr or by post to Sense Avocats, 73 rue Saint Jacques, 13006 Marseille, subject to proof of identity. They also have the right to lodge a complaint with the CNIL.

If the Customer considers that the processing of their personal data constitutes a violation of the legislation in force, they have the option of lodging a complaint with the CNIL. 

 

7. APPLICABLE LAW AND DISPUTES

LAW The Contract is governed by French law. Any dispute relating to the Firm's fees shall be submitted to the President of the Bar Association, in the absence of agreement between the Parties, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 174 et seq. of Decree No. 91-1197 of November 27, 1991, organizing the legal profession. AND DISPUTES

For consumer clients, the client is informed of the possibility offered by Article L. 612-1 of the French Consumer Code, in the event of a dispute arising from the fee agreement entered into with Sense Avocats, to have recourse free of charge to the National Consumer Mediator for the legal profession, whose contact details are as follows:

Ms. Carole Pascarel, Consumer Ombudsman for the legal profession

By post to the following address: 180 boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris

By email to the following address: mediateur-conso@mediateur-consommation-avocat.fr

By filling out the online form on the website https://mediateur-consommation-avocat.fr.

 

The client is informed that referral to the mediator can only take place after first attempting to resolve the dispute with Sense Avocats by means of a written complaint.