General terms and conditions

General terms and conditions

Attorney Peter Zorin (hereinafter referred to as OPZ) is a member of the Slovenian Bar Association (https://www.odv-zb.si) and is therefore entitled to charge for his work to clients in accordance with the applicable attorney’s rate (https://www.odv-zb.si/odvetniska-zbornica/predpisi/tarifa/; hereinafter: Lawyers’ Tariff).

Beginning of the service

OPZ is not obliged to represent or advise you, but he may accept such a mandate (from you) at his sole discretion. In case of doubt, OPZ is deemed to have started performing work for you/representing you when he has explicitly confirmed your authorization / power of attorney issued to him or when he has otherwise confirmed to you in writing that he represents you or that he has started performing work for you.

Agreed tariff

In accordance with Article 15 of the valid Lawyer’s Tariff, the lawyer and the client may enter into a written contract on the payment of services that deviates from the Lawyer’s Tariff (hereinafter: Contract).

Therefore, for the avoidance of doubt, the following applies:

  • If OPZ has started providing services for the client and nothing has been specifically agreed regarding the tariff, the provisions of the Lawyer’s Tariff shall apply (until further notice or until an explicit different agreement is reached between the parties);
  • If OPZ has announced that he will charge at an hourly rate and the client has agreed to this or he/she did not expressly object to this or tacitly allowed OPZ to start work, it is considered that a Agreement has been concluded, in which OPZ charges for his work at the hourly rate, which was announced to the client and in any case confirmed in writing by email; these General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter also: T&C) are also an integral part of the Agreement, insofar as not expressly agreed within the correspondence between OPZ and the client or by the comprehensive Agreement entered into;
  • If OPZ has announced that he will charge a certain flat rate for his work, the provisions of these T&Cs on the hourly rate apply to services that exceed those included in the flat rate;
  • If the payment for an individual service was not covered by a special agreement between the client and OPZ, the provisions of the Lawyer’s Tariff apply.

Detailed provisions regarding the assessment of the attorney’s fee at the agreed hourly rate

OPZ shall publish (in his office) an informative price list for the current year in January of each year, which takes into account the annual inflation rate and other factors to determine the price of his services.

OPZ, at his own discretion, proposes to the client a standard or above-standard hourly rate from the valid price list. Depending on the circumstances of the case and solely at his own discretion, OPZ reserves the right to propose a different rate.

If an hourly rate is agreed, the minimum billing interval is 6 minutes of used time.

OPZ reserves the right to charge with each invoice or break down of services a surcharge for material costs in the amount of 3% (of the amount of the service). Unless otherwise expressly agreed, OPZ charges a flat fee of 5 euros for sending a letter (i.e. registered delivery via Pošta Slovenije) within Slovenia and a flat fee of 10 euros for sending a letter (via Pošta Slovenije) outside Slovenia (but within the EU), as well as a flat fee 20 euros for sending a letter (via Pošta Slovenije) outside the EU or according to actual costs.

OPZ may request an advance payment in the case of special projects or for matters that are particularly demanding or extensive or when an extraordinary expenditure is necessary.

Unless otherwise agreed, OPZ issues monthly invoices for work performed in the previous month, or after the completion of a completed set of services, whichever OPZ deems more reasonable. Unless otherwise agreed, all issued invoices are due for payment within 8 days of issue.

OPZ is entitled to charge the client for all costs incurred as a result of late payment. Default interest is determined according to Slovenian law (around 8% p.a.).

If OPZ becomes liable for VAT, from that moment on, legal VAT will be added to all issued invoices and the customer is obliged to pay the invoice including VAT.

The client and the lawyer agree that the lawyer can independently and unilaterally reduce, but not increase, the amount of legal fees. The client and the lawyer agree that the lawyer can deduct the agreed payment for legal services from the amount received for the client (either to a fiduciary account or otherwise), issue an invoice to the client with the annotation – PAID for such deduction, and then pay the remainder of the transfer to the client.

THE CLIENT IS WARNED THAT THE COURTS AND OTHER AUTHORITIES, WHICH DECIDE ON THE COSTS OF THE PROCEEDINGS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THEIR POWERS, ASSESS ATTORNEY’S FEES IN THE AMOUNT ASSESSED ACCORDING TO THE ATTORNEY’S TARIFF.

By confirming the OPZ e-mail in which the latter has set the hourly rate for the client and referred it to these T&C, the client declares with the confirmation e-mail that he is familiar with the method of assessment and the amount of the attorney’s fee according to the Attorney’s Tariff, with the method of determining the attorney’s fee according to the Agreement, with consequences that arise on the basis of such an Agreement, and expressly agrees to the payment of the lawyer’s fee according to the Agreement or these T&C.

If the client withdraws the power of attorney without a valid reason before the service is completed, the client is obliged to pay the lawyer for the legal service provided after the actual time spent and incurred costs up to the date of receipt of the revocation/withdrawal, unless these T&C or the Agreement expressly provide otherwise.

In the event of a legal dispute, the competent court is determined by the seat of the lawyer.

Confidentiality and data privacy

Any information and document that will be exchanged between the client and OPZ will be treated as confidential and will not be disclosed to third parties without the prior approval of the client.

The client allows OPZ to disclose to other clients or potential clients the cooperation and the object of cooperation of each mandate for the purpose of checking whether there is a possible conflict of interest.

In all likelihood, the provision of services by OPZ for the client will include the processing of personal data, as determined by the EU regulations on privacy and processing of personal data.

OPZ will use any personal data only for the provision of contractual services. OPZ will not forward them to third parties and will process them confidentially and implement security measures required by applicable legislation and/or according to reasonable industry practice.

After the termination of this contractual relationship or at any time at the request of the Customer, OPZ will return to the Customer or destroy all personal data from its files, insofar as this is reasonable and permissible in accordance with the law.

Limitation of liability

OPZ’s liability to the Client under this agreement is limited to an amount equal to the fee paid by the Client to OPZ for services rendered within thirty days prior to the occurrence of the event from which the obligation arises.

In no event shall OPZ be liable to the Client or any third party for any consequential, incidental, indirect or special damages, including compensation for lost profits or revenue, business interruption or punitive damages, even if OPZ has been advised of the possibility of such damage.

OPZ has its legal practice insured under the OZS insurance policy with the Wiener Städtische insurance company – details of the insurance policy are available here: https://www.odv-zb.si/odvetniska-zbornica/gradiva/zavarovanje/zavarovanje-2021-2026/

odvetnik@opz.si