Simple fee
Mr. Berendsen Advocaten we have one clear hourly rate with no hidden costs. For some services, we offer flat rates.
Pro bono (subsidized legal aid)
We also work on the basis of subsidized legal aid.
You don’t qualify for subsidized legal aid? Ask for our discount!
Do you have a modest income, little or no capital, but are you not eligible for government-subsidized legal aid? Then we offer a unique discount towards our hourly rate. At mr. Berendsen Advocaten we believe that good legal aid should be accessible to everyone. Our discount makes it possible for people with a middle income and entrepreneurs with a modest income to get access to good legal assistance.
In our practice we see many people who don’t qualify for subsidized legal aid, because their income is (a little) too high or because their issue is related to their business. However, regular solicitor’s fees are beyond their means, since the average proceedings costs about twenty billable hours.
How does it work?
Extanding the table of the Legal Aid Council, Mr. Berendsen Advocaten uses a simple table to show you how much discount you can claim in case you are not eligible for subsidized legal aid. The table is published on our fees page.
The lower your income, the higher the discount
The same rules apply to the discount that also apply to subsidized legal aid. Just like with the Legal Aid Board, we look at your income and assets from two years ago.
Proof of income in the reference year
Unlike the Legal Aid Board, we obviously do not have access to your income data from the tax authorities. However, you can easily send us proof of your income (and that of your partner) by requesting an income statement from the Dutch tax authorities. You need your digid for this. What we need is your gross annual income from two years ago (the reference year). Did you (also) have income outside the Netherlands? Then we need comparable evidence of income from abroad.
Assets
Regarding the asset limit, we apply the same rules that apply to subsidized legal aid. You can find the current asset limit on the Legal Aid Board’s website.
Minimum fee
The minimum fee (incl. VAT) that you pay us is equal to the contribution you would pay if you were still eligible for subsidized legal aid (i.e. that applies to the highest income for which subsidized legal aid is still provided).
For entrepreneurs also!
We make no exception for business disputes, so business owners are just as welcome to take advantage of the discount.
Beware! We cannot accept all cases on the basis of subsidized legal aid or the discount described here. Sometimes we are simply full and we have to make choices. We ask for your understanding.
