The Act on Advocates prescribes a binding code of conduct for all lawyers operating in The Netherlands. Amongst the many rules, a few are worth mentioning here:

Secrecy

The Act on Advocates prescribes a binding code of conduct for all lawyers operating in The Netherlands. Amongst the many rules, confidentiality is a fundamental rule. Any information related to your legal issue is confidential. This rule is actively maintained by lawyers in The Netherlands. It is of utmost importance for you as a client to be able to rely on secrecy in your relationship with your lawyer. The confidentiality obligation is comprehensive. Not only does it cover confidentiality regarding any details of a case, it even prohibits a lawyer from disclosing who the client is. This applies to the period of the cases being dealt with, but also after the case is closed. The confidentiality obligation also applies to all working at the law firm. This can only be different in exceptional cases, like if lives are at stake.

Billing

According to The Act on Advocates and according to the detailed code of conduct of The Dutch Bar Association, all work you pay for should be accounted for. Therefore, you will receive a specified bill that provides an insight of the work that is being charged. Any disputes concerning the bill can be taken up with The Dutch Bar Association’s Disciplinary Board.

Four eyes principle

A famous saying in Dutch is “two know more than one”. That is why DAG works in small teams, to make sure your interests are optimally represented. It is a safeguard to maintain our high standards of quality of service.

Core values in The Act on Advocates

The Act of Advocates laid down five core values in article 10a:

• Independence: The legal system demands independence of its lawyers in order to ensure a fair and just administration of justice.
• Partiality: The lawyer only advocates what is in the best interests of his client. A conflict of interests has to be avoided.
• Professionality: The lawyer needs to have certain skill and knowledge levels.
• Integrity: The profession demands ethical standards in order to uphold the trust clients have in lawyers.
• Confidentiality: See above.

These core values are enforced by The Dutch Bar Association.

Want to know more?

Every legal expert at DAG is able to tell more about the way we maintain our integrity and is willing to answer all questions on this subject.