Hiring Policies

General Conditions for our Legal Services

Von Bila, de la Pava, Bertoletti SAS, is a Colombian law firm founded in 1999 first as a limited liability company and later transformed into a stock corporation with its principal place of business in Bogotá, Colombia. The firm and its lawyers and management will always act under the highest level of ethics, quality and best services and the relationships with its clients and third parties will be based on these General Terms which apply if not contradicted by the client or third party and in no case these General Terms will generate any situation of abuse in which case, such special non-legal provision will be void and only the rest of these General Terms will apply.

1. SERVICES:

The services we will provide to you in connection with a particular matter will be agreed upon at the inception of the matter and may vary by mutual agreement from time to time.

The services we provide are for the benefit of the party to whom these terms are provided, and as specified in the attached correspondence. Unless we agree otherwise in writing, no other party shall be entitled to enforce any of the terms of this contract.

2. TEAM:

The team of attorneys and/or administrative and paralegal persons in charge of matters in our office shall be disclosed in each addendum to our invoices for each case and as a matter of effectiveness the attorney(s) or suitable person(s) will be in charge.

3. BASIS OF OUR FEES:

Unless we agree on a fixed fee for a particular matter, our policy is to charge our professional services on a time basis. Our attorneys’ hourly rates range from $125 to $280, depending on their seniority (experience) and position. Hourly rates for lawyers acting for you will be communicated upon request. Hourly rates are reviewed and may be adjusted periodically. Upon request, we will be happy to provide you with a general estimate of how many hours it may take us to complete a particular matter.

Expenses we incur on your behalf, such as courier services, bulk photocopying, international telephone calls and payments to competent bodies such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Supernotary and notary offices, will be invoiced at cost. As well as any translation work performed by us will be charged at the normal rate in Colombia per page.

For clients from abroad, a fixed monthly charge of up to 25 USD will be applied to cover a portion of the bank charges incurred when transferring funds to Colombia. This charge does not represent the full costs associated with international transfers.

4. PAYMENT OF OUR INVOICES:

Unless expressly agreed otherwise: We will invoice you monthly for the current month. If you have any questions about an invoice, please raise them with our finance and administration department (comptroller@vonbilaw.com) or with the partner or senior lawyer responsible for the matter within 2 weeks after receipt of the invoice. All invoices will be issued in Colombian Pesos, US Dollars or Euros. Our bank details are reported on the monthly invoices.

Our invoices are due and payable immediately after the invoice date. If any part of the invoice is in dispute or must be changed or modified, the remainder of the invoice shall be paid in due time.

If any amount due to us remains unpaid more than 30 days after the issuance of the applicable invoice, we may (subject in each case to applicable laws and regulations)

charge your account as a customer for the costs incurred by us in collecting the outstanding amounts;
charge your customer account interest at the highest rate permitted for interest in Colombia;
cease to act on your behalf; and
retain documents and papers belonging to you.

At the time of accepting your instructions, we may ask you to make an initial payment. Where we are instructed to hold money for you, on account or otherwise, and unless expressly agreed otherwise: we may use this money for payment or part payment of our outstanding invoices to you. We will always inform you when this is being done.

5. WITHHOLDING OR REDUCTION FOR TAXES AND BANK CHARGES:

Our fees will be paid free of any withholding or deduction for taxes, fees or bank charges. If you are required by law to withhold or deduct taxes, or if bank charges are deducted from your payment, the amount of each invoice will be considered increased to the extent necessary to ensure that, after any withholding or deduction, we receive and retain a net sum equal to the amount of the invoice.

6. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION:

Subject to applicable legal and professional restrictions, the following is agreed:

Representation of Other Clients: We will not represent another client in a matter in which we represent you unless we have your express consent. However, you agree that we may represent other clients in separate matters, even if there is or may be a conflict of interest, unless we believe it would be inappropriate to do so.

Examples of Potential Conflicts: Your and another client’s interests may conflict in a variety of circumstances, including, but not limited to:

- - Business transactions, business formation, mergers, joint ventures, acquisitions, financings, service contracts, insolvency, protection of rights, and representation before governmental or regulatory authorities.
  - Dispute resolution, either in or out of court.
  - Representation of Competitors: Unless otherwise expressly agreed, we may represent competitors of yours.

Confidentiality: We maintain a strict duty of confidentiality with all our clients. Accordingly, and subject to any mandatory legal obligations:

- - We will maintain the confidentiality of all information and documents we receive in the course of your representation, and will not disclose them to other clients without your express consent.
  - We are not obligated to disclose to you or use for your benefit confidential information belonging to other customers.
  - The possession of confidential information of yours relevant to a matter of another client shall not prevent us from representing the latter, taking the necessary measures to protect its confidentiality.

Disclosure of customer-firm relationship: We may disclose to third parties or other customers that you are a customer of ours.

7. INSTRUCTION OF OTHER EXPERTS AND LAWYERS IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS:

It may be necessary to engage outside experts (accountants, consultants, specialized lawyers, etc.). We will discuss this with you in due course, including the suitability of the candidates and the costs involved. For foreign legal advice, we will use our correspondent lawyers, unless you instruct us otherwise.

8. DOCUMENTS:

Copyright: The original materials we create are copyrighted by us. Fees paid grant you the right to use them for the purposes for which they were prepared, but not ownership of the copyright, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Archival preservation: We will retain your records for five years after the termination of the matter, unless otherwise agreed. After this period, we will destroy them without notice.

9. APPLICATION AND MODIFICATION OF THESE CONDITIONS:

Our services are governed by this document, which forms part of our contract (verbal or written) and is available on our website, as well as by the correspondence exchanged. If you do not agree to any term, you must notify us within 30 days of the start of the professional relationship. These terms supersede any prior agreements.

We may change these terms and conditions. We will notify you of proposed changes directly or through our website. The changes will be effective 30 days after notification, unless we receive written objections within that time.

10. PROBLEM SOLVING AND LITIGATION:

We welcome your questions and suggestions. We will seek to resolve any differences amicably for at least 90 days. Contact any of our partners for this purpose.

These terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Colombia. Any claim for negligence, breach of contract or similar shall be submitted to the courts of the Republic of Colombia.

Our liability for professional damages is limited to 50% of the fees actually paid for the services in the calendar year in which they were rendered, provided that the claim arises from a material breach of this agreement.

These conditions shall automatically apply to our professional relationship three months after the commencement of the service agreement, whether verbal or written.