The fee agreement that is forbidden

How we work

Why that rule protects you

Belgian law and the rules of the profession prohibit the pactum de quota litis: an agreement concluded before a matter is resolved under which the lawyer's fee consists exclusively of a share or percentage of the result obtained. It is not a service that happens to be unavailable here; it is forbidden. So when a prospective client asks for a no-win-no-fee percentage arrangement, the honest answer is that nobody practising properly can provide it.

The reason for the rule is worth understanding, because at first glance a contingency fee looks like it favours the client. In practice it gives the lawyer a direct financial stake in the outcome, which distorts advice at exactly the points where a client most needs it to be disinterested: whether to settle, whether to accept an offer, whether to litigate at all. A lawyer whose fee depends on a share of the proceeds has a reason to push a case towards the outcome that pays them, rather than the one that suits you.

The second rule follows the same logic. A lawyer may not promise an outcome, and may not claim success rates or compare themselves with other practitioners, because communications must be truthful and dignified and must respect professional secrecy. That is why this site contains no testimonials and no statistics. What it can offer is an assessment that names the weaknesses, a fee basis agreed in writing, and an explanation of what losing would cost — including the court costs and procedural indemnity that clients are most often not told about until they matter.