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Complaints Procedure Bergh Stoop & Sanders

The quality of the services we provide is guaranteed by subsequent and additional training, as well as by a process of continual deliberation between colleagues on the substance of the cases we deal with. Obtaining feed-back from our clients is another tool we use to improve quality. As long as your file is being dealt with, we explicitly invite you let us know how you experience our services. Receiving feed-back from you is especially important to us in the event of a complaint. We have an internal procedure in place for complaints which, if not solved internally, can be dealt with externally.

If, as a client, you are not satisfied with the services provided by our office or one of our lawyers, then please inform our internal complaints officer Ms Hedwig van Schie (hedwig@berghstoop.com) about your complaint orally or in writing. Your complaint will be registered and dealt with as soon as you have informed us.

The object of the internal grievance procedure is

  • to identify dissatisfaction at the earliest possible stage;
  • to resolve any possible dispute amicably;
  • to obtain a clear picture of how our services are valued in order to further improve their quality.

The procedure

  1. When a client approaches our office with a complaint, the lawyer in question is notified of that complaint as soon as possible.
  2. A lawyer-partner (not being the lawyer in question) assesses the case and discusses it internally. Subsequently, either the complaints officer or the lawyer-partner contacts the client in question.
  3. Once the necessary assessments have been made, the lawyer-partner tries to reach a satisfactory solution with the client.
  4. If no solution is found, then the client is invited to discuss the issue with the lawyer-partner and, if necessary, the lawyer in question and/or the complaints officer. During that meeting an attempt is made to solve the issue and draw conclusions.
  5. A report of the meeting referred to under point 4 is drawn up and sent to the client.
  6. The complaints officer sees to it that the complaint is dealt with expeditiously and is subsequently kept up to date on the matter by the lawyer-partner and the lawyer in question.
  7. Confidentiality is guaranteed under all circumstances, save for within the framework of dealing with the complaint in question.

External complaints procedure

In the event that the complaint cannot be resolved amicably, then the client is informed by the complaints officer about the possibility of presenting his case to the Dean of the National Bar Association. More information about this last possibility can be found on the website of the Amsterdam Bar Association (https://www.advocatenorde-amsterdam.nl/9824/menupagina-klachten.html).