General terms and conditions

(2025:1)

 In case you would like a translation in English of the terms and conditions governing our services, please contact Pogona Advokatbyrå at info@pogona.se.

1. Applicability, interpretation and conclusion of the contract

1.1 These general terms and conditions apply to all assignments that Pogona Advokatbyrå AB, reg. no. 559498-6969 (the "Law Firm") performs for its clients, unless otherwise agreed in writing. The Swedish Bar Association's "Code of Conduct" also applies to the services of the Law Firm. By entering into an agreement with the Law Firm, you are deemed to have accepted these general terms and conditions.
1.2 References in these general terms and conditions to "we", "us" or "our" are to the Law Firm. References to "engagement" refer to all parts and aspects of a matter, and these shall be deemed to constitute one and the same engagement even if it involves several natural and legal persons, covers several different instructions or addresses several areas of law.
1.3 An engagement is deemed to have commenced when you accept an offer of legal advice from the Law Firm or when the Law Firm actually starts working on your instruction. The scope of the engagement, which may later be amended, is set out in the engagement letter or agreement or otherwise agreed with you at the beginning of the engagement. If you wish, we will always provide you with a written engagement letter.

2. Scope and implementation of the mission

2.1 We will, within the framework of the law and professional conduct, protect your interests to the best of our ability. This means, among other things, that assignments will be carried out with care, accuracy and due diligence and with due regard to not incurring unnecessary costs. Our advice is tailored to the circumstances of the specific engagement, your instructions and the facts presented to us, and the Firm is entitled to assume that these circumstances, facts and instructions are complete and correct. The Law Firm does not accept any liability for the consequences of incorrect or incomplete information provided by the client or third parties. You may not rely on our advice for any other engagement or purpose than the engagement and purpose for which the advice was given. Unless otherwise agreed, we do not undertake to update advice given in an engagement in the event that applicable law or other circumstances change after the advice was given. Our advice is never a guarantee of a particular outcome. 2.2 The agreement on the engagement is an agreement with the Law Firm as a legal entity and not with any individual natural person connected to the Law Firm. This applies even if it is your express or implied intention that the work be performed by one or more specific persons. All persons working for the Law Firm are subject to these terms and conditions and these persons shall under no circumstances have any individual liability to you, unless otherwise provided by mandatory law.
2.3 We only provide legal advice and thus not advice of, for example, a commercial, operational, financial or technical nature. Our advice only covers the legal situation in Sweden and the areas of law in which the Law Firm specializes. Based on our general experience of other areas of law and jurisdictions, we may express our opinion on the legal situation in other areas of law and jurisdictions, solely for the purpose of sharing these experiences. However, this does not constitute legal advice. However, we have a broad network of legal expertise and can usually assist you in obtaining the necessary advice or contacting the required expertise in other areas of law or jurisdictions.
2.4 We are obliged to comply with the Swedish Bar Association's "Code of Conduct" (www.advokatsamfundet.se) and a number of other rules on, for example, money laundering, legal professional privilege, insider information and trading in financial instruments. Notwithstanding anything agreed between us, such mandatory rules shall prevail and we shall not be liable to the extent that our compliance with such rules entails a deviation from what we have agreed.

3. registration and conflicts of interest

3.1 Prior to accepting a new engagement, the Law Firm will conduct an assessment of potential conflicts of interest, and we may be prevented from accepting an engagement due to such conflict. If a conflict of interest arises during the course of the engagement that makes it inappropriate for the Law Firm to continue to represent you, the Law Firm has the right and obligation to terminate its engagement in accordance with applicable rules.
3.2 By law, for certain engagements we are required to verify, among other things, the ownership and identity of clients and certain companies and persons affiliated with the client, and to keep certain documentation in this regard. In order for us to undertake an assignment, we may therefore ask you to provide identity documents and other information. We may also ask for certain references. We reserve the right to withdraw from the assignment if you do not provide us with such information as we consider relevant.
3.3 By law, we are obliged to report suspicions of money laundering or terrorist financing to the Financial Intelligence Unit. Furthermore, we are prevented by law from informing you that such suspicions exist and that a report has been or may be made.

4. Costs and fees

4.1 The Law Firm's fees always comply with the rules issued by the Swedish Bar Association. Unless otherwise agreed, the fee is determined on the basis of a number of factors such as the scope of the assignment, time spent, complexity, the skill and experience required by the assignment, time pressure, any risks for the Law Firm and the result achieved. However, we normally base our assessment on pre-determined hourly rates. Normally, our hourly rates are revised annually.
4.2 At your request, we can provide you with an estimate of our fee prior to the engagement and keep you updated on the fee earned. Such an estimate is based on the information available to us at the time of the estimate and is not an offer of a fixed price.
4.3 For certain assignments, we may, at your request, agree on a fixed price, fee cap or other fee arrangement.
4.4. In addition to the fee, any disbursements and other costs incurred by the Law Firm in carrying out the assignment, such as travel, costs for other advisers or professionals, copying costs or fees to authorities, will be added. All fees are stated exclusive of value added tax and similar taxes, which will be charged in accordance with applicable law.
4.5 Advance payment may be requested, and the Law Firm is entitled to invoice for services rendered on an ongoing basis. Unless otherwise agreed, payment must be made within 15 days of the invoice date. In the event of late payment, penalty interest will be charged in accordance with the Interest Act.
4.6 Instead of invoicing work performed during the relevant period, the Law Firm may issue a preliminary invoice "a conto" for our fees. In such cases, the final invoice for the engagement will state the total amount of our fee from which the fee paid "a conto" will be deducted.
4.7 Unless otherwise agreed, we will invoice by e-mail or regular mail. Invoices will be addressed to you, as the client. The Law Firm cannot comply with a request to address the invoice to someone else.
4.8 In court and arbitration proceedings, the losing party may be ordered to pay the winning party's legal costs (including legal fees). However, the winning party may not be reimbursed for all costs by the other party. However, whether you are the winning or losing party, you must pay us in full for the services we have provided and for the costs we have incurred in connection with our engagement. If our fees and costs are to be financed by your use of legal expenses insurance, you will still have to pay the fees and costs to the extent that they exceed what is paid by the insurance.

5. Confidentiality and information management

5.1 We are subject to an extended duty of confidentiality under law and the Code of Conduct of the Swedish Bar Association. The Law Firm observes strict confidentiality regarding all non-public information that we receive from you in connection with our work, or about you or your business or other business matters. The Firm undertakes not to disclose such information to third parties without your express consent, except when disclosure of such information is required by law, the Code of Conduct of the Swedish Bar Association or by a judgment or order of a court of competent jurisdiction. We also reserve the right to disclose confidential information to our insurers in connection with any dispute between you and us.
5.2 If we engage or cooperate with another advisor or professional in the engagement, we are entitled to disclose such information as we consider relevant in order for them to provide advice or services to you.
5.3 In cases where we perform an assignment jointly for more than one client, we have the right to disclose such material and other information that one of the clients has provided to the Law Firm to other clients involved. In certain cases, we also have an obligation under the Code of Conduct to share such material and information with the other clients.
5.4 The Law Firm is required by law to provide information to the relevant tax authorities about your VAT number and the value of the services we have provided to you. By engaging the Firm, you are deemed to have consented to the Firm providing such information to the tax authorities in accordance with the relevant rules.
5.5 Under the EU rules on exchange of information on reportable cross-border arrangements ("DAC6") and national legislation implementing DAC6, advisers are required to provide information on cross-border reportable arrangements to the relevant tax authorities. Due to the statutory duty of confidentiality applicable to lawyers, we are prevented from reporting on such arrangements without an explicit mandate from you. If you do not instruct us to report the arrangement, you are responsible for ensuring that it is reported by you or your other advisers to the relevant tax authority. We are also prevented by our duty of confidentiality from informing your other advisers of their reporting obligations.

6. electronic communication

6.1 Unless you have given us other instructions, we may, within the framework of our engagement, use electronic communication such as e-mail, internet and video calls, even if this involves risks in terms of security and confidentiality. The Firm accepts no liability for any damage that may arise from such communications.
6.2 We use internal and external IT services and cloud-based solutions, such as document management systems and AI tools. We take reasonable steps to ensure that such IT services maintain a high level of information security and availability, but we accept no liability for any damage that may arise from the use of the services. If you prefer us not to use electronic work tools and cloud-based services, please inform us accordingly.
6.3 Our spam filters and other security systems may sometimes reject or filter out legitimate emails. You should therefore follow up on important emails to us.

7. limitations of liability

7.1 Er förbindelse är med Advokatbyrån endast och inte med någon annan till Advokatbyrån närstående juridisk eller fysisk person. Således ska ingen annan än Advokatbyrån hållas ansvarig för de tjänster som tillhandahålls. Utan att begränsa allmängiltigheten av det föregående ska dessa allmänna villkor och eventuella särskilda villkor gälla till förmån för varje till Advokatbyrån närstående juridisk och fysisk person (exempelvis aktieägare, verkställande direktör, styrelseledamot, anställd och konsult). Beloppsmässiga begränsningar ska då gälla för Advokatbyrån och de med Advokatbyrån närstående juridiska och fysiska personerna som om de gemensamt vore en person.
7.2 Advokatbyråns ansvar för skada som ni vållats till följd av fel eller försummelse eller avtalsbrott från vår sida är, såvida vårt agerande inte är uppsåtligt, begränsat till ett belopp per uppdrag om 50 miljoner svenska kronor eller, om vårt arvode i det aktuella uppdraget understiger en miljon svenska kronor, fem miljoner svenska kronor. Advokatbyrån ansvarar inte för följdskador, såsom utebliven vinst, förlust av goodwill eller annan indirekt skada. Prisavdrag eller andra påföljder kan inte utgå i tillägg till skadestånd. Vi kan heller inte acceptera en skyldighet att utge viten.
7.3 Om inte annat avtalats, är vi inte ansvariga gentemot er för fullständigheten eller riktigheten av den information som ni eller någon annan tillhandahållit oss i samband med vårt arbete. Vi ansvarar inte heller för förlust eller skada som uppkommit till följd av felaktiga, vilseledande eller bristfälliga uppgifter eller underlåtenhet från annan än oss själva eller vår personal.
7.4 Vi ansvarar inte gentemot er för förlust eller skada som uppkommit till följd av en omständighet som ligger utanför vår kontroll och som vi inte skäligen kunnat räkna med vid uppdragets antagande och vars följder vi inte skäligen kunde ha undvikit eller övervunnit.
7.5 Vi tillhandahåller inte skatterådgivning och vi ansvarar inte för förlust eller skada som uppkommit till följd av att ni, som en följd av våra arbetsresultat eller råd, har påförts eller riskerar att påföras skatt eller skattetillägg.
7.6 Vårt ansvar ska reduceras med belopp som ni kan erhålla ur försäkring som ni har tecknat eller som ni annars omfattas av eller enligt ett avtal eller en skadeslöshetsförbindelse som ni ingått eller är förmånstagare till, förutsatt att det inte är oförenligt med försäkringsvillkoren eller villkoren enligt avtalet eller skadeslöshetsförbindelsen och att era rättigheter enligt försäkringen, avtalet eller skadeslöshetsförbindelsen därmed inte inskränks.
7.7 Andra rådgivare och fackmän ska anses vara oberoende av oss och detta oavsett om vi anlitat dem eller om ni kontrakterat dem direkt eller om de rapporterar till oss eller till er. Vi ansvarar således inte för andra rådgivare och fackmän, varken för valet av dem eller för att vi rekommenderat dem eller för deras arbete.
7.8 Om vi och tredje man är ansvariga för uppkomsten av en skada, ska vårt ansvar för skadan begränsas till det belopp som är skäligt med hänsyn till vår del av ansvaret för att skadan uppkommit. Har ni accepterat en ansvarsfriskrivning eller ansvarsbegränsning i förhållande till den tredje mannen, ska vårt ansvar reduceras med det belopp som vi hade kunnat återfå från denne om dennes ansvar inte hade uteslutits eller begränsats (och oavsett om den tredje mannen skulle ha haft förmåga att betala beloppet till oss eller inte). Denna punkt ska inte begränsa allmängiltigheten av andra ansvarsbegränsningar i dessa allmänna villkor eller i eventuella särskilda villkor.
7.9 Vi ansvarar inte för skada som uppkommit genom att ni helt eller delvis använt våra råd eller arbetsresultat för något annat ändamål eller i något annat sammanhang än för vilket de gavs eller tagits fram. Om inte annat följer av bestämmelserna i denna punkt ansvarar vi inte för skada som drabbat tredje man genom att ni använt er av våra råd eller arbetsresultat. Om vi på er begäran medger att tredje man får förlita sig på våra råd eller arbetsresultat ska detta inte medföra att vårt ansvar ökar eller i övrigt påverkas till vår nackdel. Vi kan hållas ansvariga i förhållande till en sådan tredje man endast i samma utsträckning som vi skulle ha kunnat hållas ansvariga gentemot er. Belopp som vi kan komma att vara skyldiga att utge till en sådan tredje man ska i motsvarande mån reducera vårt ansvar i förhållande till er och vice versa. Något klientförhållande mellan oss och den tredje mannen uppkommer inte. Vad som sagts i det föregående gäller även i de fall vi på er begäran ställer ut intyg, utlåtanden eller liknande till tredje man.
7.10 Om ni inte har bett oss att undvika att kommunicera via internet eller e-post, kan vi inte, såvida annat inte följer av tvingande lag, hållas ansvariga för skada som uppkommit till följd av att vi kommunicerat via internet eller e-post. Detsamma gäller om ni inte har bett oss att undvika att använda elektroniska arbetsverktyg och molnbaserade lösningar.
7.11 Vi kan inte hållas ansvariga för skada som ni förorsakats till följd av att vi iakttagit god advokatsed eller de skyldigheter som vi uppfattat åligger oss enligt lag.

8. liability insurance

8.1 The Law Firm maintains liability insurance adapted to the business in addition to the Swedish Bar Association's mandatory liability insurance.

9. intellectual property rights

9.1 Intellectual property rights to the documents and other work results that we generate in connection with an assignment belong to us, but you are entitled to use the results for the purposes for which they were produced. Unless otherwise specifically agreed, no document or other work product may be publicly distributed or used for marketing purposes.

10. Closure of the mission

10.1 You have the right to terminate the engagement at any time by written notice to the Law Firm. Upon termination of the engagement, the right to payment for the services already performed lapses. The Law Firm has the right to terminate an engagement in accordance with applicable rules of professional conduct, for example in the event of the client's unpaid invoices or in the event of conflicts of interest. If we terminate the engagement, you must pay us for the work we have performed and the costs we have incurred before termination

11. archiving

11.1 We archive essentially all documents accumulated or generated in the engagement. The documents are archived for the period which, in our opinion, is required by the nature of the assignment, but never for a shorter period than that required by law or good legal practice. Archiving takes place in paper or electronic form with us or a third party.
11.2 As we have an obligation to archive substantially all documents accumulated or generated in the engagement, we cannot comply with a request to return or destroy a document (without retaining a copy) before the expiry of the archiving period. 11.3 We cannot store your original documents and will therefore return them to you in connection with the completion or otherwise termination of the engagement. However, we may keep a copy of the original documents in our file.

12 Complaints, claims and demands

12.1 If you are dissatisfied with our services for any reason and wish to make a complaint or claim, please contact the lawyer in charge of the assignment. Claims must be accompanied by a written statement of the alleged error, omission or breach of contract and the expected damage. To be valid, the claim must be received by us within a reasonable time but not later than six months after the date on which you became aware (or, after reasonable enquiries, could have become aware) both of the damage and that it may have been caused by our alleged fault, negligence or breach of contract. Under no circumstances can a claim be made after the expiry of the statutory limitation period.

13 Applicable law and dispute resolution

13.1 Swedish law shall apply to these general terms and conditions and to the engagement as a whole. Disputes arising out of these terms and conditions or the engagement shall be settled by a Swedish court with the district court having jurisdiction where the Law Firm has its head office as the court of first instance, unless otherwise agreed. In any event, we have the right to bring an action against you regarding overdue claims in courts having jurisdiction over you or any of your assets.
13.2 Clients who are consumers may, under certain circumstances, turn to the Swedish Bar Association's Consumer Disputes Board to have fee disputes and other financial claims against the Law Firm reviewed. The Consumer Disputes Board can be reached at the following address: Konsumenttvistnämnden Sveriges advokatsamfund Box 27321 102 54 Stockholm konsumenttvistnamnden@advokatsamfundet.se

14. processing of personal data

14.1 The Law Firm is the controller and processes personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). By engaging the Law Firm, you consent to the processing of the personal data provided in order to perform the engagement and fulfill the obligations arising from the agreement and applicable laws. Personal data is processed in accordance with our personal data policy in force from time to time, which can be found on our website at www.pogona.se.
14.2 If you are a legal entity, we ask you to inform the natural persons who represent you in the engagement as well as the natural persons who control you that the Law Firm processes their personal data and refer them to our personal data policy at www.pogona.se.

15. Amendments

15.1 These general terms and conditions apply as of January 1, 2025. The Law Firm reserves the right to update these terms and conditions on an ongoing basis and the latest version is always published on our website; www.pogona.se. Changes only apply in relation to assignments commenced after the amended version has been published on our website.