Our network of law firms develops a quality policy to the benefit of its member associations, the firms affiliated to these member associations and their clients. This is achieved more specifically via the ISO 9001 certification.

Our commitment is completed via the following measures:

• Management procedures and work methods are tailored to match the members’ and clients’ needs.
• These methods are dynamic and opened to constant improvement.
• All Eurojuris International executives and staff understand and implement the approved work methods.
• Relevant logistical means are provided to the executives and staff to achieve their work.
• Regular internal & external control procedures are implemented on a systematic basis.

To ensure the quality of the firm’s performance, EUROJURIS has imposed the “10 commandments” to its member firms. It has appointed on a permanent basis, one member of the Board to Quality. It has requested all national associations to appoint one National Quality Manager.

Rapidly, ISO has become an important issue for the EUROJURIS executives who encourage the member associations & firms to become certified. In 2004, some 43% of the member firms are either ISO certified, in course of certification or have declared themselves committed to ISO. 3 member associations have imposed the ISO certification as a criteria of affiliation and one member association has certified its secretariat.

Eurojuris International, taking care of the quality of services provided by its members, has imposed an obligation to fulfil the quality requirements contained in 'The 10 Eurojuris commandments'. Basic quality rules that each Eurojuris member must fulfil, are:

• ethics and reliability
• access promptness
• availability
• competence

THE 10 COMMANDMENTS

ETHICS AND INTEGRITY

• All member lawyers shall observe the CCBE code, even if the code has not been ratified by the national professional authorities of the lawyer’s country.
• All members shall act in accordance with the client's best interest.

ACCESS PROMPT

The Eurojuris lawyer shall:

• In the event of emergency, respond with adequate promptness and in accordance to the nature of the emergency, described by either the client or the corresponding lawyer.
• Within 24 hours of receiving an enquiry, confirm by fax or e-mail:
• receipt of the enquiry
• acceptance of the case
• capacity and qualification to provide adequate service
• method of fee calculation
• that further information will follow within 5 working days.
• Within 5 working days after the request has been received, the requested law firm shall in writing, either by fax or e-mail:
• Appoint the lawyer(s) in charge of the case.
• Describe, if possible, the expected time scale for the case
• Describe, if possible, the fees and expenses likely to occur in the cross-border process.
• Inform the client on fees and expenses linked to the case, such as court disbursement etc.
• If necessary, request further information in order to provide adequate services.
• Provide to the corresponding lawyer, information on professional insurance coverage.
• Where a firm declines to accept work that firms should help the enquirer to find a firm or a lawyer to carry out the work in question

AVAILABILITY

Work for clients introduced through a Eurojuris firms shall be handled with the same degree of priority as that applicable to the firm's most favoured clients, and firm will promptly:

• inform adequately the client or corresponding lawyer
• answer telephone calls, faxes, mail and e-mail. If the lawyer is not available upon request, the lawyer’s office shall forward the request, and also, if the lawyer is unable to respond, inform the client.

INSURANCE

• Each firm must subscribe to a professional indemnity insurance to cover all lawyers working for the services requested.
• All national organisations shall inform Eurojuris International on the minimum indemnity cover which, for the time being, shall be 375.000 ECU/Euro.
• In the event that the requested services imply a risk exceeding the current insurance coverage, the requested lawyer shall inform promptly his/her colleague.

COMPETENCE AND TRAINING

• The lawyer(s) in charge of the case shall have adequate and relevant professional training & background to carry out the task.
• The member firms shall have access to relevant and updated sources of legal information.
• All lawyers shall have a vocational training policy, in order to keep their knowledge in the areas of legal services that they perform up to date. Every firm shall prepare a program of vocational training for their member lawyers.
• The secretaries and the staff of the member firms shall be adequately trained.

LANGUAGE

• Every firm shall be capable of giving services to clients in at least one foreign language.
• Within the firm at least one of the secretaries shall be able to communicate in one foreign language, this is necessary in order to pass over messages or requests to the lawyer in charge.

QUALITY PROCEDURES AND MANAGEMENT

• Every firm and national organisation shall appoint one quality manager, having the authority to instruct colleagues and employees to adapt the requirements set in the standard.
• Every national organisation shall prepare a draft of a standard quality manual for their member firms.
• Every member firm shall prepare a quality manual corresponding to the standard. One copy shall be sent to the quality manager within the national organisation.
• All member firms shall have a procedure of dealing with complaints from clients or from member colleagues.

COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT

• The member firms shall have adequate equipment for communication, including fax with an individual telephone line and e-mail.
• The member firms shall establish routines for controlling incoming and outgoing communication.

ACCEPTANCE OF CONTROL

• The quality manuals shall be subject to the control of an auditor appointed or approved by each national member organisation of Eurojuris.
• The firm’s quality manual shall be subject to a control and audit, according to routines agreed upon by each national member organisation of Eurojuris. The objective of the audit is to control the routines and manuals, not to control the legal advice given by the lawyers.
• The member firms and member lawyers adjust their quality manuals and their quality performance in consideration of comments made by the auditor.
• If the auditor, by performing such controls, must be given access to confidential information, approval shall be given by the clients prior to access to such information. The auditor shall sign a declaration of confidentiality in request of such information.

EUROJURIS MARKETING

• All marketing shall conform to high ethical standards.
• No member firms shall be entitled to market the firm as a member of Eurojuris until the national organisation has approved the firm’s quality manuals, and each member lawyer has signed the form undertaking the quality standard.