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Questioner

At the end of last year I was wrongfully dismissed. I was dismissed during my probationary period, but this turned out to be invalid. I had a contract for less than six months and a probationary period is no longer allowed. To make a long story short: there was a lawsuit and I won it. All in all, this process lasted more than six months. The judge ruled that I should simply receive a salary. And I also received a legal costs allowance of 600 euros. This amount was transferred to my lawyer. Then I received a message from my lawyer that I had not paid the personal contribution and the court fees (I received pro bono legal aid). This was not the case and I proved this. After that I did not hear anything for more than a month. My email was not responded to. Eventually the personal contribution was refunded to my account and I was told that the remaining amount (457 euros) had gone to my lawyer. These were legal costs. I thought it was a very strange story. I never heard anything about the fact that I still had to pay legal costs in addition to the personal contribution. I never received a bill for that either. And I didn't know that the personal contribution would be refunded? According to the law firm in question, this was all normal. I don't know, it doesn't sit well with me. I also find it very coincidental that the lawyer's fees amount to 457 euros, exactly the amount to eventually come to 600 euros. Is this indeed normal?

Lawyer

If you have to pay any amount to your lawyer, you should receive an invoice for it. Your lawyer may also not offset third-party funds without your consent. If there is no proper accountability, you can complain to the Dean of the Council of Order.

Lawyer

You are entitled to reimbursement of the paid personal contribution and the paid court fees. The remainder of the compensation for legal costs is for the lawyer. After all, this amount is deducted from his compensation. The Legal Aid Board can also explain this to you. However, it is very bad that the lawyer did not explain things to you properly. Boogaard's explanation is also incorrect. A good explanation could have saved you a lot of annoyance! If all goes well, you have received the outstanding salary or increase and interest etc.). In addition, you have also received back all the costs you paid for the procedure. If you were to receive more, you would be better off due to the reimbursement of legal costs. This is not considered fair. You can file a complaint with the Bar Association. When I read your story, the lawyer ultimately did little wrong. I therefore give you little chance with the dean. I would not do that either.

Questioner

Okay, thanks for the information. It would have been nice if I had gotten a bit more text and explanation sometimes. But now I know that nothing crazy happened.

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