How to mandate a lawyer?

A lawyer is authorized to represent his client before the courts without the client having to take any steps.

No need therefore to ask the question of knowing how to mandate a lawyer if the latter intervenes for you before a court; this mandate is provided for and organized by law (with some exceptions such as discontinuance of proceedings).

WHEN IS A MANDATE REQUIRED FOR THE LAWYER

However, the role of a lawyer is not limited to taking legal action to represent the interests of his clients because often the lawyer intervenes to advise the client outside any jurisdiction, to represent his client in the context of negotiations, before commissions or administrative bodies; a multitude of situations can arise in practice.

Although the Belgian Judicial Code therefore grants a mandate to lawyers with regard to representation before judicial courts, there are a good number of cases in which a lawyer may be required to represent a client outside of this ‘legal’ mandate.

In these other situations, it will sometimes be necessary to ensure that the lawyer is mandated.

HOW TO MANDATE A LAWYER?

There are no specific rules for mandates given to lawyers. The general principles of the Civil Code applicable to any mandate govern the matter.

It is therefore quite simple to give a mandate to a lawyer since the mandate simply involves an act through which the client gives his lawyer the power to do something for him and on his behalf. As long as the names of the parties are included, this intention is expressed and the powers of the agent are included, the act will in principle be valid.

For more details on how to write a mandate, visit our page pertaining to the “proxy template” .

Even if some case law decisions are relatively flexible with regard to this requirement, providing for a clear mandate between lawyer and client is therefore necessary in certain circumstances. It is not complicated but it is worth spending a few moments in order to clearly define the purpose of the mandate and its limits (see our proxy template).

In practice, mandating a lawyer will also mean putting him in a position to be able to handle the file entrusted to him. Transmitting the necessary information in good time, for example, is one of the bases for effective collaboration and compliant execution of the mandate.