Notice given pursuant to Article 13, paragraphs 5 and 6, of Law no. 247 of 31 December 2012 (the new rules governing the legal profession) and of Ministerial Decree no. 55 of 10 March 2014 (regulation determining the parameters for the assessment of fees for the legal profession), as amended by Ministerial Decree no. 37 of 8 March 2018 and Ministerial Decree no. 147 of 13 August 2022.
Last updated: 4 June 2026
1. The client's right to a written estimate
Under Article 13, paragraph 5, of Law 247/2012, the professional is required, upon accepting the engagement and in any event at the client's request, to communicate in writing the foreseeable cost of the service, distinguishing between:
- professional charges (the lawyer's fees);
- out-of-pocket expenses advanced (court fees, revenue stamps, service of documents, etc.);
- social-security contributions (Cassa Forense — 4% of the fee, chargeable to the client under Article 11 of Law 576/1980);
- tax charges (VAT at 22% — where applicable — and withholding tax under Article 25 of Presidential Decree 600/1973 for clients acting as withholding agents).
The estimate is issued:
- free of charge;
- in written form (on paper or digitally);
- before the engagement is conferred;
- at the client's request, although as a rule it is provided even without an express request, in application of the principles of transparency and professional fairness (Article 9 of the Code of Conduct for Italian Lawyers).
The estimate does not in itself constitute a binding contractual offer: the professional relationship is concluded only when the client signs the written engagement proposal the firm submits following the first meeting.
2. Criteria for determining fees
Under Article 13, paragraph 2, of Law 247/2012, the professional's fee is as a rule agreed in writing when the professional engagement is conferred and is freely determined between the parties, in compliance with the principle of the dignity of the profession (Article 25 of the Code of Conduct).
In the absence of a written agreement, or in the case of judicial assessment (Articles 14 and 28 of Law 794/1942), Ministerial Decree no. 55 of 10 March 2014 (as amended) applies, identifying the assessment parameters according to:
a) the nature of the activity (civil, criminal, administrative or tax litigation; out-of-court work; advice);
b) the value of the dispute (for cases of determinate value) or its actual complexity (for cases of indeterminate value or for out-of-court work);
c) the procedural stages in which the activity was performed (study, introductory, evidentiary and/or hearing, decision, enforcement);
d) the court seised (Justice of the Peace, Tribunal, Court of Appeal, Court of Cassation, Regional Administrative Court, Council of State, Tax Courts pursuant to Law no. 130 of 31 August 2022, etc.);
e) the importance, urgency and quality of the work performed, also considering the novelty of the questions dealt with, the number and complexity of the documents drafted, and the outcome obtained.
The table values set out in Ministerial Decree 55/2014 may be increased by up to 80% or reduced by up to 50% according to the criteria in Article 4 of the decree. For cases of particular complexity, the increase may reach 100% (for an evidentiary stage of particular difficulty) or twice the table maximums (Article 6, paragraph 1, of Ministerial Decree 55/2014).
The firm may propose, as an alternative to parameter-based assessment, methods of determining the fee such as:
- a fixed lump sum (agreed in a predetermined amount for the entire service or for individual stages);
- an hourly rate (for ongoing advisory work or work of particular complexity);
- a percentage amount of the value of the matter (within the limits of Article 25 of the Code of Conduct, with the express prohibition of the pure patto di quota lite (contingency-fee agreement) pursuant to Article 13, paragraph 4, of Law 247/2012, which prohibits any agreement under which the fee consists wholly or partly of a share of the asset that is the subject of the service or of the claim in dispute).
3. Out-of-pocket expenses and disbursements
Out-of-pocket expenses are those advanced by the professional on the client's behalf and necessary for the performance of the engagement. They are separate from the fee and are invoiced separately, with an indication of the reason.
The main categories of out-of-pocket expenses are:
| Item | Example | Legal reference |
|---|---|---|
| Unified court fee (Contributo Unificato) | the charge due for entering the civil case, enforcement proceedings, opposition or appeal on the court register | Presidential Decree no. 115 of 30 May 2002 |
| Registry fees and revenue stamps | copies of documents, certificates, authentications, €27 stamp for the case-registration note | Presidential Decree 642/1972 |
| Costs of service and registration of documents | service through the court bailiffs (UNEP), service by certified email (PEC, exempt) or by post (registered letter with return receipt) | Law no. 53 of 21 January 1994 |
| Fees of court-appointed technical consultants (CTU) | advances and balance for the consultants appointed by the judge | Article 8 of Presidential Decree 115/2002 |
| Fees of experts, licensed private investigators and party-appointed consultants (CTP) | medico-legal examinations, handwriting analyses, accounting reports, defensive investigations under Articles 391-bis et seq. of the Code of Criminal Procedure | the consultant's professional tariff |
| Travel expenses | travel to court offices outside the Forlì-Cesena district, according to the ACI tables and the parameters of Article 27 of Ministerial Decree 55/2014 | Article 27 of Ministerial Decree 55/2014 |
| Local-agent (domiciliation) expenses | the amount payable to the colleague acting as local agent at the forum where the case is pending | agreement with the local agent |
Out-of-pocket expenses are advanced by the client when the engagement is conferred or subsequently, as agreed; failing this, the firm reserves the right not to proceed with any activity requiring the advance of expenses.
4. Legal aid
Citizens in financially disadvantaged circumstances — with taxable income, for IRPEF purposes, not exceeding €12,838.01 per year (threshold updated by Ministerial Decree of 10 May 2023, applicable from 1 March 2023 — the amount is subject to periodic updates) — may access patrocinio a spese dello Stato (State-funded legal aid) pursuant to Presidential Decree no. 115 of 30 May 2002 (Articles 74-141), for civil, criminal, administrative, accounting and tax proceedings and for non-contentious matters.
The firm provides assistance in verifying the income requirements and in preparing and filing the application for admission to legal aid with the competent Bar Council (for civil, administrative, accounting and tax matters) or with the judge in charge (for criminal matters).
For the practical aspects, see the dedicated page of the site.
5. Mandatory mediation and ADR
For certain matters, the attempt at mediation under Legislative Decree no. 28 of 4 March 2010 (as amended, most recently by Legislative Decree no. 149 of 10 October 2022 — Cartabia reform) is a condition of admissibility of the judicial claim. In particular, Article 5, paragraph 1, of Legislative Decree 28/2010 makes mediation mandatory for disputes concerning:
- condominium;
- rights in rem;
- division of property;
- succession;
- family agreements;
- leases;
- loans for use;
- leases of businesses;
- compensation for damage arising from medical and healthcare liability and from defamation through the press or other means of publicity;
- insurance, banking and financial contracts;
- joint ventures (associazione in partecipazione);
- consortia;
- franchising;
- works contracts;
- network contracts;
- supply contracts;
- partnerships;
- subcontracting.
In such cases, Article 4, paragraph 3, of Legislative Decree 28/2010 requires the lawyer to inform the client in writing, when the engagement is conferred, of the possibility of using mediation and of the cases in which completing the mediation procedure is a condition of admissibility. The firm fulfils this duty of information within the written engagement proposal.
Similarly, assisted negotiation under Decree-Law no. 132 of 12 September 2014 (converted into Law 162/2014) is a condition of admissibility for disputes concerning compensation for damage from road traffic and for claims for payment — on any ground — of sums not exceeding €50,000.
6. Payment methods and traceability
Fees and disbursements are settled exclusively through traceable instruments:
- bank transfer to the account held in the name of Avv. Gabriele Piermartini:
IBAN: IT26 C030 6913 2981 0000 0014 364
Bank: Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A.
BIC: BCITITMM
- non-transferable bank or cashier's cheque;
- payment card (POS — by appointment).
In compliance with Article 49 of Legislative Decree no. 231 of 21 November 2007 (as amended), cash payments are not accepted for amounts equal to or exceeding €5,000, whether in a single payment or in artificially split instalments. Even for smaller amounts, the firm favours traceable payment instruments in order to ensure maximum transparency and to fulfil the customer due diligence obligations of Legislative Decree 231/2007 (see the Anti-money-laundering page).
All payments are evidenced by a regular electronic invoice issued through the Interchange System (SdI) with recipient code M5UXCR1, or — where the client has no code/certified email (PEC) — delivered to the client's reserved area on the Revenue Agency portal.
7. Communications with clients
The firm undertakes to keep the client constantly informed of the progress of the engagement, pursuant to Article 27 of the Code of Conduct for Italian Lawyers, and to respond promptly to requests for information by:
- meeting at the firm (Corso della Repubblica 19, Forlì);
- telephone call to +39 338 285 0989 (mobile);
- communication by certified email (PEC):
gabriele.piermartini@ordineavvocatiforlicesena.eu; - communication by e-mail:
gabriele.piermartini@gmail.com; - video call on an agreed platform.
Forlì, 4 June 2026
Avv. Gabriele Piermartini
Other useful information
- Anti-money-laundering — the firm's obligations under Legislative Decree 231/2007.
- Legal aid — requirements, subject matters and access procedures under Presidential Decree 115/2002.