When people set foot in a lawyer's office, they are often given a multi-page contract and told to sign the agreement before they have had a chance to review the terms. While we still use a written agreement, we publicly post our requirements for you and your expectations of working with us. I do this to prevent any surprise you might have when you receive the agreement.
Terms of Representation
These terms are incorporated by reference into our standard retainer agreement. These terms alone do not form an attorney-client relationship or form the basis of a contract unless you have also received an agreement from our office for your signature. We may amend some of these terms from time to time with little or no notice. If we do make a significant change to these terms, we will notify you and give you an opportunity to review them before we implement the changes.
1. What You Can Expect of Us
1.1 Representation
As your lawyers, we will represent you to the best of our ability to meet your goals in the manner you've instructed. While we will provide advice to you and make recommendations, we will act as your agent and perform legal services in the manner you desire. Therefore, you authorize us to act on your behalf as your attorney-in-fact. Further, we do not make any guarantees of success in representing you. Each case is different, and, when human beings are involved, situations can become unpredictable.
1.2 Confidentiality
Once we are retained, everything communicated between us is covered by the Rules of Professional Responsibility, which include provisions for confidentiality and attorney-client privilege. Until I am retained, our conversations have no expectation of confidentiality and may be disclosed to others.
1.3 Communications
The single biggest complaint clients have with their attorneys is lack of communication. In order to prevent this problem, we try to over-communicate with our clients. However, as we are a small firm, responding to communications can be difficult when we’re in meetings, in court, or on vacation. Therefore, please pay attention to the following policies:
1.3.1 Phone
If you have a matter that is urgent and needs to be addressed within 24 hours, call our office. If an attorney is unavailable, they will make every possible effort to return your call within 24 hours. Generally, we are able to return calls within an hour or at least by the end of the day.
1.3.2 Email
Email should only be used for non-urgent matters. We usually only check email twice per day in order to focus on items we need to do that day. Therefore, it may be days before you receive a response to email.
1.3.3 Making an Appointment
If you call my office, I may be distracted or otherwise unavailable. If you need to speak with me, I highly recommend making an appointment to meet with me. You can do this by calling our office or using our online scheduler.
1.3.4 Five-Minute Rule
We institute what I call "The Five-Minute Rule." If you have a question that can easily be answered in 5 minutes or less without the need to open the file or review any substantive documents or law, we will not bill you for that time. Feel free to email me or call me.
1.3.5 Office Hours, Vacation, and Holidays
Our office hours are 9:00-5:00 Monday through Friday. We are on Central time. Holidays are all state and national holidays.
1.3.6 Emergencies
Often times, you might think something is of dire importance, but this does not make it an emergency. This is usually because there is usually nothing we can do to solve your emergency because the wheels of justice do not move quickly.
The following situations are legitimate emergencies:
You or an immediate family member have been arrested within the last 72 hours
You have a legal document that is due in less than 72 hours, such as a pleading, discovery, or some other submission
Nothing else is defined as an emergency. If you have an emergency situation, you are to call our office or leave a voicemail. If you are requesting that we handle a non-emergent situation in an emergency fashion, we will charge extra.
1.3.7 After Hours and Rush Jobs
We do not attend to urgent non-emergencies after hours. If, however, you must have an urgent issue addressed after hours, I reserve the right to bill in full hour increments at up to three (3) times my usual rate. In the event you are requesting that an issue be rushed and prioritized when we are not the reason for delay, we reserve the right to charge up to 1.5 times our standard hourly rates in half-hour increments.
1.4 Technology
I use a cloud platform called Clio to manage my cases. Using Clio, I can share documents, communications, tasks, and invoices with you securely. This is a service provided at no additional charge to you. This portal is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
1.5 Rates
I use hourly rates and some alternative fee arrangements in representation of my clients. By default, I charge by the hour unless we have something in writing and signed stating otherwise. At times, I may associate with another attorney or non-attorney on a matter, whom I will invoice out at a marked up rate. Hourly rates for attorneys range from $150 to $350 per hour. Hourly rates for paralegals range from $75 to $150 per hour. Hourly rates for legal secretaries and law clerks range from $50 to $75 per hour.
1.6 Expenses
Expenses incurred in connection with our representation of Client shall remain the sole responsibility of Client to pay and reimburse to Firm. Said expenses include, but are not limited to, long distance telephone charges, service charges, court costs, costs of copies of documents, parking tolls, air fare, deposition expenses, photocopying documents in Firm's office, and out-of-town automobile expenses at the rate set by the Internal Revenue Service. Expenses will be paid from Client’s retainer unless otherwise noted.
1.7 Identifying You as a Client
We may choose to identify you as a client of ours in our marketing. We assure you that, if we decide to do that, it will be done in a tasteful manner. We will not breach any confidentiality or disclose the nature of my representation of you. Alternately, we may choose to share non-sensitive details of my representation in blogs, social media, or other forums. We promise that we will not reveal any details which will allow a third party to identify you as the subject of these posts.
1.8 Ending Our Representation
If we choose to terminate our representation, we will provide you written notice as to why we are terminating our representation. After a reasonable time not exceeding (30) days, you have failed to correct the problem we identified in our notice to you, we will withdraw from representing you. On termination of our representation, we will keep all physical, electronic, and other items for a minimum of six (6) months. After this period, we may choose to destroy any non-electronic documentation or evidence in a secure manner.
1.9 Retaining Documents
We destroy all documents and any other physical belongings relating to your matter six months after we close the file. If you want to keep these items, you must arrange to pick them up from my office or have them shipped to you, at additional expense if necessary. If you do not let us know that you want these items, they will be destroyed in a secure manner. We will leave your electronic file open indefinitely. We will notify you if we intend to delete the file and give you time to transfer the files.
2. Our Expectations for You
As your attorneys, we will need your help to effectively represent you. The following is a listing of specific thing we will need from you.
2.1 Honesty
As our communications are attorney-client privileged, we will need for you to be honest with us. It may not be comfortable, but it is important that we have a complete and accurate picture of your situation to properly advise you. Therefore, err on the side of revealing too much instead of too little.
2.2 Cooperation
During our representation, we will need you to perform certain tasks, retrieve certain documents, and attend certain appointments. Especially in litigation, your cooperation is necessary in order to prevent sanctions being levied against us. Please make every effort to comply with these requests.
If it has been more than 60 days since we have spoken with you, more than 90 days since we have requested information or documentation from you, or if we have communicated a deadline to you for a response, information, or documentation, and we have not timely received it, we reserve the right to complete and terminate our representation, close the file, and consider our fee earned and paid.
2.3 Updates to Your Information
If you move, change your name, get married, change your phone number, or do anything else that will change how we communicate with you or your legal status, please let us know as soon as possible after making that change.
2.4 Technology
Because we keep an electronic file, it is actually very helpful for you to sent to us electronic versions of documents, files, etc. However, if you use a free email provider, such as Gmail, sending these documents is not secure, and you may sacrifice confidentiality sending them using these methods. Instead, we recommend sharing documents like this through Clio. Clio permits you to scan and upload documents directly to us in a secure manner.
2.5 Billing
We usually issue invoices monthly at the beginning of each month. We will apply any funds you have in your retainer to outstanding invoices first. All invoices are due 30 days after they are issued. If you pay via check within 10 days of the issuance of the invoice, we offer a one percent (1.0%) discount on the total invoice. There is a fifteen (15) day grace period after the due date. If a balance remains on the invoice after the grace period, it will be assessed a two and a half percent (2.5%) finance charge on the outstanding balance every 30 days.
2.5.1 Satisfaction Guarantee
If you feel that an invoice is not indicative of the work I have performed, I grant you a line-item veto on any work I perform at an hourly rate. Simply (1) print out the invoice, (2) mark out the line item, (3) put how much you are willing to pay, (4) tell us why you're paying that amount, and (5) send it back to our office within 30 days of the issuance date. This applies to decreasing the amount of the bill if you think we worked too long on the task, or increasing the amount if you feel that the amount billed was not indicative of the work performed or the results received. You should also understand that this is a guarantee of your satisfaction with the way we've represented you, not with the outcome of the case.
2.5.2 Expenses
Expenses will be advanced by us on your behalf. we will include these on any invoices. Expenses will always be your responsibility to compensate us for.
2.5.3 Failure to Pay
If you continue to carry a balance without setting up a payment plan, we will withdraw from your case. This can result in significant injury to your legal rights, and may result in entry of default against you or the termination of legal remedies. You must understand how important it is to make sure your invoices are paid in a timely manner. You grant me a lien on and security interest in any claim, cause of action, or proceeds from your case, as security for the payment of all amounts I am due. You agree to pay for all costs of collections, including reasonable attorney's fees, costs, and interest.
2.5.4 Contingency Fee Matters
In situations where we are paid a contingency fee, we are compensated on the award obtained and the amount collected. In many cases, we may not collect the entirety of an award at one time, but are paid over time. In those situations, we are entitled to our full compensation pursuant to the award first before distributions to you, but we may, at our own option, assess our fee as a percentage of the actual amount recovered. For instance, if we are on a 40% contingency rate, and we receive an award of $10,000, but we only collect $5,000, we are entitled to collect our fee of $4,000 first before distributing out the remaining $1,000, at that point, you will receive all of the proceeds after our fee has been earned.
If we are awarded attorney’s fees as part of the judgment, we are entitled to a fee of the larger of the attorney’s fee award or the contingency fee rate.
In the event that our representation is terminated for any reason during a contingency representation after the entry of an award, we are entitled to acceleration of the entirety of our fee at the time of termination.
2.5.5 Fee Disputes
Should you choose to dispute any fees or expenses contained in any invoice, you should bring that dispute to us, in writing, within 30 days. See 2.5.1. Failure to provide a written dispute to an invoice within 30 days will be interpreted as acknowledgement that the fees and expenses charged were reasonable and necessary to further our representation.
If a dispute is brought within the 30-day period and remains unresolved after 90 days from the issuance of the invoice, then we agree to submit the fee dispute to binding arbitration in front of the Birmingham Bar Association’s Fee Arbitration Committee.
2.6 Credit Cards
We retain the right to require an electronic payment method on file to continue our representation. By paying any invoice with an electronic payment, you agree to allow us to retain that billing information for application against future invoices. You will maintain valid and updated payment card information with us. If you provide payment card information to us, you authorize us to charge such payment card for all one-time and recurring fees and expenses unless and until we receive written notice from you withdrawing consent to charge the payment methods on file.
2.7 Terminating My Representation
By law, you can fire me at any time and for any reason. I would appreciate you letting me know why you are terminated my representation so that I can correct the problem. If I am employed on a non-hourly basis, and I am terminated before the representation is concluded, I will permitted to be compensated at an hourly rate for time I worked on the case and expenses I incurred before discharge or the percentage of the representation that has been completed, whichever is higher. Because we do not actively track time on these cases, you agree that we will be allowed to estimate the time spent and charge a 30% premium to compensate us for lost time, lost opportunity, and the difficulty in re-calculating and re-assessing the time we spent.