PEDERSEN - OC Bar



PEDERSEN

LAW & DISPUTE RESOLUTION

CORPORATION

A professional law corporation

Business Litigation – Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith – Wrongful Termination – General Counsel Services

September 9, 2010

[CLIENT INFO]

Re: Attorney Engagement letter

Transactional Services: [TITLE OF WORK TO BE DONE]

Dear [CLIENT]:

Both good business practice and the California Business and Professions Code require that we agree in writing that our expectations are the same related to your company’s retention of our services. In this letter we will describe those expectations as we understand them, as well as set forth some other basic terms that we customarily require. If the expectations and terms are completely acceptable to you, we ask that you sign below, forming a written agreement between us. If you have any question or concern about any term of this letter agreement, please call us to discuss it.

Scope of engagement. You, [CLIENT NAME] (hereinafter “Client” “you” “your”), are hiring the Pedersen Law & Dispute Resolution Corporation, a professional law corporation (“the firm”), to act as your attorney in [STATE SCOPE OF MATTER] (“the matter”). If any mediation, arbitration, litigation or other services not referenced above are required in the course of our representation of your interests, a separate engagement letter will need to be executed.

No guarantee of outcome. Please understand that the firm will from time to time discuss possible outcomes of various decisions you may be called to make in the course of our representation, and we may be called to attempt to achieve certain results for you. The firm will make all reasonable efforts to achieve your desired results. However, I am sure you understand that the firm cannot make any promise or guarantee that it can achieve any particular result. Our comments about possible outcomes are expressions of opinion only. In addition, the firm will not provide representation or render advice concerning taxes, tax planning, or tax consequences of any kind relating to the matter. Such representation or advice is beyond the scope of this agreement and beyond the scope of our expertise.

Our obligations to one another. The firm agrees to be truthful with you, to cooperate, to keep you informed of significant developments, to make all necessary appearances, and, to the best of its abilities, ethically and zealously represent your interests. In turn the firm asks that you agree to be completely truthful with us, to cooperate, to keep us informed of any developments, to abide by this agreement, to make all necessary appearances, and to pay all fees and costs as provided later in this letter agreement.

We will require your utmost in cooperation. There will be certain obligations required of you. These obligations may carry deadlines. The firm will, from time to time, need your timely assistance in meeting those deadlines. The firm will make all reasonable efforts to keep you informed of any important deadlines that may be approaching. The attorney-client relationship is very much a team effort. If you have any questions or concerns during this engagement, please call and we promise to respond to your calls in a timely manner.

Our compensation. You have agreed to pay the hourly rate for the firm’s attorneys and legal staff, according to the following schedule:

Neil Pedersen $425 per hour

Dan Heck $250 per hour

Teresa McQueen $200 per hour

Janelle Pedersen $175 per hour

Paralegal $95 per hour

Law Clerk I $65 per hour

Law Clerk II $85 per hour

Other attorneys may be assigned to work on your matter as the lawsuit progresses. Their hourly rates will be established by the firm based on their years of experience, efficiency of work and overall effectiveness. The rates stated herein are those effective January 2010, and may be revised by the firm annually based on generally understood prevailing rates in the Los Angeles/Orange County legal community.

[RESPONSIBLE ATTORNEY NAME] will be assigned as the lead attorney at the firm for your matter, however this does not mean that [RESPONSIBLE ATTORNEY NAME] will be assigned to perform the day-to-day work associated with your business. The firm will assign work to attorneys and staff other than [RESPONSIBLE ATTORNEY NAME] when in the firm’s opinion your interests will be served by such an assignment.

You agree to pay for all work reasonably performed by the firm. The firm will keep accurate time records and provide you with periodic invoices which will itemize the activity of the firm on your matters. The firm bills in one-tenth of an hour increments. It bills for all time reasonably spent on your matter, which includes, but is not limited to, phone calls, meetings, research, writing, strategizing, waiting time in court and at meetings, as well as travel time, both local and out of town.

We will provide you with periodic invoices for time spent on your matter, and we will look for payment from you within 15 days of your receipt of our invoice.

Out-of-Pocket Costs. Apart from the agreement to pay an hourly fee, you have agreed to pay for out-of-pocket costs that the firm may reasonably incur as part of your representation. These costs could include, but are not limited to, filing fees, service-of-process fees, deposition costs, document copying, printing and scanning, transcript fees, jury fees, parking expenses, travel expenses, long distance charges, fees for expert witnesses and consultants, and other witness fees. The rate charged per page for photocopies, printing and scanning is $.20. We will not charge you for printing draft documents. Fax transmissions will not be billed. The firm will try to keep you informed about substantial costs before they are incurred so that you can plan the expense. We would be happy to provide you with an estimated budget of anticipated expenses at any time upon your request.

You agree to reimburse our costs as the matter proceeds. We will provide you with periodic invoices for costs incurred, and we will look for payment from you within 15 days of your receipt of our cost invoice. We will maintain proper backup support documentation for any invoiced cost, which you may request at any time.

Deposit Agreement. You agree to provide the firm with an initial deposit in the amount of $[DEPOSIT AMOUNT], which shall be placed in the firm’s Trust Account. We are authorized to remove from the Trust Account and place into our General Account, that sum of money which is reflected as the “Total Amount of This Bill” on each invoice presented to you, on the date such invoice is mailed to you. The Trust Account money will be used to pay that outstanding balance. You agree to keep the Trust Account balance at that level until conclusion of the Action. To that end, when you receive a firm invoice reflecting the transfer of Trust Account money to pay an outstanding balance, you agree to send a check within 15 days of that invoice to bring the Trust Account balance back up to the requested level. At the conclusion of the Matter, when the final invoice is prepared and paid, you will be sent any money remaining in the Trust Account credited in your favor at that time.

Right to withdraw. If you breach this agreement, or if the firm determines based upon some fact or circumstance that continuing to represent you would render the firm’s further participation unlawful or unethical, the firm has the right and duty to withdraw from this engagement.

Right to discharge. You have the absolute right to discharge the firm as your attorney at any time, and for any reason. Discharging the firm does not, however, relieve you of your obligation to pay the firm for work performed on your matter. If for any reason a court, or arbitrator or other entity wishes to determine the reasonable and fair value of the firm’s services, you agree that the reasonable value of the firm’s services is equal to the hourly rates set forth above. In the event of discharge for any reason other than willful misconduct or incapacitation, the firm has the right to impose a lien for unreimbursed costs and unpaid fees (computed at the above rates) on any recovery you might receive in any matter handled by the firm. In addition to the above-stated lien, you authorize the firm to receive any settlements or paid judgments, to deduct fees and cost advances from any settlement or paid judgment, and to pay the balance to you.

Professional Liability Insurance. The firm does not presently have professional liability insurance in place. The firm does not make any representation about whether it will be procured, maintained if once procured, or that the limits or coverages contained therein would be adequate to cover any foreseeable contingency.

Attorney Fees for Collection Efforts. While we certainly anticipate that you will pay all invoices in a timely manner, if for any reason it becomes necessary for the firm to commence litigation or arbitration to collect money due to it, the prevailing party in that litigation or arbitration shall be entitled to its reasonable attorney fees actually incurred in that litigation or arbitration.

Interest on Outstanding Balances. If for any reason your balance due and owing to this firm remains outstanding for more than 60 days after demand for payment has been made, the firm shall be entitled to charge interest on that balance at the rate of one and one-half percent per month, compounded monthly, from the date the balance first became due through and including the date of payment.

Dispute Resolution. It is our sincere desire that there never be a dispute between us related to this engagement. Clear communication of our up front expectations, and truthful and accurate communications during the engagement, should preclude such problems. However, it is prudent for us to determine now how we wish to resolve any such dispute before it happens.

First and foremost, we both agree that if there is a frustration of our expectations under this agreement, we will make every reasonable attempt to talk through the problem with the other.

Fee Arbitration. If a frustration in expectation relates to the payment of attorney fees, we agree to use of the Mandatory Fee Arbitration procedures set forth in the California Business and Professions Code to resolve that dispute. That program is administered by the Orange County Bar Association. You may contact me or go directly to that organization to get all the relevant information you might need to commence a fee arbitration. This program relates only to the payment of fees. It is helpful if there is a dispute between us related to whether the Firm has earned some or all of its invoiced fees. It does not deal with a claim of legal malpractice.

Binding Arbitration. If a dispute arises wherein you believe the Firm has acted negligently and has caused you damages, we agree to submit that dispute to final binding arbitration. To be more specific, we agree that any claim arising out of the rendition or lack of rendition of services under this agreement, including claims of legal malpractice, will be determined by submission to final and binding arbitration, and not by a lawsuit or resort to court process (except as provided by law for judicial review or enforcement of arbitration proceedings). This includes any claim that any legal services rendered under this contract were unnecessary or unauthorized or were improperly, negligently or incompetently rendered. “Binding arbitration” means that we will not go to court, but instead will have our matter heard in a more streamlined, private process which is final, not subject to appeal (except under some very narrow exceptions related to the process itself), and usually quicker and less costly to both of us.

You and the Firm agree that by entering into this agreement, we are giving up our constitutional right to have any such dispute decided in a court of law before a jury, and instead we are accepting the use of binding arbitration. You may wish to seek outside advice or counsel concerning this procedure. You are free to reject binding arbitration at this time, or this arbitration agreement may be rescinded within 30 days from the date of your signature below by delivery of written notice to us. We agree the arbitrator will have the right to determine our rights according to the substantive laws of the state of California. The proceedings will be administered by JAMS (Orange County) in accordance with their then existing rules of practice and procedure.

This next sentence is required by law to be enlarged to make sure we understand that we are giving up important rights. BY SIGNING THIS CONTRACT WE ARE AGREEING TO HAVE ANY ISSUE OF LEGAL MALPRACTICE DECIDED BY NEUTRAL ARBITRATION AND WE ARE GIVING UP OUR RIGHT TO A JURY OR COURT TRIAL.

Conclusion. We apologize for the length of this letter agreement. We firmly believe that a thorough explanation of our rights, obligations and expectations are important to a good working relationship. By signing below, the Firm agrees to be bound by all of the terms contained herein, but only after you have signed in all designated places below indicating your agreement as well.

Please review this agreement carefully. Have it reviewed by other counsel if you wish. Then, when you have no questions or concerns about the meaning of the terms herein, and you agree to them, please sign and date where indicated below. This will form a binding agreement between us. Please forward the original agreement to us, along with the deposit stated above. We will keep the original agreement in your file. We should not be considered engaged as your counsel unless and until we receive both the executed engagement letter and the deposit check.

We look forward to working with you. Thank you for your decision to trust the Firm with your document review matter.

Pedersen Law & Dispute Resolution Corp.

A Professional Law Corporation

Date: __________________ By: ______________________________

Neil Pedersen, President

Date: __________________ By: ______________________________

CLIENT NAME

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