Re: John Doe v Jane Doe
It was a pleasure speaking to you last week re the above noted issue. Please see below our Retainer Agreement. Kindly note that my firm cannot be retained by on any matter until the we have signed the within Agreement, agreed on the payment schedule and the initial retainer amount has been transferred to the my firm’s trust account.
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1. Description of Services:
You have asked us to act for you in the matter described below. Last week we spoke to discuss the scope of our firm’s intended representation. We covered this subject in some detail and considered the nature of our fee arrangement.
*DESCRIBE THE ISSUE IN DETAIL
We anticipate that our representation will involve taking the following steps on your behalf:
(a) Review of litigation materials served by the opposing counsel;
(b) Legal and other research;
(c) Preparation of motion materials;
(d) Strategy meetings and discussions;
(e) Correspondence exchange with the opposing counsel;
(f) Attendance at all litigation steps up until and including the pre-trial, if required;
We will not be performing the following services:
(a) Any work related to enforcement of judgments or settlement agreements;
(b) Any work related to trials or/ and appeals as those will require a separate retainer.
2. Desired Outcome:
We will work with you towards your desired outcome. However, all legal actions are subject to many possible variables such as the demeanour and recollection of witnesses, the availability of substantiating documents and other evidence, and the evidence marshalled by the other side – all of which affect the decision of a judge or jury. Accordingly, we cannot guarantee that your desired result will in fact be achieved. For us to work towards your desired outcome, it will be necessary for you to abide by the terms described in this agreement.
3. Lawyers:
We expect that most of the work will be performed or supervised by myself. However, we reserve the right to assign other lawyers in our firm to perform legal services if in our judgment that becomes necessary or desirable.
4. Fees:
Our fee will be based principally on the time spent by us on your behalf. Records of all time will be kept and accounts will then be prepared and sent to you periodically.
Hourly billing rate for Anna Tamir is $340/hr +HST.
While we expect that our fee will be calculated on the basis of our regular hourly rates, we reserve the right to charge more in appropriate cases, such as pressing circumstances, the requirement for work outside normal business hours, exceptionally successful or efficient representation, or special demands on us.
You will be charged HST on fees and HST on some disbursements.
5. Expenses and Allocated Charges (also called disbursements):
You will also be responsible for reimbursing us for expenses (also called disbursements) we incur on your behalf and office charges allocated to your file. These include long distance calls, faxes, postage, deliveries, travel expenses, photocopying, government filing and search charges and the fees of agents who conduct investigations, searches and registrations and all other reasonable out of pocket expenses and office charges. We do not charge for staff overtime on evenings or weekends in order to meet time deadlines.
6. Interest:
Payment is due on all of our accounts when rendered. If any account is not paid within 30 days, interest will be charged on the outstanding balance at a rate of [rate]% per annum from the date of the account, until paid.
7. Retainer:
Before we begin work on your behalf, we require a retainer in the amount of $XXXX.XX The retainer will be placed in our trust account and will serve as a source of payment for all or part of our account or accounts when rendered. You will be asked to replenish the retainer from time to time. Any unused portion will be returned to you upon the completion or termination of our services.
8. Limitation of Liability:
Kindly note that by signing the within Engagement Letter (Retainer Agreement) you agree that liability of Tamir Litigation Law Firm and/or its members, employees and assigns will be limited to the amounts paid by you for our services in relation to this matter.
9. Sole Representation:
We will be representing solely you in this matter. Our representation of you does not include the representation of related persons or entities, such as family members; friends; the individuals or entities that are shareholders, directors or officers of a corporation, its parent, subsidiaries or affiliates; partners of a partnership or joint venture; or members of a trade association or other organization. In acting for you, we are not acting for or taking on any responsibilities, obligations or duties to any such related persons or entities and no lawyer-client or other fiduciary relationship exists between us and any such related persons or entities.
10. Termination of Legal Services:
By You
You have the right to terminate our services to you upon written notice to us. If you do, you agree to pay our fees and expenses for our legal services up until the time we stop work. We will ask you to sign a court form which tells the court we are no longer your lawyers.
By Us
Subject to our obligations to you to maintain proper standards of professional conduct, we reserve the right to terminate our services to you for good reasons which include, but are not limited to:
(a) if you fail to cooperate with us in any reasonable request;
(b) if our continuing to act would be unethical or impractical;
(c) if our retainer has not been paid; or
(d) if you fail to pay our accounts when rendered.
If you terminate our services or we withdraw, you would only have to pay our fees and expenses up until the time we stopped acting for you.
11. Agreement:
You confirm communication via the following is confidential and consent to me/our firm contacting you at:
If you want us to proceed on the basis described above, please sign both copies of this agreement in the space provided and return one copy to us, together with a retainer in the sum of $XXX.XX in the enclosed self-addressed envelope. If there is anything you do not agree with, or if there is anything you would like to discuss before signing, please inform us promptly.
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Lawyer’s signature
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Client
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Date
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Date