DOMESTIC RELATIONS FEE AGREEMENT
I, _______________, (hereinafter referred to as "the Client"), hereby agree to retain The Divorce and Family Law Offices of Daniel J. Szostkiewicz, 1365 Main Street, Fourth Floor, Springfield, Massachusetts (hereinafter referred to as "the Attorney") in connection with the following legal matter:
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The Client acknowledges that the Attorney has offered him/her the option of paying an hourly fee or a flat fee, and that the Client feels it is in his/her best interests to retain Attorney under the flat fee option. Therefore, the Attorney shall receive ($_,000.00) as a non-refundable retainer upon the execution of this Agreement as full payment for all legal services provided in connection with the above referenced matter. The Client acknowledges that this non-refundable retainer represents a cap on the Attorney compensation, but does not guarantee the matter will be handled exclusively by the Attorney throughout. The attorney will bill all work done on this file at the rate of ($_00.00) per hour and once it reaches the retainer amount no further billing shall take place, as Attorney will not be seeking additional payment from Client thereafter. If Client wishes to discharge Attorney prior to completion of this case, Client shall be entitled to a refund of any funds not yet earned under the hourly billing set forth above, if any. Attorney reserves the right to pay any such refund back over time in installment payments,
In the event that this matter is not resolved by the conclusion of that Pre-Trial Conference, the Client shall pay to the Attorney an additional non-refundable retainer of ($ _,000.00) as payment for legal services thereafter through final judgment, but not appeal. The Client acknowledges that this additional non-refundable retainer represents a cap on the Attorney compensation, but does not guarantee the matter will be handled by the Attorney through final judgment. In the event that the above referenced matter is settled prior, the client withdraws from the above referenced matter, or discharges the Attorney, the client will not be entitled to any refund of the retainer.
The Client acknowledges that Attorney specializes in practicing in this area of law and that by taking this case the Attorney must forego taking on other such cases if volume does not permit. Thus, client acknowledges that the total non-refundable fee is reasonable. The Attorney agrees to provide legal services in connection with the above referenced domestic matter and to keep the client fully informed of all significant developments.
The Client acknowledges that the only circumstances under which he/she may be entitled to any refund of non-refundable retainers is: if the Attorney voluntarily withdraws from the matter upon discovering a conflict of interest, is discharged by the client prior, or is ordered by the court to withdraw. The Attorney's regularly hourly billing rate is $_00.00 per hour. In the event of a fee dispute or if the Client wishes to discharge the Attorney at any time (a right the Client always has), the client's file will be audited and all work done on Client's behalf by the Attorney will be billed at $_00.00 per hour. There will be an automatic billing of $_00.00 taken from the retainer to cover all phone calls between Client and Attorney (as the Attorney does not keep track of these phone calls).
The client acknowledges that, under the supervision of the Attorney, professional staff who are not attorneys will work on the preparation of the case. The Attorney's staff regularly hourly billing rate is $ __per hour. In the event of a fee dispute or if the Client wishes to discharge the Attorney at any time (a right the Client always has), the client's file will be audited and all work done on Client's behalf by the Attorney's staff will be billed at $__ per hour.
A minimum of $_,000.00 will be retained by the Attorney as he will not become involved in a case for less than that amount. In the event that a refund is warranted in any amount, the Attorney reserves the right to pay same back to Client over time in installments, if necessary.
Legal services include, but are not limited to, court appearances (including wait time and travel time to and from court), telephone conferences, telephone calls to and from the Client, office conferences, legal research, depositions, review of file materials and documents sent or received, drafting of pleadings, correspondence and memoranda, and preparation for trial, hearing and conferences.
The Attorney and Client state that no results have been guaranteed by the Attorney to the Client and that this Agreement is not based upon any such promises or anticipated results.
The Client agrees to pay for costs incurred and out of pocket disbursements made by the Attorney, including, but not limited to, filing fees, witness fees, travel, sheriff's and constable's fees, expenses of depositions, investigative expenses, expert witness fees and other incidental expenses. The Attorney agrees to obtain the Client's approval before incurring any single cost or disbursement in excess of $__0.00 and incurring costs in excess of $_00.00.
The Attorney discloses to the Client that he is not insured under a commercial professional liability insurance policy, but rather that he/she is self insured.
THE CLIENT UNDERSTANDS AND ACKNOWLEDGES THAT NO LEGAL REPRESENTATION, APPEARANCE,OR PREPERATION WILL BEGIN IN THIS MATTER UNTIL PAYMENT ON THIS ACCOUNT AS SET FORTH IN THE SECOND PARAGRAPH HEREIN IS PAID IN FULL.
We, the Client and Attorney, have read the above Fee Agreement on this_________day of __________, 20_____ and understand its terms, and both have signed it as our free act and deed.
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Client's Signature Attorney Daniel J. Szostkiewicz