Terms and Conditions of all Attorney-Client Relationships
The following terms and conditions apply to every contract for legal
services between Attorney Miller and his clients.
While some details may be negotiable, the basic substance of each term generally is not.
All deviations from these conditions will always be made in writing.
1. No attorney-client relationship shall exist until a written contract is made. There are no exceptions. Mere correspondence between Attorney Miller and another individual does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. For attorneys who contract for research and writing services, a general written contract is required prior to the first such request and which shall be applicable to all subsequent legal service requests until changes to the original contract are made in writing.
2. Once specifically created, an attorney-client relationship shall be for the limited purpose stated in the contract. Any additional legal matters or cases involving the same client will require an additional contract and an additional fee. There is no guarantee that Attorney Miller will accept additional attorney-client relationships with current or previous clients.
3. There is never a guarantee of the outcome of any legal matter. Attorney Miller does guarantee to uphold the rules of professional responsibility and to provide legal services of a caliber reasonably expected of an attorney. There shall never be any guarantee as to whether a client shall prevail with its legal matter or whether the judicial representative or any jury, if applicable, in that or any other legal matter shall agree with Attorney Miller's legal presentations.
4. There is never a guarantee as to the time-frame of any legal matter that involves other parties or, especially, the formal judicial system. While estimates may be given based on previous cases, each case is distinct and may take substantially longer to be resolved.
5. Attorney Miller reserves the right to withdraw from the attorney-client relationship at any time after reasonable notice being given. Notice shall be considered reasonable in all circumstances when given prior to thirty calender days before any statute of limitations or pending court date that may exist in the legal matter. In some circumstances, specifically those where there is no statute of limitations or pending court date, reasonable notice can be less than thirty days. Notice will be made in writing to the client's last-known address with every reasonable effort made to contact the client if that address is no longer valid.
6. To facilitate proper representation, the client must be truthful and forthright in all matters material to the case and cooperate in the preparation and pursuit of the matter. Furthermore, in most cases, the client must keep Attorney Miller advised of its whereabouts with a valid mailing address and phone number.
7. Attorney Miller retains the copyright of any and all documents written and/or prepared by him. A client receives only a license for use of the document for the contracted purpose. Any deviation from this rule must be made in writing. Even documents prepared for another law office to be submitted by that office to a third party or a judicial tribunal shall remain the copyright of Attorney Miller, although such other law office may use the document in perpetuity within its legal firm as long as Attorney Miller is cited as the author or contributor according to contemporarily-acceptable citation and ethical standards. Any breach of this condition, including the sale or distribution of the work product by the Client to any other party for any type of gain (financial or otherwise) is strictly forbidden. To simplify compensation, violation of this provision shall render the Client liable to the Law Office for 200% of the gain received by the Client (100% to compensate for lost revenue and 100% to compensate for costs of collection), but not less than $1000 (the minimum combined cost of the work product and collection).
8. Attorney Miller reserves the right to assign portions of any legal work involved in the case to legal colleagues; however, Attorney Miller shall remain entirely responsible for the quality and accuracy of any such work.
9. No settlement, where applicable, will be made by Attorney Miller without full discussion and agreement from the client.
10. All invoices for services rendered will be itemized, stating the specific hours and type of work conducted on each case.
11. Payment is due immediately upon the submission of an invoice for services rendered. After fourteen days from the invoice date, beginning on the fifteen day, interest will be added to the outstanding balance at the rate of 1% per month (12% APR). Outstanding interest shall be capitalized in the succeeding month. If payment is not received within ninety days of the invoice date, the client will become liable for any reasonable actions taken by Attorney Miller to collect the balance, including the costs and attorney fees associated with collection.
12. In the case of legal research or writing conducted for a client for whom Attorney Miller is not the attorney of record, the legal work will not be turned over to the client until payment for that work is made in full.
13. In the case of multiple cases conducted by Attorney Miller for the same client, unless a payment is specifically, in writing, directed otherwise, it will be applied to the oldest invoice for which money is owed.
14. Contingency fee cases shall include the following terms in addition to those stated above (these terms do not apply to any attorney-client relationship other than those accepted, in writing, on a contingency basis):
(a) Contingency fee means that the
legal fee is conditional on the receipt of valuable compensation for the benefit of the
client. If nothing is received for the client, Attorney Miller need not be paid a legal
fee. That which is received need not be cash money, but can be anything of value,
including, but not limited to, real and personal property, securities, trusts, options and
services. The fee applies whether the compensation is received by way of settlement or
award, with or without civil suit or trial.
(b) The legal fee paid to Attorney Miller shall be
based on the total amount of the value of the compensation received: 33.3% of the first
three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) received; plus 25% of the next three hundred
thousand dollars ($300,000) received; plus 20% of the next three hundred thousand dollars
($300,000) received; plus 15% of the next three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000)
received; plus 10% of any amount in excess of one million two hundred thousand dollars
($1,200,000).
(c) Fees and expenses in addition to the legal fee
stated in 10 (b), above, shall be paid by the client from the client's remaining share of
the compensation after the legal fee has been deducted. Such fees and expenses include all
out-of-pocket expenses associated with the pursuit of the client's claim, including, but
not limited to, court costs and fees, sheriff fees, expert fees, photographs, investigator
fees, copying fees, long distance phone charges and postage. Any such fees outstanding at
the time the proceeds are received shall be paid by Attorney Miller from the client's
share of the proceeds. Any such fees that were paid in advance by Attorney Miller, shall
be reimbursed to him from the client's share of the proceeds. In order to alleviate the
administrative burden of accounting for in-house expenses such as in-house copying, long
distance charges and postage, there will be an additional charge of 2% of the first fifty
thousand dollars ($50,000) to cover such costs which shall be to Attorney Miller from the
client's share of the proceeds. Attorney Miller is authorized by the client to pay any
such expenses out of the client's share of the compensation, but must make a complete
accounting of each deduction and submit it to the client with the dispersement of the
client's remaining share of the compensation.
(d) In the event that Attorney Miller protected any
fees owed by the client in the pursuit of the client's claim (e.g. medical or ambulance
bills), Attorney Miller shall be authorized by the client to pay such fees from the
client's remaining share of the compensation after legal fees in 10 (b) and other
miscellaneous fees in 10 (c) are paid according to the terms therein. The client is
reminded that it remains liable for all medical or other such fees that may not have been
protected by Attorney Miller or not paid according to this subsection.
(e) While the client retains the right to terminate
its relationship with Attorney Miller prior to the receipt of compensation, Attorney
Miller shall retain a lien for the work he conducted at one of the following (the choice
of which to be solely that of Attorney Miller): (1) $150 per hour, or (2) on a pro rata
basis of the work he conducted in relation to that which was necessary to actually receive
compensation on behalf of the client.
15. Both during and after the existance of an attorney-client relationship, the client has the right to receive copies of its file. Costs for such copies will be paid by the requesting client prior to reproduction of the material, including a $25 fee for any request involving more than ten pages from a relationship that had ended prior to the request. A file usually, but necessarily always, includes, in relation to the legal matter: court documents, letters sent and received, research and/or memorandums, transcripts, non-court documents, medical or business records, reports, file memorandums, attorney notes and/or invoices for services rendered. It specifically does not include daily work logs in which there may be entries regarding the client's matter.
16. Attorney Miller shall not be responsible for the return of any original documents or photographs that may be given to him by the client. The client should retain originals of these for its own records.
Text of Contract Terms © Richard Hustad Miller, 1999 All Rights Reserved