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Download the following form to your printer or word processor, and fill-in the applicable information. Sign the agreement where indicated, and mail it to us with your loan or other documentation (statement of balance due, account or loan history, etc.) promissory note, mortgage, etc., and we will contact you as soon as we have received it to finalize the retainer agreement and commence work on the case
NOTE: EACH CASE IS BILLED EITHER ON AN HOURLY BASIS OR
AS A CONTINGENCY CASE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE
CALL US AT (732) 446-2800
OSTROWITZ & OSTROWITZ, ESQS., LAWYER-CLIENT AGREEMENT
PART 1. THE PARTIES:
The client is
whose home address is
and whose office address is
The client's home phone number is
and office phone number is
The lawyer is OSTROWITZ & OSTROWITZ, ESQS.
The lawyers' office address is 225 Gordons Corner Road,
Manalapan, New Jersey 07726,
and office phone number is (732) 446-2800.
PART 2. LEGAL SERVICES COVERED BY THIS AGREEMENT:
A. Retainer Relationship
This Agreement covers a continuing lawyer-client relationship
that begins on furnishing retainer and continues until either
the client or lawyer ends the relationship. During this
time, the lawyer will perform these legal services for the
client:
the work will be billed at the rates described in PART 6 of
this Agreement.
B. Litigation
_XX_ This Agreement covers one case that will be litigated.
This case is an:
___action ___special proceeding ___administrative
proceeding ___other (describe):
The case involves: ___consumer contracts ___other contracts
___Creditor Bankruptcy ___real estate (describe):
___collection ___repossession ___stay litigation
___other (describe):
The client is the: _XX_plaintiff ___defendant
___other (describe):
The lawyer will be responsible for:
_XX_pretrial and trial, hearing, or settlement; any
appeal, Bankrupcy, Counterclaim or defense work
shall require a separate retainer agreement.
C. Drafting
This Agreement covers the drafting (research and writing)
of a document of this kind:
___Work-out Agreement ___Trust instrument ___Contract (describe):
___Other (describe):
D. Other Legal Work
This Agreement covers this kind of legal work:
___Handling the closing on a sale of real property
___Incorporating a business
___Probating a will
___Administering an estate
___Tax advice
___Immigration matters
___Bankruptcy proceedings
___Other (describe):
PART 3. WHO WILL DO THE LEGAL WORK:
The legal work covered by this Agreement will be done by the
partners and associates in the signing lawyer's firm.
PART 4. OTHER WORK:
The lawyer who signs this Agreement plans to use these people to
help do the legal work covered by this Agreement:
_XX_Investigators at $75.00 an hour
___Expert witnesses (describe):
___Other (describe):
The salaries and fees of these people are not included in the
legal fees described in PART 6 of this Agreement. If they are
not included, they will be billed separately.
PART 5. COST AND EXPENSES:
The lawyer who signs this Agreement expects that the following
expenses will be necessary:
_XX_ Photocopying at $ .10 per page _XX_Long-distance telephone
calls _XX_Court Costs _XX_Court Transcripts ___Other (describe):
These expenses, plus any other necessary expenses, will be billed
separately, because it is considered unethical for a lawyer to
pay the costs of trying a case or doing other legal work.
PART 6. THE FEE:
The client agrees to pay:
_XX_ A fee of $300.00 an hour for the lawyer who signs this
Agreement. If other legal workers are involved, their fees will
be $300.00 an hour for partners; $240.00 an hour
for associates, $140.00 an hour for paralegals. If a task takes
less than an hour, the client will be billed by the half hour or
quarter hour. The minimum billing will be for a quarter hour.
If a contingent fee is selected, the contingent fee agreement will
not cover bankruptcies, appeals, defense work, counterclaims or
legal work other than work connected with prosecution of the
primary claim.
_XX_A contingent fee of 25% of the recovery (whether the case
is settled or tried). A contingent fee means that the client
only pays a fee if (she)(he) wins the case in court, or if the
case is settled. If the client loses the case, the lawyer does
not get a fee. However, the client still has to pay the expenses
described in PART 5 of this Agreement.
___A contingent fee based on this schedule:
% of the first $ of the recovery, % of the
next $ , and % of any amount over $ .
PART 7. PAYMENT SCHEDULE:
The client will pay the fee (PART 6) and expenses (PART 5)
according to this schedule: Retainer of $ upon signing
this Agreement; thereafter when retainer extinguished, billed
monthly at hourly rate. Disbursements billed as incurred.
PART 8. OTHER RULES OF THE LAWYER-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP:
1. It is important for clients to be honest and candid with
their lawyers. To encourage this honesty, the "attorney-client
privilege" is recognized. This privilege means that a lawyer
can't be forced to testify about anything a client said to
(her)(him) in confidence. (However, there are some exceptions to
the privilege--for example, if a client mentions a plan to commit
a crime in the future, or if a lawyer has to testify to keep him
from being accused of doing something wrong.)
2. Even if a lawyer is never asked to testify, the Code of
Professional Responsibility (the rules of ethics for lawyers)
forbids lawyers from disclosing their clients' confidences and
secrets. A confidence is something a client tells a lawyer,
expecting that it will not be revealed. A secret is something
embarrassing or harmful to the client that the lawyer finds out
during an investigation.
3. The lawyer's duty of confidentiality continues even after the
lawyer-client relationship ends. People who work for the lawyer
(for example, secretaries) have the same obligation of
confidentiality as the lawyer has.
4. Lawyers may reveal confidences or secrets when the client
agrees, after full disclosure.
5. The client has an obligation to cooperate with the lawyer
(for example, by finding witnesses and asking them to testify).
But the client has an obligation not to ask witnesses to lie or
change their testimony.
6. A lawyer can have a professional opinion about whether a
client will win a case, or how big a recovery will be. But no
lawyer can guarantee that the client will win, or how much, or
that a contract or other negotiation will have a favorable
outcome.
PART 9. OTHER INFORMATION:
Use this space to add other provisions to this Agreement, or to
change the printed provisions:
PART 10. SIGNATURES:
When you sign this Agreement, you are admitting that you read the
whole Agreement, that you understand it and think that it is
fair, and that you agree to be bound by all of the provisions
that are checked, or for which information is filled in.
CLIENT: (Date)____________________
(Name print:)_____________________________________________
(Signature:)_____________________________________________
LAWYER: (Date)__________________
OSTROWITZ & OSTROWITZ, ESQS.
By:_____________________________________________________