There is a lwyer that is soliciting me for business Im gonna post the agreement and I would like yalls opinion on whether this sounds good or just a way to get in deeper trouble. lol
I mean I have been burned soooo many times through out the years I was about to quit thinking about doing this for money and just do it as a hobby when out of the blue this dude comes along on FB nd is in this city.
Maybe some of yall higher on the food chain of music than me can lend an opinion?
This is the "Agreement":
I am pleased that you are interested in having me represent you in connection with your activities in the
entertainment industry.
Percentage Fee Arrangement
This letter confirms your and my agreement that the fee for my services will be a flat and percentage fee equal to:
a) $250 deposit for immediate contract review, revision, and advisement needs related to Duval Howitzer
publishing agreement and production agreement.
b) 5 % of the gross compensation paid to you or on your behalf while I represent you;
c) 5 % of the gross compensation paid to you or on your behalf at any time after you or I terminate my
representation of you if such compensation is earned by you
i. while I represent you, or
ii. within one (1) year after the termination of my representation under agreements negotiated
or entered into during the time I represent you, and;
d) All upfront cost for filings, business formation, etc. will be provided by you
“Gross Compensation” means all income of any kind derived from any of your activities in the entertainment
business (whether under agreements made during or prior to my representation of you), without the deduction of
any cost or expense incurred by you.
Exclusions from Gross Compensation. Notwithstanding the foregoing:
a) “Gross compensation” will exclude production costs of your projects,
b) As to monies from live appearances (but not related income such as tour merchandising, broadcast
rights unless they have been negotiated or services related to has been perform by McAlpine PLLC,
etc.), “gross compensation” will exclude your direct, out-of-pocket expenses for all items, other than
commissions to personal managers, business managers, and agents, and
c) “Gross compensation” will exclude monies paid by you to producers, and will exclude investment
income and other non-entertainment-related income.
Calculation of Fee. My fee will apply to monies earned by you or by any corporate or other entity through which
you may operate. Group - For entertainment-related activities that you perform as a member of a group, my fee
will be based on the gross compensation of the group (and, I will not be entitled to a fee based on your individual
share of the group’s earnings).
Entertainment company – For entertainment-related activities that your administer,
contract, engage in, or derived income from, my fee will be based on the gross compensation of the entertainment
company for all entertainment-related activities. All other compensation for advisement and legal services will be
-2-
arranged according to the work performed, the time spent, and/or any other fee arrangement that the parties hereto decide.
Payment. While I will bill you for my expenses (as described below); I will not ordinarily bill you for my
percentage compensation. Rather, I will rely on you to pay my percentage fee promptly after your receipt of
compensation without my invoicing you. In this regard, I would like to discuss with you arranging for payment
directly from your business manager or accountant. If you don’t have these professionals at the time for payment I
will be given access to your record keeping.
Costs and Standards. I will bill you separately for my out-of-pocket costs and expenses as they are incurred
(including net conferencing, air-freight and express mail, messengers, and travel expenses outside the city of
Charlotte and immediate area if I travel at your request or with your consent); if on retainer, against your retainer
where appropriate, and office services (such as photocopying, secretarial overtime, etc.) at standard rates adopted
by me from time to time.
Calendar Items. You understand that agreements entered into by you with third parties may require you to give
notice, exercise your rights, or make other decisions within certain time periods (for example, granting an
approval or consent). You understand and agree that I will not be responsible for monitoring those time periods,
or any dates or calendar items, on your behalf.
Excluded Services. My firm is not responsible for and will not render legal services with respect to taxes,
copyright and trademark litigation, securities work, divorce, criminal matters, or other matters that are outside of
my areas of expertise. At your request, I will recommend other counsel to advise you with respect to any such
matter. In addition, your understand and agree that probate, litigation, arbitration, and similar proceedings are not
included with the percentage fee arrangement described above; I will discuss with you an appropriate fee for any
such matter if ever relevant.
Evaluation. Notwithstanding that aforementioned this agreement is subject to a three month evaluative period.
Whereby at the end of three months and up to ten submissions of your literary work to publishers we will evaluate
whether the relationship will continue.
Termination. Either you or I may terminate this agreement at any time, subject to your obligation to pay my fees
as described above. Nonpayment of fees is not the only, but may be the primary determinative factor as to
whether I continue providing services. However, if you desire me to do so, I will continue my services with
regard to any matter as to which my compensation continues.
Fee Disputes. This agreement is binding between the parties and laws of the State of North Carolina. Any
dispute that arises under this agreement shall be submitted for binding arbitration in accordance with the
procedures of the Mecklenburg County Bar Association, or, if that organization declines to arbitrate the dispute,
before the North Carolina State Bar.
Start Date. This fee arrangement will be effective as of the date of execution of this agreement.
If you are agreeable to my fee arrangement, please sign and return a copy of this letter to me in the
envelope provided for your convenience. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me as soon as
possible. I look forward to working with you.
-3-
I am enclosing for your information our 2009 "Statement of Client Policies", which
includes additional information on the business aspects of your retention of our firm. We hope
that you find this information useful.
I SIG I G THIS AGREEME T YOU ACK OWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE BEE ADVISED
TO SEEK I DEPE DE T LEGAL A D BUSI ESS ADVICE WITH RESPECT TO THIS
AGREEME T A D THAT YOU HAVE EITHER SOUGHT A D OBTAI ED SUCH ADVICE OR
DELIBERATELY REFRAI ED FROM DOI G SO.
[I TE TIO ALLY LEFT BLA K]
ACCEPTED AND AGREED TO:
By:
This firm is committed to providing the highest quality legal services to our clients consistent with our professional ethical standards. In keeping with that commitment, we set forth at the outset of a new representation certain information that we believe may be useful to our clients. Accordingly, set forth below is information concerning such matters as staffing, hourly rates, other client charges, billing, and file retention procedures. We believe that such matters are best addressed at the beginning of our association with a new client, and we have found that our clients appreciate this approach.
OUR FIRM’S FU CTIO S. We will perform legal services relating to the matters requested by you
as modified from time to time by you or your authorized representative. We will assign personnel, including lawyers and legal assistants, as we determine to be necessary to perform our services for you.
This Statement of Client Policies and our engagement letter will govern all services provided by us for you or your affiliates. Please note that when we are engaged to represent a corporation or other entity,we are undertaking solely to represent such entity and we are not undertaking to represent any officer, director, manager, partner, or other affiliated person individually.
From time to time in the course of our engagement we may be asked by the corporation or entity to review certain issues that may affect its officers, directors, managers, partners, or other affiliated persons and to give advice with respect to such matters.
Although as a convenience to the corporation or entity we may review these issues and may be compensated by the corporation or entity for these services, this does not constitute our undertaking to represent any of these persons individually. You agree in such events to notify the affected persons that they should consider engaging separate counsel with respect to such matters.
YOUR FU CTIO S. You agree to pay us on a timely basis for the performance of our legal services and to pay all expenses incurred in connection with those services. You agree that payment for our services and expenses is not contingent on the outcome of the case, the closing of the transaction, or the funding of the client.
You also agree to provide all information that is reasonably available to you to aid
us in representing you.
AUTHORIZATIO A D DECISIO -MAKI G. You authorize us to take all actions that we deem
advisable on your behalf in performing services for you. We agree to notify you of significant
developments and to consult with you in advance regarding significant decisions relating to those developments. All work product is owned by us.
FEES. Our fees for services rendered are based primarily on the hourly rates in effect for each lawyer and legal assistant, and these rates are subject to change from time to time. Timekeeping is approximate and is not precise. Upon request, we will furnish our current schedule of hourly billing rates. Our fees will begin to accrue when we first provide advice or other legal services, without regard to the date of, or your execution of, our engagement letter. All other fee agreements will proceed as detailed in the applicable engagement letter.
Depending upon the manner in which our representation develops, other professionals may also provide services.
In an effort to provide high quality services at a reasonable cost, we strive for efficient, lean
staffing with the most qualified personnel available at an economical rate.
Standard 2009 hourly rates for the firm are as follows:
Attorney Alston $125/hr.
Paralegal $50
Law clerk $25
Although time expended is the major criterion for determining the amount of our fees for our legal services, our fees may be based on a more comprehensive measure of the reasonable value of such services. Factors other than the amount of time required will have a bearing on the reasonable value of the services performed, such as the novelty and complexity of the issues involved, the skill to provide proper legal representation, familiarity with the specific areas of law involved, the preclusion of other engagements caused by the acceptance of the particular engagement, the magnitude of the matter, the results achieved, customary fees for similar services, the nature and length of our relationship with the client, and time limitations imposed by the client or by circumstances. Our final fees for legal services may be revised to reflect such factors.
EXPE SES. In addition to fees for legal services rendered, you agree to pay for costs and expenses incurred in connection with our representation of you. Our firm's costs and expenses may reflect, in some cases, amounts in excess of our direct costs (e.g., a portion of administrative costs allocated to the charge). Such costs and expenses include, but are not limited to, extraordinary photocopies, longdistance telephone calls and faxes, courier services, postage, court reporters, recording, filing and certification costs and fees, overtime clerical assistance, expert advice and expert witnesses, Lexis, Westlaw, Information America or other computer database searches, patent, trademark, trade name and other searches, and docketing charges. You authorize us to retain and agree to pay the fees and expenses
of those other persons or entities that we engage to perform necessary services, if any. You authorize us to direct these service providers to render statements for their services directly to you or to us. From time to time, we may retain the services of contract attorneys whose time will be billed to you at a higher rate than is paid the contract attorneys.
FEE DEPOSITS. A fee deposit may be required to be paid to our firm may be applied to satisfy current or past due statements. If we request that you replenish or increase the fee deposit balance, you agree to do so immediately upon our request, and we reserve the right to suspend services until the fee deposit is replenished or increased.
PAYME T. You agree to pay in full each statement for services rendered and expenses incurred no later than 15 calendar days following the date of any statement unless otherwise agreed by you and the Attorney Alston. You agree to the amount of the statement unless you object in writing within 15 days of its receipt. We reserve the right to add a charge of 2.5% per month for any statement that is not paid within 30 days. Such charge will begin to run on the 31st day following the date of the statement and will continue to the date of the payment in full.
ESTIMATES. From time to time you may ask us for estimates of fees and expenses for the services that we will perform. We will provide such estimates, but we cannot guarantee that the actual fees and costs will not be higher than the estimated amounts because legal matters often involve unexpected issues and developments that take time and effort to resolve. We always strive to provide our services
-6-
on a basis that is reasonable under the circumstances. At your request, we will discuss with you the progress of any matter and the costs incurred and anticipated to be incurred.
CO FLICTI G E GAGEME T. In the course of representing multiple clients, we may withdraw
from representing any of the multiple clients to the extent such withdrawal would be permitted or required under the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct of the North Carolina State Bar or any other applicable ethics or court rules.
CLIE T FILES. After our engagement has concluded and upon payment of any amounts you owe our firm, you may request the return of your files. We may make copies of the materials and you agree to pay the copying charges. If you do not request a return of your files, we will retain your files for six (6) years and we reserve the right to dispose of your files after that time.
TERMI ATIO OF REPRESE TATIO . You may terminate our representation at any time;
however, you agree in the event of such termination to pay us, within 15 days of our request, any amounts you owe our firm through the date of termination and in the course of effecting the transition of your representation to other counsel. You agree to give us timely written notification of such termination.
We may withdraw from representing you at any time subject to the reasons permitted or required under the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct of the North Carolina State Bar or any other applicable ethical rules or court rules. We may also withdraw from the representation of you if our statements are not timely paid. We will notify you in writing of our withdrawal. In the event of such withdrawal, you agree to pay us within 30 days following such withdrawal for all legal services rendered and expenses incurred.
O GUARA TEES OR PROMISES. Neither McAlpine PLLC or Alonzo McAlpine Alston guarantee
any outcomes or results. We will work diligently to find the current law applicable to your matter, inform you of your rights, responsibilities and options under the law as thoroughly as possible, and communicate with you as frequently as appropriate under the circumstances of your matter. However,we do not guarantee outcomes or results.
TRA SITIO UPO TERMI ATIO . Upon termination of this representation for any reason,
either by you or by us, we agree to cooperate with any successor counsel designated by you in order to accommodate a smooth transition of the representation. However, to the extent that any fees for legal services rendered or expenses incurred remain unpaid, we may assert our attorneys’ lien to the extent provided by law.
LIMITED WAIVER OF ATTOR EY-CLIE T PRIVILEGE. Unless you notify us in writing
otherwise, you agree to grant us a limited waiver of the Attorney-Client Privilege and its right to confidentiality. The scope of this waiver shall be limited to disclosure of the identity of the client by the firm in the following instances:
1) in responding to inquiries for Conflict of Interest checks; and
2) in marketing of the Firm’s services. (i.e. a listing in Martindale-Hubbell or a similar publication,
limited to listing the name of Client as a “representative client”). Only the name of the business
entity, if applicable, will appear as a representative client.
-7-
TheClient acknowledges that from time to time it may be necessary to contact or receive calls from the Firm on a cellular or digital telephone. The Client acknowledges that the security of these conversations cannot be guaranteed, thus the Client hereby expressly waives the Attorney-Client Privilege and right of Confidentiality, and holds the firm harmless from any damages flowing from the interception of these signals.
The Client acknowledges that from time to time it may be convenient to correspond via electronic mail or “e-mail”. The Client acknowledges that the security of these correspondences cannot be guaranteed, thus the Client hereby expressly waives the Attorney-Client Privilege and right of Confidentiality, and holds the firm harmless from any damages flowing from the interception of these messages.
DISPUTE RESOLUTIO . We further agree that any claim, dispute, or controversy arising from our representation of you which relates to our right to attorneys' fees and/or related expenses, regardless of the amount, shall be submitted to the Fee Dispute Resolution Program of the North Carolina State Bar ("Program") for resolution, and we both agree to be bound by the result
I mean I have been burned soooo many times through out the years I was about to quit thinking about doing this for money and just do it as a hobby when out of the blue this dude comes along on FB nd is in this city.
Maybe some of yall higher on the food chain of music than me can lend an opinion?
This is the "Agreement":
I am pleased that you are interested in having me represent you in connection with your activities in the
entertainment industry.
Percentage Fee Arrangement
This letter confirms your and my agreement that the fee for my services will be a flat and percentage fee equal to:
a) $250 deposit for immediate contract review, revision, and advisement needs related to Duval Howitzer
publishing agreement and production agreement.
b) 5 % of the gross compensation paid to you or on your behalf while I represent you;
c) 5 % of the gross compensation paid to you or on your behalf at any time after you or I terminate my
representation of you if such compensation is earned by you
i. while I represent you, or
ii. within one (1) year after the termination of my representation under agreements negotiated
or entered into during the time I represent you, and;
d) All upfront cost for filings, business formation, etc. will be provided by you
“Gross Compensation” means all income of any kind derived from any of your activities in the entertainment
business (whether under agreements made during or prior to my representation of you), without the deduction of
any cost or expense incurred by you.
Exclusions from Gross Compensation. Notwithstanding the foregoing:
a) “Gross compensation” will exclude production costs of your projects,
b) As to monies from live appearances (but not related income such as tour merchandising, broadcast
rights unless they have been negotiated or services related to has been perform by McAlpine PLLC,
etc.), “gross compensation” will exclude your direct, out-of-pocket expenses for all items, other than
commissions to personal managers, business managers, and agents, and
c) “Gross compensation” will exclude monies paid by you to producers, and will exclude investment
income and other non-entertainment-related income.
Calculation of Fee. My fee will apply to monies earned by you or by any corporate or other entity through which
you may operate. Group - For entertainment-related activities that you perform as a member of a group, my fee
will be based on the gross compensation of the group (and, I will not be entitled to a fee based on your individual
share of the group’s earnings).
Entertainment company – For entertainment-related activities that your administer,
contract, engage in, or derived income from, my fee will be based on the gross compensation of the entertainment
company for all entertainment-related activities. All other compensation for advisement and legal services will be
-2-
arranged according to the work performed, the time spent, and/or any other fee arrangement that the parties hereto decide.
Payment. While I will bill you for my expenses (as described below); I will not ordinarily bill you for my
percentage compensation. Rather, I will rely on you to pay my percentage fee promptly after your receipt of
compensation without my invoicing you. In this regard, I would like to discuss with you arranging for payment
directly from your business manager or accountant. If you don’t have these professionals at the time for payment I
will be given access to your record keeping.
Costs and Standards. I will bill you separately for my out-of-pocket costs and expenses as they are incurred
(including net conferencing, air-freight and express mail, messengers, and travel expenses outside the city of
Charlotte and immediate area if I travel at your request or with your consent); if on retainer, against your retainer
where appropriate, and office services (such as photocopying, secretarial overtime, etc.) at standard rates adopted
by me from time to time.
Calendar Items. You understand that agreements entered into by you with third parties may require you to give
notice, exercise your rights, or make other decisions within certain time periods (for example, granting an
approval or consent). You understand and agree that I will not be responsible for monitoring those time periods,
or any dates or calendar items, on your behalf.
Excluded Services. My firm is not responsible for and will not render legal services with respect to taxes,
copyright and trademark litigation, securities work, divorce, criminal matters, or other matters that are outside of
my areas of expertise. At your request, I will recommend other counsel to advise you with respect to any such
matter. In addition, your understand and agree that probate, litigation, arbitration, and similar proceedings are not
included with the percentage fee arrangement described above; I will discuss with you an appropriate fee for any
such matter if ever relevant.
Evaluation. Notwithstanding that aforementioned this agreement is subject to a three month evaluative period.
Whereby at the end of three months and up to ten submissions of your literary work to publishers we will evaluate
whether the relationship will continue.
Termination. Either you or I may terminate this agreement at any time, subject to your obligation to pay my fees
as described above. Nonpayment of fees is not the only, but may be the primary determinative factor as to
whether I continue providing services. However, if you desire me to do so, I will continue my services with
regard to any matter as to which my compensation continues.
Fee Disputes. This agreement is binding between the parties and laws of the State of North Carolina. Any
dispute that arises under this agreement shall be submitted for binding arbitration in accordance with the
procedures of the Mecklenburg County Bar Association, or, if that organization declines to arbitrate the dispute,
before the North Carolina State Bar.
Start Date. This fee arrangement will be effective as of the date of execution of this agreement.
If you are agreeable to my fee arrangement, please sign and return a copy of this letter to me in the
envelope provided for your convenience. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me as soon as
possible. I look forward to working with you.
-3-
I am enclosing for your information our 2009 "Statement of Client Policies", which
includes additional information on the business aspects of your retention of our firm. We hope
that you find this information useful.
I SIG I G THIS AGREEME T YOU ACK OWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE BEE ADVISED
TO SEEK I DEPE DE T LEGAL A D BUSI ESS ADVICE WITH RESPECT TO THIS
AGREEME T A D THAT YOU HAVE EITHER SOUGHT A D OBTAI ED SUCH ADVICE OR
DELIBERATELY REFRAI ED FROM DOI G SO.
[I TE TIO ALLY LEFT BLA K]
ACCEPTED AND AGREED TO:
By:
This firm is committed to providing the highest quality legal services to our clients consistent with our professional ethical standards. In keeping with that commitment, we set forth at the outset of a new representation certain information that we believe may be useful to our clients. Accordingly, set forth below is information concerning such matters as staffing, hourly rates, other client charges, billing, and file retention procedures. We believe that such matters are best addressed at the beginning of our association with a new client, and we have found that our clients appreciate this approach.
OUR FIRM’S FU CTIO S. We will perform legal services relating to the matters requested by you
as modified from time to time by you or your authorized representative. We will assign personnel, including lawyers and legal assistants, as we determine to be necessary to perform our services for you.
This Statement of Client Policies and our engagement letter will govern all services provided by us for you or your affiliates. Please note that when we are engaged to represent a corporation or other entity,we are undertaking solely to represent such entity and we are not undertaking to represent any officer, director, manager, partner, or other affiliated person individually.
From time to time in the course of our engagement we may be asked by the corporation or entity to review certain issues that may affect its officers, directors, managers, partners, or other affiliated persons and to give advice with respect to such matters.
Although as a convenience to the corporation or entity we may review these issues and may be compensated by the corporation or entity for these services, this does not constitute our undertaking to represent any of these persons individually. You agree in such events to notify the affected persons that they should consider engaging separate counsel with respect to such matters.
YOUR FU CTIO S. You agree to pay us on a timely basis for the performance of our legal services and to pay all expenses incurred in connection with those services. You agree that payment for our services and expenses is not contingent on the outcome of the case, the closing of the transaction, or the funding of the client.
You also agree to provide all information that is reasonably available to you to aid
us in representing you.
AUTHORIZATIO A D DECISIO -MAKI G. You authorize us to take all actions that we deem
advisable on your behalf in performing services for you. We agree to notify you of significant
developments and to consult with you in advance regarding significant decisions relating to those developments. All work product is owned by us.
FEES. Our fees for services rendered are based primarily on the hourly rates in effect for each lawyer and legal assistant, and these rates are subject to change from time to time. Timekeeping is approximate and is not precise. Upon request, we will furnish our current schedule of hourly billing rates. Our fees will begin to accrue when we first provide advice or other legal services, without regard to the date of, or your execution of, our engagement letter. All other fee agreements will proceed as detailed in the applicable engagement letter.
Depending upon the manner in which our representation develops, other professionals may also provide services.
In an effort to provide high quality services at a reasonable cost, we strive for efficient, lean
staffing with the most qualified personnel available at an economical rate.
Standard 2009 hourly rates for the firm are as follows:
Attorney Alston $125/hr.
Paralegal $50
Law clerk $25
Although time expended is the major criterion for determining the amount of our fees for our legal services, our fees may be based on a more comprehensive measure of the reasonable value of such services. Factors other than the amount of time required will have a bearing on the reasonable value of the services performed, such as the novelty and complexity of the issues involved, the skill to provide proper legal representation, familiarity with the specific areas of law involved, the preclusion of other engagements caused by the acceptance of the particular engagement, the magnitude of the matter, the results achieved, customary fees for similar services, the nature and length of our relationship with the client, and time limitations imposed by the client or by circumstances. Our final fees for legal services may be revised to reflect such factors.
EXPE SES. In addition to fees for legal services rendered, you agree to pay for costs and expenses incurred in connection with our representation of you. Our firm's costs and expenses may reflect, in some cases, amounts in excess of our direct costs (e.g., a portion of administrative costs allocated to the charge). Such costs and expenses include, but are not limited to, extraordinary photocopies, longdistance telephone calls and faxes, courier services, postage, court reporters, recording, filing and certification costs and fees, overtime clerical assistance, expert advice and expert witnesses, Lexis, Westlaw, Information America or other computer database searches, patent, trademark, trade name and other searches, and docketing charges. You authorize us to retain and agree to pay the fees and expenses
of those other persons or entities that we engage to perform necessary services, if any. You authorize us to direct these service providers to render statements for their services directly to you or to us. From time to time, we may retain the services of contract attorneys whose time will be billed to you at a higher rate than is paid the contract attorneys.
FEE DEPOSITS. A fee deposit may be required to be paid to our firm may be applied to satisfy current or past due statements. If we request that you replenish or increase the fee deposit balance, you agree to do so immediately upon our request, and we reserve the right to suspend services until the fee deposit is replenished or increased.
PAYME T. You agree to pay in full each statement for services rendered and expenses incurred no later than 15 calendar days following the date of any statement unless otherwise agreed by you and the Attorney Alston. You agree to the amount of the statement unless you object in writing within 15 days of its receipt. We reserve the right to add a charge of 2.5% per month for any statement that is not paid within 30 days. Such charge will begin to run on the 31st day following the date of the statement and will continue to the date of the payment in full.
ESTIMATES. From time to time you may ask us for estimates of fees and expenses for the services that we will perform. We will provide such estimates, but we cannot guarantee that the actual fees and costs will not be higher than the estimated amounts because legal matters often involve unexpected issues and developments that take time and effort to resolve. We always strive to provide our services
-6-
on a basis that is reasonable under the circumstances. At your request, we will discuss with you the progress of any matter and the costs incurred and anticipated to be incurred.
CO FLICTI G E GAGEME T. In the course of representing multiple clients, we may withdraw
from representing any of the multiple clients to the extent such withdrawal would be permitted or required under the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct of the North Carolina State Bar or any other applicable ethics or court rules.
CLIE T FILES. After our engagement has concluded and upon payment of any amounts you owe our firm, you may request the return of your files. We may make copies of the materials and you agree to pay the copying charges. If you do not request a return of your files, we will retain your files for six (6) years and we reserve the right to dispose of your files after that time.
TERMI ATIO OF REPRESE TATIO . You may terminate our representation at any time;
however, you agree in the event of such termination to pay us, within 15 days of our request, any amounts you owe our firm through the date of termination and in the course of effecting the transition of your representation to other counsel. You agree to give us timely written notification of such termination.
We may withdraw from representing you at any time subject to the reasons permitted or required under the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct of the North Carolina State Bar or any other applicable ethical rules or court rules. We may also withdraw from the representation of you if our statements are not timely paid. We will notify you in writing of our withdrawal. In the event of such withdrawal, you agree to pay us within 30 days following such withdrawal for all legal services rendered and expenses incurred.
O GUARA TEES OR PROMISES. Neither McAlpine PLLC or Alonzo McAlpine Alston guarantee
any outcomes or results. We will work diligently to find the current law applicable to your matter, inform you of your rights, responsibilities and options under the law as thoroughly as possible, and communicate with you as frequently as appropriate under the circumstances of your matter. However,we do not guarantee outcomes or results.
TRA SITIO UPO TERMI ATIO . Upon termination of this representation for any reason,
either by you or by us, we agree to cooperate with any successor counsel designated by you in order to accommodate a smooth transition of the representation. However, to the extent that any fees for legal services rendered or expenses incurred remain unpaid, we may assert our attorneys’ lien to the extent provided by law.
LIMITED WAIVER OF ATTOR EY-CLIE T PRIVILEGE. Unless you notify us in writing
otherwise, you agree to grant us a limited waiver of the Attorney-Client Privilege and its right to confidentiality. The scope of this waiver shall be limited to disclosure of the identity of the client by the firm in the following instances:
1) in responding to inquiries for Conflict of Interest checks; and
2) in marketing of the Firm’s services. (i.e. a listing in Martindale-Hubbell or a similar publication,
limited to listing the name of Client as a “representative client”). Only the name of the business
entity, if applicable, will appear as a representative client.
-7-
TheClient acknowledges that from time to time it may be necessary to contact or receive calls from the Firm on a cellular or digital telephone. The Client acknowledges that the security of these conversations cannot be guaranteed, thus the Client hereby expressly waives the Attorney-Client Privilege and right of Confidentiality, and holds the firm harmless from any damages flowing from the interception of these signals.
The Client acknowledges that from time to time it may be convenient to correspond via electronic mail or “e-mail”. The Client acknowledges that the security of these correspondences cannot be guaranteed, thus the Client hereby expressly waives the Attorney-Client Privilege and right of Confidentiality, and holds the firm harmless from any damages flowing from the interception of these messages.
DISPUTE RESOLUTIO . We further agree that any claim, dispute, or controversy arising from our representation of you which relates to our right to attorneys' fees and/or related expenses, regardless of the amount, shall be submitted to the Fee Dispute Resolution Program of the North Carolina State Bar ("Program") for resolution, and we both agree to be bound by the result
