We understand that professional fees can be very confusing and our objective is to be up-front and transparent. Our stock in trade is our time and legal advice. This may be evident as we prepare legal documents, such as leases or purchase agreements. However, much of what we do involves giving advice, negotiating or advocating on behalf of our clients, and researching the law. We may spend significant time, effort and energy in order to provide a client with a few simple words of advice. What may appear to be a simple or short document, may actually require significant time spent in research and drafting. In some instances these efforts may not be self-evident, however, our greatest value is added through a very intangible product – legal advice. We are always willing to discuss our fees. In that regard, the following describes some of our policies for fees and charges:

1. Unless a different arrangement is made in writing at our initial conference, we bill on an hourly basis for all of the time spent working on a client’s behalf. Our fees include time spent for any office or telephone discussions, including initial consultations.

2. If we undertake a new matter, we may request an advance on fees, or a “retainer.” The retainer is placed in our firm trust account. As legal fees and costs are incurred, the retainer is applied against our statement for those fees and costs.

4. We charge for our time in increments of a tenth of an hour. When we are able, we are happy to provide an estimate of fees and costs. However, we have found that some matters are easier to estimate than others. In addition, we note that experience levels, outlooks and approaches to legal matters differ greatly among people, and some take more time to address than others. We are happy to provide whatever level of service will best serve a client’s needs.

5. We bill monthly or upon completion of a given project and expect prompt payment. We are sometimes asked how a client might keep legal fees to a minimum. Our experience suggests that the following help greatly to keep bills to a minimum: provide us with complete, accurate and organized information; try not to change objectives and goals in the middle of a transaction; do not wait until the last minute (last minute rushes sometimes require extraordinary measures and costs); and respond promptly to requests for information, approval and execution of documents. Each of the above suggestions is aimed at minimizing the amount of time we need to spend to accomplish a client’s objectives.

Please remember that we provide an intangible product, legal services; and a client may see only a small part of our efforts. If there are ever any questions regarding our statements for services rendered and costs advanced, we urge our clients to call us as soon as questions arise. We have found that frank and candid discussions answer most of these questions. The items noted above are not intended to overly formalize our client relationships, but are provided simply in the interest of clear communication and good business practices.