Free Hourly Fee Agreement

HOURLY FEE AGREEMENT
This Hourly Fee Agreement dated this _________________ day of ______________________, 20______ made between _____________________________, (hereafter referred to as "Attorney”) and ______________________________, (hereafter referred to as "Client”.)
SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED
The legal services to be provided by Attorney to Client are as follows:
a) Preparation and filing of complaints, answers, cross-claims, counterclaims, motions, and other pleadings;
b) Preparation of discovery requests and responses;
c) Necessary investigation into the case, including the existence /legitimacy of any of Client’s claims, which may include interviewing of witnesses, review of financial information, etc;
d) Negotiations and drafting of settlement proposals and agreements;
e) Preparation of correspondence and memos;
f) Legal research and preparation of all necessary documents;
g) Conferences with other office staff and attorneys, opposing counsel, witnesses, and others.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Attorney will perform the said legal services and keep the Client informed regarding the progress and developments of the case, and also respond promptly to Client's inquiries and communications. It will be the duty of the Client to be truthful and cooperative with Attorney and keep Attorney reasonably informed regarding the developments of the case.
SETTLEMENT
Client hereby authorizes Attorney to effect any settlement by compromise, lawsuit, trial, judgment, or otherwise, as is deemed best, in Attorney’s professional judgment. It is expressly understood, that settlement of the case cannot be executed without Client’s consent.
ATTORNEY'S FEES
The amount Attorney will receive for attorney's fees for the legal services to be provided under this agreement will be:
_________ Hourly fees shall be charged at the rate of: $_______per hour
_________ Minimum fee shall apply in the amount of: $________.
COSTS
Client understands that the Client will be billed for any and all costs associated with Client’s representation including without limitation all filing fees, court costs, appraiser and expert witness fees, long distance telephone calls, travel, parking, photocopying outside of the office, deposition costs, court reporter costs, hospital and medical records, investigative charges, court exhibits, demonstrative evidence fees, photography fees, subpoena service fees, courier fees, videotaping fees, postage and other similar type expenses.
ATTORNEY'S LIEN
Attorney will have a lien for Attorney's fees and costs advanced on all claims and causes of action that are the subject of Attorney’s representation of Client under this agreement and on all proceeds of any recovery obtained whether by settlement, arbitration award, or court judgment.
TERMINATION
Client and Attorney, shall at all times, have the right to terminate this Agreement by notifying the other party in writing in advance. Upon such termination Client will remain responsible for all fees and expenses otherwise due under this Agreement through the date of termination if the case is not in litigation. Client further understands that if the case is in litigation, Attorney may seek court permission to withdraw from representing Client and Client hereby consents to such withdrawal should Client do any of the following:
(a) Breach of this Agreement;
(b) If, after reasonable investigation of this matter, Attorney determines that it is not feasible or proper for Attorney to prosecute Client’s claims or continue forward with this matter;
(c) Miss, without justification, any scheduled court appearance or deposition for which Attorney has provided notice to Client;
(d) Fail to respond to communications from Attorney. Any such successive communications which remain unanswered for more than 10 days after the second attempted communication will authorize Attorney to seek court permission to withdrawal;
(e) Fail to pay any fees owed pursuant to this Agreement;
(f) Failure to pay any expenses or fees incurred by or due to be paid to Attorney or requested by Attorney to be paid to others for costs or services connected with Client’s case.
In such event, Attorney will assist the new attorney to the maximum extent necessary to facility the change of counsel. In such event, Client agrees to pay Attorney for all services up to the date of the final transfer of information and/or documents to Client’s new counsel.
ASSIGNMENT
The Attorney may assign all or any portion of the services to be performed under this Agreement to an associate or to other attorneys in the firm, and may use paralegals.
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Client gives Attorney power of attorney to execute any and all documents connected with and necessary for the prosecution of this action, including, without limitation, pleadings, contracts, releases, dismissals, orders and settlement agreements approved by the client.
DISCLAIMER OF GUARANTY
Attorney agrees to use its best efforts to represent Client to the best of its ability. However, Attorney cannot guarantee or accurately predict the outcome because of inherent uncertainty of legal proceedings, the interpretation of and changes in the law, and a myriad of unpredictable variables. Client acknowledges that Attorney has made no promises about the outcome and that any opinion offered by Attorney in the future will not constitute a guaranty.
ENTIRE AGREEMENT
This agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties. No other agreement, statement, or promise made on or before the effective date of this agreement will be binding on the parties.
SEVERABILITY IN EVENT OF PARTIAL INVALIDITY
If any provision of this agreement is held in whole or in part to be unenforceable for any reason, the remainder of that provision and of the entire agreement will be severable and remain in effect.
MODIFICATION
This agreement may be modified by subsequent agreement of the parties only by an instrument in writing signed by both of them or an oral agreement to the extent that the parties carry it out.
The foregoing is agreed to by:
Date: ______________________________
Client: ________________________________________
Date: ______________________________
Attorney: ______________________________________