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The Commission wishes to express its gratitude to the members of the North Carolina Bar Association who were generous enough to provide us with over 150 examples of engagement letters and billing arrangements.
The forms reproduced here are actually in use by lawyers in North Carolina. Because creativity knows no bounds, we did not feel it our purpose to create the perfect alternative billing letter, because it is impossible to create one that is in the category of "one size fits all."
The ABA Section of Law Practice Management has published many manuscripts on this topic which contains more extensive forms. We would caution all lawyers who enter into alternative billing arrangements to be sure to have a written agreement which clearly discloses the fee arrangement and is agreed to by the client.
We noted in our survey that fee letters were often sent to clients without any response required on their part. We believe that this could be a trap for the unwary, and will only lead to a potential disagreement and/or a malpractice suit.
Read the Alternative Billing Commission Report (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Sample Engagement Letters and Fee Agreements
Click on the form number to view that form. (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
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I. Domestic Relations |
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Hourly |
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Contingency |
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Hourly Rate Plus Contingency |
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Hourly Plus "Factors" |
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Nonrefundable Retainer Plus Hourly Adjusted by "Factors" and Established Minimums per Service |
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II. GeneralHourly |
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Straight Hourly |
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Hourly with Value Assessment |
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Hourly with Staged Discounts |
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Hourly with Refundable Retainer |
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Hourly Refundable Plus Nonrefundable Retainer |
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Hourly Nonrefundable Retainer |
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Special Provision for Computerized Documents |
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Retainer for Covered Services Plus Hourly for Others |
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III. Bankruptcy |
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Chapter 7 |
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Useful Forms Unlikely |
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