Retained Services

The Ericsson Law Firm offers several options for small businesses.  The goal is to provide owners and managers with access to affordable legal counsel while also giving them predictable pricing.

The fee schedule has four levels of service: Tier One – Basic Retained Services; Tier Two – Full Retained Services; Tier Three – Unlimited Full Retained Services; and Tier Four - Fractional In-House Counsel.
 
Tier 1 – Basic Retained Services:  At Tier 1, you are entitled to legal guidance and advice by email or telephone.  All such emails and telephone calls will receive a response in not more than seventy-two (72) hours.  The annual fee for Basic Retained Services is $750.00 and the a la carte service/transaction fees at Tier 1 range between $300.00 and $4,500.00.  All such fees are subject to any applicable Expedited Service Fee.
 
Tier 2 – Full Retained Services:  At Tier 2, you are entitled to legal guidance and advice by email, text, telephone, or whichever modality is most convenient for you.  All such communications will receive a response within twenty-four (24) hours, subject to availability.  The annual fee for Full Retained Services is $1,500.00 and the a la carte service/transaction fees at Tier 2 are discounted from Tier 1 and range between $250.00 and $4,000.00.  All such fees are subject to any applicable Expedited Service Fee.
 
Tier 3 – Unlimited Full Retained Services:  If your company seeks legal guidance on a more regular basis, along with unlimited document preparation – whether as a set of consistently repetitive documents (i.e., NDAs, Employment Agreements, Vendor Agreements, etc.) or as an unlimited volume of fully customized documents, then, in addition to the benefits of Tier 2 described above, Tier 3 offers your company the option to pay a single annual Retained Services Fee for a customized level of document production.  The fee for this option is negotiable and ranges between $3,500 and $7,500 per year - based on your company's needs over the next 12 months.  The quote set forth below is based upon the current expectation of your company’s needs, however, if your company requires more substantial document preparation, then this firm reserves the right to adjust the Retained Services Fee accordingly.  If such an adjustment is required, then such increased Retained Services Fee shall become immediately due and payable.  All such fees are subject to any applicable Expedited Service Fee.
 
Tier 4 – Fractional In-House Counsel:  This option offers your company an upgraded level of service and provides your company with dedicated in-house counsel in proportion to your company’s needs and budget.  This tier of service involves a robust engagement with weekly remote-office hours, unlimited document preparation, and the pursuit of matters and legal issues effecting the company on an as-needed basis - thereby enabling you and your company to address legal issues as they develop and evolve.  The fee for this tier of service is based on your company's needs over the next 12 months.  The quote set forth below is based upon the current expectation of your company’s needs, however, if your company requires a more substantial engagement, then this firm reserves the right to adjust the Retained Services Fee accordingly.  If such an adjustment is required, then such increased Retained Services Fee shall become immediately due and payable.
 
All such fees described above shall be paid in advance and are earned: i) with respect to the Retained Services Fee for Tiers 1-3, upon payment; ii) with respect to each a la carte transaction fee, upon transmission of an initial draft of the applicable deliverable or upon substantial progress toward the applicable work to be performed; and (iii) with respect to Tier 4, upon the payment of each installment of the applicable Tier 4 Retained Services Fee.  However, you are not obligated to pay any fees until such time as you are prepared for work to begin.
 
Any quoted fees shall be binding upon you and this firm.  However, any estimates of anticipated fees that I provide at your request, whether for budgeting purposes or otherwise are, due to the uncertainties involved, necessarily only approximations of potential fees.  Under no circumstances are such estimates a maximum or minimum fee quotation.  Actual fees will be determined in accordance with the policies described above, such fees (at our current or future rates) you hereby expressly agree to pay.
 
                                                                        PLEASE NOTE

Tiers 1 through 3 provide you with access to me for legal advice, legal communication and coordination as well as document preparation.  However, these do not include on-demand and/or same-day document preparation or third-party communication/negotiation.  If your matter (i.e., document preparation or third-party communication) requires an immediate on-demand and/or same-day response, then I reserve, and you acknowledge, the right to charge an expedited services fee (the “EXPEDITED SERVICES FEE”).  Said Expedited Services Fee will depend upon the complexity and degree of effort required of said services and the degree to which other clients’ will be required to subordinate their matters to yours.
 
If you choose to engage on an hourly basis, then a retainer of $5,000.00* shall be paid in advance, and held in The Ericsson Law Firm’s IOLTA account, and earned fees shall be deducted from said retainer as work is completed.  My hourly rate is $500.00 per hour.
 
Unless alternative arrangements are made, any balance past due more than thirty (30) days will necessarily result in discontinuation of my work on your behalf, upon ten (10) days’ notice to you.  It is expressly agreed that failure to comply with the financial terms of this engagement (as set forth above), or the existence of a disagreement or dispute between you and this firm, shall allow the firm to withdraw from its representation of you in any court in which your case is pending, all upon ten (10) days’ notice to you.  Of course, you may terminate your relationship with this firm anytime you wish so long as any financial obligations to the firm are satisfied.

* If a client's hourly retainer falls below fifty percent (50%) and is not replenished, then, after properly served notice of not less than ten (10) days, the hourly rate for on-demand services will increase by twenty percent (20%).