Terms of Engagement

 

Thank you for choosing Sleman & Lund LLP for intellectual property legal services. We look forward to assisting you and encourage you to contact us if you have any questions.

In lieu of a signed paper version of this attorney engagement agreement, an electronic version is presented here which you will be agreeing to, along with sending the request retainer to the firm. 
 

Confidentiality.

In order to help you, it will be necessary for you to provide us with confidential information.  All registered patent attorneys are required by law to maintain the confidences and secrets of their clients (See, 37 C.F.R. § 11.106 and Rules of Prof. Conduct 1.16).  A duty of confidentiality is owed to prospective clients as well.  We take our legal and ethical duties seriously and will maintain any information you share with us in the strictest confidence as required by law.

 

Acceptance & Arbitration.

This agreement sets forth the terms of our engagement.  Please review it carefully.  By making a payment, these terms are legally binding.  You have the right to seek independent counsel regarding the terms of our engagement, and you acknowledge that if you do not seek such counsel, you made such decision independently.  We cannot work on any matter unless we agree on the terms of engagement and receive the required retainers.  If you do not timely agree to the terms within thirty (30) days of our invitation, we will consider our potential representation declined.  This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey and any fee disputes that may arise shall be referred to the New Jersey Fee Arbitration Board.

 

Termination.

After our firm is retained, either you or we may terminate our relationship at will upon written notice to the other.  Any termination does not relieve you of obligations to pay our firm for all fees and costs for work done on your behalf that have been incurred until the official time of termination. 

 

Billing.

Depending on the matter, our firm either bills on a fixed fee basis or hourly based on the amount of time a professional in our firm devotes to a matter.  You will be advised whether a particular matter is fixed fee.  If you are not so advised, billing will be hourly.  The standard hourly rate for our attorneys range from $475-$700.  Discounts are available to select clients.

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In addition to professional legal services, our firm will bill for disbursements it incurs in connection with the handling of your work.  This typically includes fees to the USPTO and to other third-parties such as draftsman services, if necessary.  These fees are not included in fixed-fee agreements, but we are glad to estimate them for you.  On occasion, and at our firm’s discretion, we may request advance payment for fees and/or costs expected to be incurred.  If so, you will be notified and the basis for our request explained.

 

Advance Payment.

A predicate for our firm to undertake any work for you is payment of a retainer fee in advance.  This is to show your commitment to the legal work we are undertaking.  It is not a fee estimate.  We will advise you of an appropriate retainer after we understand the scope of the project.

 

Invoices.

Invoices are to be paid within sixty (60) days of the invoice date.  Failure to timely pay invoices will constitute your consent for our firm to withdraw as counsel and your immediate obligation to seek alternate counsel.  A 1% per month interest charge will be added to any overdue balance beginning on the date of invoice as a late charge to assess equitably the additional costs incurred in carrying past due balances.

 

Thank you for your anticipated engagement of our firm.  We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship.

 

I have read and understand the terms of engagement above: