ATTORNEY-CLIENT FEE AGREEMENT
In consideration of legal services to be rendered by MCDONALD WORLEY, PC, hereinafter called ATTORNEY, on behalf of {name} hereinafter called CLIENT, both ATTORNEY and CLIENT acknowledge and agree to the following:
1. SCOPE OF SERVICES.
CLIENT is hiring ATTORNEY to represent him/her with respect to a potential claim involving injuries resulting from hernia mesh. ATTORNEY will provide those legal services reasonably required to represent CLIENT. ATTORNEY will take reasonable steps to keep CLIENT informed of progress and to respond to inquiries. If a court action is filed, ATTORNEY will represent CLIENT through trial and post-trial motions. After judgment, ATTORNEY will not represent CLIENT in any post-trial matters, including execution proceedings or an appeal. Unless CLIENT and ATTORNEY make a different agreement in writing, this Agreement will govern all future services ATTORNEY may perform. This Agreement will not take effect, and ATTORNEY will have no obligation to provide legal services, until you return a signed copy of this Agreement. No attorney client relationship and no expectation of confidentiality is present until this Agreement is entered. This agreement is subject to investigation as to viability of claim in the sole determination of Attorney. I also understand that I may have a medical malpractice claim against a doctor or healthcare provider. I understand and agree that Attorneys will not investigate and will not pursue a medical malpractice action and that if I wish to pursue such action, I will need to find another attorney to pursue such claim. I also understand that a Defendant party to this action may convince a jury (should a trial occur) that my total recovery should be reduced by the portion of fault (if any) that is attributed to a doctor or healthcare provider by the jury.
2. NO RECOVERY / NO FEE. IF NO RECOVERY IS OBTAINED, NO FEE SHALL BE PAYABLE TO ATTORNEY BY CLIENT.
CONTINGENCY FEE. In consideration of the legal services to be rendered by ATTORNEY, for any claims that CLIENT may have against the parties responsible for claims by CLIENT, CLIENT does employ ATTORNEY for a legal fee of FORTY PERCENT (40.00%) of all amounts recovered against the adverse parties in this matter.
ATTORNEY has informed CLIENT that legal fees are not set by law, but are negotiable between ATTORNEY and CLIENT. CLIENT acknowledges that the fees stated hereinabove were reached and mutually agreed to through open discussion and negotiation. All expenses and charges of any nature made by ATTORNEY to third parties in conjunction with the above-mentioned claim are not legal fees, such as filing fees, court fees/costs, staff charges, medical record copy fees and retrieval fees, investigative fees, expert fees, including a nurse or physician medical record review fees, deposition costs, exhibit expenses, research fees, along with any interest charged by a lender on such expenses, federal MDL fees, state coordination fee assessments and any other such costs and these expenses and charges will also be deducted from CLIENT’s share of amounts recovered.
3. ASSOCIATE COUNSEL. CLIENT expressly grants ATTORNEY the right to associate into this matter counsel of ATTORNEY'S sole choice. No increase of the fee to CLIENT under this Agreement shall occur by any such association in of counsel. Associated Counsel in this case is STC LAW FIRM, PLLC. MCDONALD WORLEY, P.C. and FLANAGAN INJURY LAW FIRM agree to share the 40% attorneys’ fee as follows: 50% to MCDONALD WORLEY, P.C. and 50% to FLANAGAN INJURY LAW FIRM.
4. CLIENT'S DUTIES. CLIENT agrees to be truthful with ATTORNEY, to cooperate, to keep ATTORNEY informed of developments, to abide by this Agreement, and to keep ATTORNEY advised of CLIENT’S address, telephone number, and whereabouts. CLIENT consents to be contacted by ATTORNEY via text messaging.
5. DISCLAIMER OF GUARANTEE. Nothing in this Agreement and nothing in ATTORNEY'S statements to CLIENT shall be construed as a promise or guarantee about the outcome of CLIENT'S matter. ATTORNEY makes no such promises or guarantees. ATTORNEY comments about the outcome of CLIENT matter are expressions of opinion only.
6. TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT. If this Agreement is terminated before the case is resolved CLIENT gives ATTORNEY a lien against any subsequent recovery in this case for ATTORNEY's time and expenses. If an offer has been negotiated ATTORNEY will have a lien upon any subsequent recovery equal to an amount to compensate for time and expenses. ATTORNEY may withdraw from representation of CLIENT at any time if ATTORNEY determines prosecution of the claim is not practicable. ATTORNEY may, after further investigation of the merits of this claim, cancel this contract of employment by mailing notice to the CLIENT. In such event there will be no charge for services rendered or expenses incurred by ATTORNEY.
7. WAIVER AND RELEASE – INCORRECT OR UNKNOWN FACTS REGARDING STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS. CLIENT understands that there are statutes of limitations that apply to the filing of claims against drug and medical device manufacturers, and that if a lawsuit is not filed against them for CLIENT’S injuries before the applicable statutes of limitations expire regarding CLIENT’s claims then CLIENT may be forever precluded from suing them. ATTORNEY enters into this agreement with CLIENT based upon certain representations by CLIENT regarding facts and dates which will determine when the statute of limitations will run on CLIENT’S claim and that Attorney may require additional information from CLIENT and/or third parties in order to proceed at all. CLIENT has represented to ATTORNEY the approximate dates the injury occurred and/or was discovered. CLIENT has also represented to ATTORNEY that prior to these dates no one ever told CLIENT or suggested to CLIENT, verbally or in writing, that CLIENT’S injuries were or could have been caused by the drug or medical device, and that prior to these dates CLIENT never received any information from any source, and that CLIENT never read, heard or saw any information which gave CLIENT any reason to suspect that the drug or medical device could cause injury, or that it could have caused CLIENT’S injury. CLIENT understands that if these representations regarding facts or these dates are incorrect, the statute of limitations on CLIENT’S claim may have already run, and even if it has not, that it could run during the time ATTORNEY is investigating CLIENT’S claim (the “Investigative Period”) which would preclude CLIENT from ever filing a claim in the future. The Investigative Period includes all applicable timeframes and deadlines that medical records holders have pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. CLIENT therefore agrees that if it is ever determined by a court or a jury that the statute of limitations on CLIENT’S claim ran out at any time during the Investigative Period that ATTORNEY shall not be responsible or liable to CLIENT in any manner for failure to file a lawsuit before the running of the statute of limitations. CLIENT further agrees to hold harmless ATTORNEY, its related entities and assigns, and release them from and waive any claim CLIENT may have against ATTORNEY for failure to file a lawsuit within the Investigative Period.
8. LIMITED POWER OF ATTORNEY. CLIENT hereby grants ATTORNEY a limited power, of attorney to sign in the name of and on behalf of CLIENT, documents to obtain one or more advances from third parties to fund costs and expenses related to the investigation, preparation and prosecution of CLIENT’S case, original HIPAA medical record release forms and endorse the CLIENT'S name to any checks or drafts received by ATTORNEY in settlement of any and all claims pursued by ATTORNEY on behalf of CLIENT. Such settlement funds shall be placed in trust for CLIENT'S benefit. With respect to documents for advances (loan agreements or purchase agreements) signed on behalf of CLIENT, ATTORNEY is authorized to enter into these loan or purchase agreements and honor any payments for principal, interest, purchase interest and fees due to the lender or purchaser under those agreements from any recovery due to CLIENT. The loan or purchase agreements may include interest rates or payments that are higher than usual (i.e., higher interest, payments and fee charges than what most banks would charge) because the loans are “no recourse” loans. “No recourse” means that the lender or purchaser has agreed that it will not seek a repayment of the funding amount, if there is no recovery on CLIENT’s claims; however, CLIENT will still repay the lender or purchaser to the extent of any recovery due to the client, even if the portion of the recovery due to CLIENT is less than the amount the lender or purchaser has advanced. Further, the third party extending the advance may require ATTORNEY to provide lender or purchaser with a litigation “budget” in advance of any expenditures by ATTORNEY for litigation expenses and costs. Lender may then lend money to ATTORNEY consistent with that “budget” (or some other amount approved by lender). Interest charges will accrue on the full amount lent upon receipt by ATTORNEY and continue to accrue on that full amount until the case is concluded (and that interest charge will be owed by CLIENT as a case expense), even if all of the budgeted funds are not expended by ATTORNEY for litigation expenses (for example, if $10,000 is the budgeted amount loaned by lender to ATTORNEY, interest will accrue (and be owed by CLIENT) on that $10,000 until the case is concluded, even if only $2,500 of that $10,000 was ultimately spent and/or incurred as litigation expenses before the case was concluded). The interest rate charged will be within a range of 2% per month to 3.5% per month. With respect to original HIPAA medical record release forms, CLIENT agrees to sign an electronic copy of a HIPAA medical record release form and ATTORNEY will only sign CLIENT’S name to an original HIPAA medical records release should an original signature be required by a medical records custodian instead of a release with an electronic signature.
9. SETTLEMENT PROCEDURE IN MULTIPLE CLIENT CASES. CLIENT understands that oftentimes in cases in which the Firm represents multiple clients in similar litigation, the opposing parties (the defendants) attempt to settle the Firm’s cases in groups under a matrix type system whereby the Firm’s clients are offered varying settlement amounts depending upon the circumstances of each of the client’s cases. Once a settlement value under the matrix is determined, the client is then given the opportunity to accept or reject the value being offered within the matrix system. Similarly, defendants may wish to settle the Firm’s cases as a group, meaning the defendants may attempt to settle the Client’s case along with a number of other similar cases the firm is handling. When this group settlement system is being offered by the defendant, the Firm will get each client’s authorization for a minimum gross amount for which the clients authorize the Firm to attempt to settle the Client’s case. The Firm then adds up the total of all clients’ minimum authorized settlement values and attempts to settle the group for at least the minimum authorized by the clients. Finally, under some circumstances, the defendants offer to pay a certain sum to all the Firm’s clients regardless of the circumstances of the individual cases. Thus, each client receives the same amount of money even though the clients may have different levels of injuries or liability. Regardless of what method is used, the fact that the client’s case settles with a group of others will not take away the Client’s right to approve or not approve his/her individual settlement. Each client will always have the right to approve or not to approve his/her individual settlement.
10. ARBITRATION. CLIENT hereby acknowledges being advised that ATTORNEY maintains error and omissions insurance coverage applicable to the services to be rendered to CLIENT by ATTORNEY. CLIENT consents that any controversy between the parties hereto involving the construction or application of any of the terms, covenants, or conditions of this Agreement or the quality of the legal services rendered, on written request of one party served on the other, shall be exclusively submitted to binding arbitration, and such arbitration shall comply with, and be governed by Texas law and conducted in Texas. The cost of arbitration, including an award of attorney's fees, may be borne by the losing party or in such proportions as the arbitrator may decide.
CLIENT consents to the exclusive application of Texas law to this Agreement, including any documents signed on behalf of CLIENT for advances to fund costs and expenses, and to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue for the above exclusive binding arbitration procedure to be Texas. CLIENT consents to jurisdiction and venue in Texas and to the above dispute processes.
CLIENT understands that this provision is a full and voluntary WAIVER of CLIENT'S ability to have a court and jury determine any dispute between ATTORNEY and CLIENT.
11. FILES, PAPERS, PROPERTY & STORAGE. In the general course of representation, ATTORNEY will provide CLIENT copies of the documents, papers and materials related to and arising from this representation. CLIENT acknowledges and agrees that such materials are provided so that CLIENT may maintain CLIENT'S own files in this matter.
12. MODIFICATIONS. This Agreement states the complete agreement and all understandings between CLIENT and ATTORNEY. No modifications to this Agreement shall be of any force or effect, unless it shall be in writing and signed by the party to be affected.
13. ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE. An electronic or facsimile signature shall be as valid as an original for all purposes and I give ATTORNEY permission to use my electronic signature.
14. MEDICAL RECORDS COMPANY RECORDS Rx US, INC. An attorney in the firm (McDonald Worley) owns a separate business named Records Rx Us, Inc. for the purpose of acquiring CLIENT’S medical records from the CLIENT’S healthcare providers, including CLIENT’S doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, diagnostic laboratories, medical testing facilities and other healthcare providers, review of those records by a medical professional and preparing a plaintiff fact sheet. This company will charge a flat rate of $2,400 for these services. Due to the large number of medical records that may need to be acquired from various medical providers in many of our firm’s cases, the Attorneys believe that the services of their separate medical records retrieval company are beneficial to CLIENT because the law firm can control the quality and timeliness of its wholly-owned company in acquiring, assembling and reviewing the CLIENT’S medical records. Because the Attorneys own this separate company and expect to hire this company to provide this records retrieval service for CLIENT during this representation, it is important that CLIENT understand this business transaction and relationship between the law firm and its separate medical records company – and the conflict of interest involved in Attorneys owning a separate business which charges for its services and which CLIENT will pay out of any recovery. The Attorneys have a direct financial interest in the medical records company because the fees charged by the company will be charged to CLIENT as a reimbursable expense of the law firm, if there is a recovery for CLIENT. Further, the Attorneys will benefit financially if their records retrieval services make money in addition to any legal fees earned through CLIENT representation. As with all other litigation-related expenses, if there is no recovery for CLIENT, then CLIENT will pay nothing for the medical records retrieval services and the law firm will not be reimbursed for those expenses by CLIENT. The fees charged by this company are no more than the average fees charged by other independent companies which are not owned by Attorneys—and our goal is that those fees will actually be less (the market prices for records retrieval services, review and plaintiff fact sheets are likely to change over time and it may not always be feasible for us to accurately determine what the true market average price is for these services on a continuous basis). We also believe that the services are at least comparable to those of independent companies—and our goal is that those services will be better and faster, as may be necessary. The above disclosures address two clear implications and potential disadvantage of this arrangement: (1) whether CLIENT will pay more than CLIENT would otherwise pay if an independent company provided these services; and (2) whether the quality and timeliness of the services provided are comparable to those of independent service companies. Your consent to this business transaction with the Attorneys’ wholly-owned medical records retrieval company is requested and your signature below indicate that consent. Before you sign, however, you should consider whether you wish to consult with an independent lawyer of your choice about this arrangement between Attorneys and our records retrieval company due to the financial and conflict implications to you of this business transaction with the Attorneys. Whether you decide to consult with independent counsel or decline to consult with independent counsel, you agree that you had that opportunity before signing below.
NOTE TO CLIENT: This is a contract. It protects both you and ATTORNEY and will prevent misunderstanding. Please sign this Agreement only if you understand and agree with it. This Agreement is deemed entered into and to be performed in Texas. Legal services in jurisdictions outside of Texas shall be cause for association in of counsel, and the terms of this Agreement shall otherwise be in full force and effect.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT: CLIENT understands and hereby acknowledges the following: 1) ATTORNEY, including its agents and associated counsel, did not solicit CLIENT to pursue this claim or sign this agreement; 2) CLIENT made the initial request by telephone, email or through a website opt-in feature that an attorney contact CLIENT about his/her potential claim; 3) ATTORNEY has not made any promises or guarantees of settlement or final disposition of the claim in order to induce CLIENT to retain ATTORNEY; and 4) CLIENT’s decision to retain ATTORNEY is voluntary and of CLIENT’s own free will.
I have read and understood the foregoing terms, and agree to them as of the date ATTORNEY first provided services. If more than one party signs below, we each agree to be individually liable,' jointly and severally, for all obligations under this Attorney-Client Fee Agreement.
DATED:{pleaseChoose48}
CLIENT: {name} ATTORNEY:
________________________________
Print Name __ McDonald ‘Don’ Worley___________
Print Name: {name}
SSN: {whatAre}
Date of Birth: {pleaseProvide}
SIGNATURE OF CLIENT: