Who will work with you?
We will designate a member of the firm to be your primary contact, responsible for the delivery of our services to you. This attorney will keep you informed of progress on the issues we are handling for you. Other attorneys, patent or trademark agents, paralegals, or non-technical professionals will work together to solve your problems as assigned.
Scope of our role
You control our work by your instructions. Clear, frequent communication is vital to our relationship.
Written instructions are best. Please do not assume that we know particular facts. We need you to tell us all relevant information. We do not want to give advice based on incorrect assumptions.
At the beginning of our client-counsel relationship, we will prepare an engagement letter. This letter defines the scope of our undertaking. We will only undertake tasks set out in that letter or in other communication between us.
Our duty of care is to our client named in the engagement letter. We do not owe any duty of care or liability to any other person.
Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest
We will protect the confidentiality of the information you provide to us. We will avoid conflicts of interest in representing you.
Professional fees
Our charges are generally based on hourly rates. In some cases we may agree on another formula for calculating charges. We may adjust our fees to reflect the value and skill we bring by delivering an innovative solution or the special responsibility or urgency of the matter. We may also adjust our fees to reflect the benefits of our previous work products or precedents. Hourly rates vary according to the type of work and experience of the person performing the work.
Certain types of work, particularly in the areas of patent and trademark registrations, may be performed for fixed fees according to prescribed schedules.
If we agree on a fixed fee and the scope of the work increases beyond the basis of your original instructions, charges for the additional work will be based on the normal hourly rates of the practitioners involved.
Rate Changes
Standard charges, government fees, hourly rates and disbursements are reviewed regularly and may change during the course of our handling of your matters. If they do, the revised rate will apply from the date of the change.
Estimates
Where requested, we will provide an estimate of the likely charges, fees and disbursements. The final charges, fees and costs may differ from the estimate if the scope or nature of the matter changes, our role changes or unforeseen circumstances arise. You should therefore view the estimate as our best guess, based on the information you have provided us and any assumptions given, of the cost of our services in the matter. Our estimate is not to be taken as a fee cap or maximum fee. Neither is it a minimum fee; we will always strive to provide our services on time and under budget.
Disbursements
Disbursements generally fall into two categories: payments for services supplied by others and payments for support services supplied by us or our associated entities.
- We will generally charge you the amount charged to us by others for services such as counsel fees, travel expenses, witness fees and expert fees.
- We may charge you for services we supply including photocopying, long distance telephone calls and faxes, and on-line searches.
Billing arrangements
We issue bills monthly or at discrete stages in registration or renewal processes. Our bills will set out the total professional fees charged during the relevant period as well as our disbursements on your behalf. If your accounts remain unpaid, we may cease work on your matter after giving you reasonable notice.
Retainer
We may ask you for funds in advance to be held in trust and applied to your account in payment of our fees or disbursements.
Reimbursement
Although you may expect to be reimbursed by a third party for our fees and costs, we do not have any recourse against that third party so we must look to you for timely payment, even if payment to you is delayed or not received.
Interest on unpaid accounts
Payment is due on receipt of our invoice. If you do not pay within a reasonable time, we reserve the right to charge interest at a rate of fourteen percent per annum on unpaid balances.
Changes by others to our work product
If we transmit or provide any document to you or another party, and changes are made to that document by someone other than us, we are not responsible for any loss caused by the changes unless we have specifically approved them.
Email
Any communications or documents transmitted by email may be interfered with, contain computer viruses or other defects, or may not be successfully replicated on other systems. We will not be liable for any copying, recording, reading or interference by others during or after a transmission, or for any delay or non-delivery or for any damage caused in connection with a transmission.
If you have any doubts about the authenticity of any communication or documents purportedly sent by us, please contact us immediately.
Files
Due to limited storage space, we may destroy any file (except documents in safe custody) at any time 3 years after the date of our final bill to you. You should let us know if you would like to make other arrangements.
Official inquiries
We may be required in the future to participate in an inquiry, commission or proceedings arising out of our engagement in this matter. This may, for example, involve our producing documents, seeking to claim and defend your privilege to resist inspection or disclosure of certain documents, or giving evidence at an inquiry. We will seek your instructions if these circumstances arise, but you agree to pay our normal hourly rates for such work and reimburse our out-of-pocket expenses incurred on your behalf.
Termination
Either of us may terminate this engagement by giving appropriate notice. You agree to pay our fees and disbursements incurred up to termination and for any work we are required to do in relation to the matter after termination.
