JUDGE CONRAD CYR RECEIVES NORTON JUDICIAL EXCELLENCE AWARD

JUDGE CONRAD K. CYR of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit received the Third Annual Judge William L. Norton Jr. Judicial Excellence Award at the annual meeting of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges in November 2008. Mr. Deschene had the honor and privilege of serving as Judge Cyr's senior law clerk from 1991 to 2008.

ABA CITES VALUE-ADDED BENEFITS OF OUTSOURCING WORK TO FREELANCE ATTORNEYS

In November 2008, the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Ethics issued Opinion No. 08-451, which discusses the significant benefits of outsourcing work to a freelance attorney, and clarifies that the hiring attorney ethically may earn a profit by charging his client a fee higher than the fee charged by the freelance attorney.

TERMS

Terms of Retention

         Fees.  My hourly rate is $250. First-time clients receive a discounted hourly rate of $200 per hour. If you prefer to pay on a flat, per-brief basis, we will negotiate a flat fee based on our initial estimate of the number of hours needed to complete your project. Flat-rate fees for briefs generally are:

                       •     $9,500 for principal brief
                       •     $3,000 for reply brief
                       •     $11,500 for principal and reply brief

If, after beginning work on your brief on an hourly-rate basis, I conclude that my hours likely will exceed this initial estimate, I will contact you to discuss these additional time requirements and obtain your written authorization to exceed the estimate. My sole responsibility is to deliver a signature-ready document to you by an agreed-upon date in a form suitable for filing with the court. You will be solely responsible for preparing that document for court filing, for filing it with the court, and for all costs associated with such preparation and filing.   I absorb the normal costs of all my in-house overhead, including the costs of online legal research and professional liability insurance. Miscellaneous ordinary expenses, such as the cost of overnight mail delivery, will be billed to you.  Copies will be billed at $.15 per page. Extraordinary expenses, such as any necessary travel expenses, will be billed to you, subject to our prior agreement in the written services agreement.

       Billing and Payment.   Before I begin work on your project, you will make an initial retainer payment equal to fifty percent (50%) of the total anticipated fee, by credit card, facilitated by an electronic invoice submitted to you through PayPal. Within five (5) days of completing the project, I will mail you an invoice for the balance due, including a detailed summary reflecting the work performed and my billable disbursements.   Full payment is due within ten (10) days of the invoice/billing date.  Overdue balances incur interest at a rate of 1.5 percent per month.   You understand that full payment is due to me whether or not your client pays you.

       Nature of Relationship. The scope of my services will be set forth in an a written services agreement signed by both parties. As a freelance attorney providing "of counsel" services, I need not be admitted to practice law in your jurisdiction. Because I provide my services solely to other attorneys, I will not have an attorney-client relationship with you or with your client. I agree, however, to maintain the confidentiality of any and all client information that I may acquire during the project-for-hire, to the same extent as if we had such an attorney-client relationship.  Once you have disclosed to me the names of all the parties and potential parties to your case, I will check my records and confirm that no conflict of interest prevents me from undertaking the assignment.  In turn, you agree to ensure that I do not have access to files, documents or other information about firm clients other than those who are parties and potential parties to your case.

         I operate as an independent contractor with my own business, and your firm should neither withhold nor pay on my behalf income tax, social security or any other payroll tax. I understand that the payment of taxes is my sole responsibility, and that I am not entitled to employee benefits or statutory mandates such as workers' compensation or unemployment insurance. I carry and pay for my own professional liability insurance coverage.

      Initial Services Agreement. After our initial phone consultation, we will sign a services agreement, setting forth (i) the form and scope of the documents that I will deliver to you (e.g., brief and/or appendices); (ii) my hourly rate or flat fee for the project; (iii) the date on which I will deliver the document(s) to you in both hard copy and electronic form;* (iv) the date by which you must notify me of any suggestions for changes to the document(s); and (v) the date by which I will deliver the final amended document(s) to you. To the extent the terms of the negotiated services agreement differ from the generic terms of retention described on this website, the former agreement will govern. Any dispute arising out of or relating in any way to our services agreement will be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and will be determined by Massachusetts or federal courts.

* Unless otherwise specified, I will send the document to you by facsimile or email no later than 5 p.m. EST on the agreed-upon delivery date.