I received the following question by email:

I am corporate counsel for my mid-sized company.  We need to hire an attorney to handle some outside matters.  Should I prepare an engagement agreement or should I expect the firm to use its own?
This was my response:

I provide the engagement agreement for most of my corporate clients, even those with in-house counsel.  In my experience, the best engagement agreement is one that discusses what happens if something goes wrong.  In essence, what happens if one of the parties cannot or do not perform as they promised.  This is a good question to ask during client intake; it helps clarify everyone’s expectations. For example, I find that some clients expect me to return their phone calls within a few hours.  (As a side note , I expect my firm’s attorney to return my call within 48 hours…isn’t that interesting?)    My engagement agreements are 2 pages long, and I use the agreement as an opportunity to detail my offices’ commitment to customer service.  For example, I list my cell phone number for text messages.  I also detail how to contact me during an emergency.

I believe an engagement agreement, should be formatted as a letter because it is easier to read.  My engagement letters answer the following 4 questions:

1.       What am I promising to do? (review the company’s insurance policy; charge a fixed fee)

2.       What is the client promising to do? (give me access to the policy; pay on-time)

3.       What happens if I break my promise? (terminate and refund)

4.       What happens if the client breaks her promise? (terminate and no refund).

Wan to learn more about contracts? Visit our Business Centers for more information at http://www.mckeeoffice.com/business.html