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Home My WebLink AboutENGAGEMENT LETTER MCKENNA LONG ALDRIDGE LLP .\ Denver McKenna Long &~~~~geLLP San Diego Atlanta ; San Francisco Los Angeles 303 Peachtree Street, NE · Suite 5300 · Atlanta, GA 30308 Tel: 404.527.4000. Fax: 404.527.4198 www.mckennalong.com Washington, D.C. Philadelphia Brussels CAROL R. GEIGER (404) 527-4380 EMAIL ADDRESS cgeiger@mckennalong.com February 10,2006 VIA EMAIL AND UPS DELIVERY Stephen E. Shepard, Esq. Shepard, Plunkett, Hamilton, Boudreaux & Tisdale, LLP 701 Greene Street Suite 104 Augusta, GA 30901-2322 Re: Engagement of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP Dear Steve: It was a pleasure speaking with you earlier this week regarding a claim under the False Claims Act pertaining to Augusta's wastewater treatment plant. As I may have explained to you during our discussion, it is our firm's policy to set forth at the beginning of an engagement the financial terms that apply to our retention. Our firm's services are handled on an hourly basis. Enclosed is a copy of a Statement to Clients Regarding Firm Engagement Policies, which describes our standard billing arrangement. Our firm's hourly rates for attorneys range between $190 and $575, and paralegal time is $105 to $185. My hourly rate on matters such as this is $375 and Barry Armstrong's hourly rate is $365. Of course, where appropriate, work will be performed by lawyers with lower hourly rates. In any event, we will apply the agreed-upon ten percent (10%) discount from our then-current rates at the time of each bill. We will send to you a monthly statement for services and other charges, which will include a summary of the number of hours worked by each lawyer and paralegal, that person's billing rate, and the total number of hours spent during that month. As we discussed, in addition to our normal terms of engagement, this work is being undertaken pursuant to a waiver of a potential conflict of interest, the terms of which are set out under separate cover. Please confirm your consent to our firm's representation of Augusta, Georgia in this matter pursuant to these terms by signing a copy of this letter, in the space indicated below, and returning it to me at your earliest convenience. Of course, if there are any A TLANT A:4 797345.1 ~ ~~ . . Stephen E. Shepard February 10,2006 Page 2 questions about any of these points, please call me. We look forward to working with you on this matter. Best personal regards. CRG:bjd Enclosures Accepted and Agreed to: ~ AUGUSTA,GEORGIA ~(L-;{fJ:f rJ./i.ltJ/..~ I~ Very truly yours, CJ- Ct ' Carol R. oi.~ ATLANTA:4797345.J . '. Denver McKenna Long &~!ti~geLLP San Diego . . Atlanta San Francisco Los Angeles 303 Peachtree Street, NE · Suite 5300 · Atlanta, GA 30308 Tel: 404.527.4000 . Fax: 404.527.4198 www.mckennalong.com Washington, D.C. Philadelphia Brussels Statement to Clients Regarding Firm Engagement Policies This statement regarding McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP's billing policies and payment terms has been prepared for the information of clients of the firm. It applies to all client accounts and sets forth our agreement regarding the firm's representation unless otherwise agreed in writing. Legal Fees Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the amount we charge for our legal and paralegal services is calculated by multiplying the number of hours worked by each lawyer and paralegal by that person's then current applicable hourly rate for the type of work to be performed. The hourly rates for many of our lawyers are adjusted annually to reflect increased experience, and all rates are adjusted from time to time. Other Charges Certain charges for items performed on the client's behalf in rendering legal services, such as filing fees, long-distance telephone calls, copying, facsimile and delivery charges, travel expenses, court reporter charges and the like, are payable by the client. The charges for some items performed at the firm's offices, such as photocopying, long-distance telephone calls, outgoing facsimile transmissions, secretarial overtime and electronic research, are established by the firm from time to time, after taking into account the total costs involved in providing these services. Billing and Payment Statements for services rendered and other charges of the firm are generally rendered to clients monthly. All statements for services rendered are payable in full upon receipt. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, payment of our bills is not contingent in any respect. Retainer Generally, we ask that our clients pay us a retainer at the outset of our work on any given matter. At the end of our representation on the matter with respect to which the retainer was paid, we credit the amount of the retainer against our last statement. If the amount of our final statement is less than the amount of the retainer, we will promptly pay the difference to the client. Unless specifically agreed to otherwise in writing, we do not hold the retainer in a segregated account. ATLANTA: 1000514.1 . ' . Withdrawal In the event that any statement remains unpaid for more than 30 days, we reserve the right to withdraw from further representation, and you agree not to contest our right to withdraw under such circumstances. Our withdrawal from further representation will not, of course, relieve you of your obligation to pay for all services rendered up to the date of withdrawal. Furthermore, we reserve our right to withdraw from further representation at any time for any reason sufficient under applicable law and ethical rules. Waiver of Conflicts McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP is a law firm of more than 350 lawyers, with offices in four States, Washington, D.C. and Brussels, Belgium. We have many existing clients and many new clients each year, and consequently, from time to time clients of our firm have business dealings, negotiations, and sometimes disputes (including litigation) with other clients of our firm. So that we can fully serve all of our clients and prospective clients, our agreement to represent you is conditioned upon your agreement that you will not object to our representation of any other client or prospective client of our firm in any business dealings, negotiations, or disputes (including litigation) provided that the matter in which we represent any party adverse to you is not related to any matter in which we are representing or have represented you, and provided that we will not disclose any confidential information we have received from you and will not use any such information on behalf of any other party. For example, pursuant to this waiver, we may represent debtors or official committees in bankruptcy cases in which you are a creditor or party in interest and in regard to which you may have an adverse interest to those debtors or official committees so long as the matter is not related to any matter on which we have represented you. Resolution of Disputes Any and all disputes of any type, kind, or nature whatsoever (including without limitation fee disputes and disputes concerning the legal services rendered or not rendered by our firm) shall be resolved solely by arbitration, in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, or, in the case of a dispute regarding legal fees, you may choose arbitration pursuant to the rules of the applicable State Bar or the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American . Arbitration Association. Documents Any and all documents that you deliver to us during the course of our representation of you will remain your property and will be returned to you promptly upon your request at any time. Any and all documents generated by our firm during the course of our representation of you will remain the property of the firm. Upon termination of our representation of you and upon your request, we will provide you or any law firm you designate with copies of documents in our files (other than internal administrative documents and memoranda and our firm's work product) upon your payment to our firm of the reasonable cost of reviewing our files and producing such copies. Advice Regarding Insurance Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the scope of our engagement does not include imy inquiry into or advice concerning any type of insurance. ATLANTA: I 0005 J 4.1