There are a number of billing options that will be discussed and agreed with you before we start acting on your instructions. The most common arrangements are either to agree on a fixed fee for the task or hourly rate billing. A fixed fee is usually only appropriate where it is possible to predict, with some accuracy, how much time will be required to complete your instructions. Hourly rate billing is more appropriate where it is unknown how much work will be required. This is usually the case in dispute resolution cases.
Fixed Fee Basis
If we agree to act for you on a fixed fee basis, we will usually require you to pay that fee in advance of us doing the work for you and will hold the fee on account. Once the work is complete, we will send you an invoice for the fixed fee amount and, provided you do not dispute the invoice, we will then apply the pre-paid fixed fee to our invoice.
Hourly Rate Basis
If we agree to work for you on an hourly rate basis, we will usually ask you to pay a “retainer fee” which we will hold on account for you. We will issue invoices for the work we do for you, usually once a month, as the file progresses. Those invoices will record a description of the work done, how much time was spent on that work, and the applicable hourly rate, to reach a total for each invoice. The invoiced amount is due within 30 days of the date of each invoice. If we are holding a retainer fee on account for you, we will apply that fee to the invoice and ask you to pay any balance not covered by the retainer fee. If at the conclusion of your instructions we have issued invoices to you for less than the amount of the retainer fee paid, we will refund the balance to you.
Conditional or Contingency Fee Agreements
There are some circumstances in which we will agree to wait for payment until the end of your case and in some rare circumstances, where we will agree to take payment from the proceeds of litigation. These types of agreements are sometimes referred to as conditional or contingency fee agreements. Some people refer to them as “no win; no fee” agreements. Such agreements are unusual and highly fact specific. If you think your case is appropriate for such an agreement, we will discuss it with you.
Will Multiple Lawyers be Involved:
If we agree to act for you, you will be engaging Nelsons Legal as your attorneys rather than any one individual attorney. That said, there will always be one lawyer allocated as the responsible attorney on your file. That attorney is likely to be assisted by other attorneys and support staff employed by Nelsons. It is possible that it might be necessary for us to change which attorneys have overall responsibility for your file, or you might request a change. If that occurs, we will discuss it with you.
There is a good reason to have more than one attorney involved in work on your file. It means that tasks that are less complex can be done by less experienced attorneys, who charge lower hourly rates. This will keep your costs lower than they would be if the attorney with overall responsibility for your file did all the work. In addition, it means there are more people within the firm who you can contact when you need to speak to someone about your file.
How do I engage Nelsons Legal
to act for me?
If you have an existing relationship with a particular attorney at Nelsons Legal, you can send them an email seeking assistance and that attorney will guide you in process. If not, the best way to decide whether you wish to engage Nelsons Legal is to have a consultation meeting with one of our attorneys.
To book a consultation click the “book consultation” link in the “contact us” section of this website and follow the steps outlined there.
The consultation can take place at our offices, at Grand Pavilion in the Cayman Islands, or by telephone or video conference. The fee for a consultation must be paid in advance. Once you have submitted a request for a consultation through this website, we will be in touch with you via email to finalize the arrangements, including payment of the consultation fee. Please be aware that we are not able to accept payment by credit or debit card. Payment can be made by electronic funds transfer, cash, or cheque. If paid by cheque, the funds must have cleared in our account before the consultation takes place.
What documents do I need to provide in order to engage Nelsons to act for me?
Our compliance requirements vary, depending on the nature of the work and the identity of the individual or entity wishing to engage us. At the most basic level, and presuming we will not be handling any funds for you, we might only require (1) a government-issued photo ID, such as your passport or driver’s license; and (2) a document issued by a third party within the last 3 months that records both your full name and residential address, such as an invoice for utilities or other services at your property or the lease over the property you live in. In addition to these documents, we will also require you to sign a retainer agreement, which sets out the terms that will govern our relationship.
