Terms and Conditions

The following Terms and Conditions are applicable to and incorporated by reference in all Attorney-Client contingent fee contracts with Thomas Law Offices (hereinafter TLO).

1. CLIENT’S CASE – The agreement you signed references the only case which is covered by that Contract. The Contract does not include other matters that may arise before, during, or after the date on which you have retained us as your attorneys.  You may contact us to discuss retaining us on other matters that arise while we represent you; however, we reserve the right to decline to represent you on those issues, and you retain the right to take those other cases to another attorney if you so desire.  You understand that this contract is for representation on this claim and this claim alone.  It does not extend to any probate, tax advice, criminal defense, divorce, or other type of legal service or proceeding.  If ancillary services are necessary, You agree that all attorneys’ fees, costs, or services will be borne by You.

2. CO-COUNSEL AND REFERRING COUNSEL – TLO, in its sole discretion, may employ associate counsel to assist attorneys in prosecuting Your claim, at attorney’s expense. Such expense may be deducted from TLO’s fee.

3. PARTIES TO YOUR CASE – You have hired us to use our best efforts, in our sole discretion, to represent You on Your case. By entering into a contract with TLO, you are giving us the power to institute such legal action as may be advisable in the judgment of Your attorneys, including, but not limited to, the filing of the initial action, the trial, and the filing of an appeal after final judgment therein, and to effect a final compromise, subject to Your approval, in the matter.

4. APPEALS – You agree that TLO is under no obligation or duty to appeal or seek a new trial of Your case unless, in TLO’s sole opinion, an appeal or new trial is warranted.

5. STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS – If Your claims are resolved by way of a structured settlement, or by any other type of installment payment, arrangement, or award, TLO’s fees will be calculated based on the present cash value of the settlement agreement or award and will be paid from the initial installment payment. You also authorize the payment of attorney’s fees in the future via the purchases of annuities in the sole discretion of attorneys.

6. COSTS AND EXPENSES RELATED TO LITIGATION – As stated in Your Contract, costs, necessary disbursements, and reasonable personal and travel expenses incurred by TLO in advancing Your case are to be borne by You and will be advanced by attorneys, with reimbursement to be made from the gross proceeds of any recovery.  Advancement of expenses is in the sole discretion of TLO.  Reimbursement shall be in addition to the attorneys’ fee set forth in your contract.  Because the expenses that the attorneys must pay to develop Your case are likely far in excess of $1,000.00, the attorney may, but will not in all cases, borrow money to finance the cost and finances of litigation.  You understand that the bank will charge interest on such loans and agree that such interest will be treated as an expense of litigation.  Costs and expenses shall include, but are not limited to, cash and non-cash expenditures for filing fees, subpoenas, depositions, witness fees, in-house and outside investigative services, expert witness fees and costs, costs of interest charges for expenses, costs of obtaining and copying medical records and reports, Lexis/Nexis/Westlaw and other computer legal research and on-line service costs, photographs, costs and expenses incurred for photocopies, facsimiles, local and long-distance telephone calls, postage fees and Federal Express, UPS and other overnight delivery service charges, mediation and/or arbitration fees, travel costs, out-of-town lodging, food and transportation charges, cost of trial exhibits, in-house and outside multimedia services, outside legal fees and costs incurred for estate, guardianship, bankruptcy and probate matters, and all other costs and expenses necessary for us to adequately provide legal services on your behalf.  All cases are also charged a $100 setup fee upon the signing of this Contract. Additionally, the firm may purchase litigation insurance to cover costs of the litigation.  This litigation insurance shall be a case expense to be borne by You and shall be removed as a cost of any settlement.

7. EXPERT WITNESSES – TLO in its sole discretion, may employ expert witnesses and consultants to assist in the litigation, whose expertise might further the prosecution of the Your claim. All such experts shall report exclusively to attorneys. Costs associated with retaining these expert witnesses will be considered costs of litigation provided for in Paragraph 6.

8. ATTORNEY’S LIEN AND SETTLEMENTS BY CLIENT – TLO is given a lien on the above-styled claim or cause of action, on any sum recovered by way of settlement, and on any judgment that may be recovered, for the sum and share mentioned above, as attorneys’ fee and advanced costs or expenses; and attorneys shall have all general, possessory, or retaining liens, and all special or charging liens known to the common law. If You settle Your claim or cause of action without the consent of attorneys, You will pay to attorney the attorney’s fee computed in accordance with this agreement and based on the final recovery received by You in settlement.  In addition, You will reimburse attorneys for all advances made under this agreement.

9. RETENTION OF FEES AND ADVANCED COSTS FROM SETTLEMENT OR OTHER PROCEEDS – In the event of a settlement or judgment, TLO shall receive any proceeds and may retain from such amount the percentage attorney’s fee. Before disbursing the remainder to You, TLO may deduct therefrom the amount of any unpaid costs and expenses advanced as provided in this agreement.

10. SUBSTITUTION OR DISCHARGE OF ATTORNEYS – You may discharge TLO at any time and for any reason; however, TLO shall be entitled to reimbursement of any expenses incurred in prosecuting Your case in addition to an attorney’s fee to be determined as follows:
    1. If no settlement offer has been made, an hourly fee at a rate to be determined by an Arbitrator for work performed in prosecuting and furthering Your case: or,
    2. If a settlement offer has been made, a contingent fee computed pursuant to the attorney’s fees section of your contract.

11. WITHDRAWAL OF ATTORNEYS – TLO may withdraw from representation in this claim at any time and for any reason, on reasonable notice to You, provided that in the event of such withdrawal attorneys shall be entitled to no attorney’s fee, unless attorneys’ withdrawal comes as a result of Your refusal to accept a settlement offer that has been recommended by TLO or Your refusal to cooperate in the prosecution of Your case.  In such an event attorney’s fee shall be paid pursuant to the Attorney’s Fee section of Your Contract.

12. FAVORABLE OUTCOME NOT WARRANTED – TLO makes no warranties or representations concerning the successful termination of Your claim or favorable outcome of any legal action that may be filed, and TLO does not warrant or guarantee expenses resulting from the above stated facts out of which this claim arises. All statements of TLO attorneys on these matters are statements of opinion only.

13. CHARGES TO YOU CONTINGENT ON RECOVERY – As stated in Your Contract, in the event no recovery is obtained by You on the claim that comprises the subject matter of this agreement, TLO will make no charges for time, services, or fees. Furthermore, in the event no recovery is obtained, TLO will make no request for reimbursement of incurred expenses.

14. COOPERATION – You agree to be truthful with us regarding any information provided to TLO, to cooperate with TLO in pursuing your claims, to keep TLO informed of developments that may affect Your rights or claims, and to abide by the terms of Your contract and these Terms and Conditions. You also agree to keep us regularly informed of any changes in address, telephone number, and current whereabouts. If You fail to do so, You agree that we may withdraw from representing you at any time with notice to the last known address. You agree to appear, if requested, for all depositions and court appearances, and to generally cooperate in all matters related to the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of Your claims.

15. REQUESTING FINANCING FROM THIRD PARTIES – We do not provide financial advice. If You wish to consider obtaining a loan using Your claim as collateral, (hereinafter referred to as “lawsuit financing”), we suggest that You first consult with a qualified financial advisor. We have observed that these lawsuit financiers often charge exorbitant or very high interest rates and fees, avoiding restrictions of state usury laws (which limit the amount of interest a lender may legally charge) by becoming Your partner in the legal claim. Further, please be advised that lawsuit financiers often require the completion of numerous forms and the release of information that would otherwise be attorney-client privileged or attorney work-product privileged. By authorizing the release of this information to a third party, You may lose Your rights to protect this information from disclosure to the Defendants. For these, reasons, we strongly discourage Your participation in lawsuit financing. However, if You choose to do so, please be advised that this Contract to represent You in Your claim does not cover our costs of completing loan documents and fulfilling the requests for information from lenders. If You authorize the firm to perform this work, You will be charged at the prevailing rates for attorney and staff time (currently $125 – $550 per hour for attorneys; $75 per hour for paralegals). Copy charges, long distance telephone expenses, and other expenses incurred in responding to the lender’s requests will also be charged to you as costs. These costs may be added to the costs of the lawsuit and will be deducted from any recovery made on Your behalf. The firm reserves the right to require a retainer in advance of performing this work, for which You agree to pay for these costs up front and/or to repay these costs even if a recovery is not made on Your behalf.

16. RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION POLICY – At the conclusion of Your case, You will be entitled to a complete copy of any documents or electronic files related to Your case with the exception of TLO’s work product. You further acknowledge that TLO will retain a copy of any papers up to and including seven (7) years, at which time they may be destroyed at the discretion of TLO.  You further give TLO permission to dispose of these documents after seven (7) years from the date on which Your case has been closed.

17. ENTIRE AGREEMENT – Your Contract and these Terms and Conditions constitute the entire agreement between You and TLO, and any prior understanding or representation of any kind preceding the date of this agreement shall not be binding on either party. Any modification of this agreement or additional obligation assumed by either party in connection with this agreement shall be binding only if evidenced in a writing signed by each party or an authorized representative of each party.

18. CHOICE OF LAW AND VENUE – Any disputes or litigation under Your Contract or these Terms and Conditions shall be governed by the law of the state where the TLO office handling your case is located. Venue for litigation involving disputes shall be in any state where a TLO office is located.