ATTORNEY AGREEMENTThe following is an Agreement between the undersigned attorney and Legal Club of America® (LCOA) Corporation. LCOA is in the business of enlisting plan participants from members of organizations, groups, associations, unions or individuals, who will join LCOA to have access to legal services from participating attorneys at a discounted rate in accordance with the LCOA fee schedule. The Attorney is engaged in the provision of legal services and agrees to participate in providing legal service to plan members of LCOA who seek legal services in accordance with this Agreement. In order to become a participating plan attorney of LCOA, the Attorney acknowledges and agrees to abide by the following terms and conditions:
ATTORNEY FEESEach participating attorney shall charge eligible LCOA plan members in the amounts listed in the “Plan Member Guidebook.” The Planmember Guidebook may have been reduced to a short document fee schedule for electronic transmission purposes. Both fee schedules contain the same information and can be referenced interchangeably. The attorney acknowledges that there are simple legal services (with limiting definitions) which they may perform at no cost for members seeking such services. Should a question arise as to the interpretation of the fee schedule, LCOA’s final determination shall be binding. ACCEPTANCE AND REJECTION OF A CLIENT – WITHDRAWAL FROM REPRESENTATIONA participating attorney shall accept each eligible client who requests services or is referred to such attorney and render prompt professional service to such client. The attorney may, however, reject an eligible client on any reasonable grounds, but shall not reject any eligible client seeking services by reason of the amount of fees to which he or she may be entitled to charge under the Guidebook. If an attorney rejects a client, the attorney must call LCOA Customer Service Center for notification and encourage the client to contact the Customer Service Center to seek an alternate participating attorney. Members are free to use any attorney they wish regardless of their participation status. The attorney’s ethical codes prevail in all transactions. Therefore, an attorney shall not withdraw from employment until he or she has taken reasonable steps to avoid foreseeable prejudice to the rights of his or her client, allowing time for employment of other counsel, delivering to the client all papers and property to which the client is entitled, and complying with all applicable laws and rules. In all cases, the attorney is free to exercise their own independent professional judgment. All attorneys must provide itemized billing statements to clients if they are requested. REFERRALS AND OTHER PRACTICEParticipating attorneys shall be free to serve clients other than eligible clients at their “normal” applicable rates and to otherwise conduct his or her practice of law without interference by LCOA. LCOA has no part in the attorney/client relationship. LCOA is not privy to and does not have access to client legal files or records. LCOA does not, either expressly or implied, have any influence or interference with the professional independent judgment of a participating attorney. From time to time, LCOA may ask the attorneys for area of practice, time spent, and other miscellaneous generic information for statistical research purpose for the benefit of all plan members and participating attorneys alike. A participating attorney is prohibited from referring a plan member to another attorney and must refer them back to LCOA because non-participating attorneys are not bound by the fee schedule. There is no cost for an attorney to participate in the network. LCOA does not share in any legal fees collected by the participating attorneys in accordance with this fee schedule. EXPULSION AND RESIGNATIONA participating attorney shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the plan automatically upon
The term of this Agreement shall be for a period of one year from the date of execution hereof. At the end of the term, the Agreement shall automatically renew for additional one-year periods. This agreement may be terminated by either party by giving the other party written notification of such desire to terminate at any time. In such case, the attorney must continue to represent those clients already engaged at the fees quoted. No new referrals shall be made to said attorney upon termination. If a LCOA member contacts said attorney for services after termination, the attorney shall refer the member back to LCOA Member Service Department for a new attorney assignment. Any and all changes in address or personal practice information should be reported to LCOA immediately so there is no lapse in participation status. The undersigned attorney agrees to hold Legal Club of America Corporation’s administrators and clients, harmless and indemnify said parties from any and all liability, loss or damages that such parties may sustain as a result of actions, claims, demands, costs, including reasonable attorney’s fees due to the subsequent malpractice or misrepresentation or that referral. This Agreement is subject to revocation or modification at any time by LCOA, but any such revocation or modification shall not change the status of any participating attorney. In the event that any of the clauses in this Agreement be deemed by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, said invalidation shall not invalidate or terminate the remainder of the Agreement. Legal Club of America® is not an insurance product or pre-paid legal service of any kind. To learn more about how to become a Legal Club Plan Attorney, please contact: Elaine Gonzalez |