• Initial telephone conversation, where preceded by a BCD Form, is at no charge

• Initial Office Consultation:

At the Initial Office Consultation the client brings the requested financial documents (see the Checklist page) and has basic questions answered. An Initial Consultation (fee) Agreement is discussed and signed.  For Chapter 7 cases, an Initial Consultation Fee in a mutually-agreeable amount is payable at the Initial Office Consultation. It is currently a minimum of $500. When all of the necessary documents have been received and analyzed, legal advice and recommendations are given at a Pre-Bankruptcy Analysis Meeting.  If the client decides to go forward into Chapter 7 Phase Two, some or all of the estimated Chapter 7 Flat Fee is paid.  If the client subsequently decides not to file (which is rare but occasionally does happen), all time spent after the IOC is billed at Mr. Clarke's current hourly rate. If there is an unearned portion of the Retainer on hand when the representation ends, it will be refunded.

• Final Office Meeting:

At the Final Office Meeting all Chapter 7 documents have been prepared and need only client and attorney signatures to be ready for filing. In the process of receiving, reviewing, and analyzing client documents, all necessary asset, debt, and transactional information will have been disclosed. Attorney and client will have discussed and agreed on a Flat Fee which takes into account any legal or factual complexities presented by the client's situation. Client will be asked to complete payment of the agreed Flat Fee plus the Filing Fee, and enter into a comprehensive Attorney-Client Retainer Agreement.

• Flat Fee Guidelines:

Chapter 7 clients fall into two major categories, Assisted Persons (consumer debtors) and Nonassisted Persons (business debtors). The consumer debtors have no business debts. The business debtors have primarily business debts as well as consumer debts. The 2007 Flat Fee for consumer debtors will fall within a range of $2,500 - 3,500 and the flat fee for business debtors will fall within a range of $3,500 - 5,000, depending always on the unique factual and legal complexities each debtor brings to the table. 

• Exclusions:

The Flat Fee contemplates that creditors will not object to dischargeability and the United States Trustee will not challenge the debtor's choice of Chapter 7 as a violation of the Means Test or otherwise a substantial abuse of the Bankruptcy Code. The Flat Fee does not cover out-of-the-ordinary situations, including but not limited to, defending creditor motions for relief from stay, objections to debtor's claim of exemptions, and examination (deposition) of the debtor other than at the Meeting of Creditors. Nor does it cover obtaining Orders of Abandonment, defending actions taken by unscheduled/undischarged creditors, dealing with credit reporting agency problems, or caused by debtor's post-filing actions or inactions. Representation of debtors in the above or other unpredictable situations is available, at an additional charge, as described in the Attorney-Client Retainer Agreement.

• Hourly Rate:

Representation other than as described in the Attorney-Client Retainer Agreement is at the firm's Hourly Rate then in effect. Jon B. Clarke's 2008 time will be billed at between $275 and $395 per hour, depending on the particular matter involved. Phyllis J. Barrett's paralegal time will be billed at $75-95 per hour. Chapter 11 cases are Hourly Rate. The agreed Chapter 11 Retainer is payable at or before the Final Office Meeting. A 2008 or later Chapter 11 Retainer could be as little as $15,000 or as much as $75,000.

• Filing Fees:

Filing Fees payable to the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court are not included in the Flat Fee/Hourly Rate discussions above. Currently (2008) the filing fee for a Chapter 7 case is $299 and a Chapter 11 case is $1,039.  You pay the firm and it pays the Bankruptcy Court Clerk.