The Client agrees to compensate the Consultant in the following manner:
- Initial, cursory case review and verbal comment: Gratis
- Travel time is charged at the rate of: Seventy-Five Dollars ($75.00) per hour, portal to portal.
- When in the area of the Consultant’s office, time shall be billed from the time of departure from Consultant’s office until time of return.
- Each day away from our office on assignment is billed on the basis of an eight-hour day. Where more than eight hours work or travel is performed in one day, the actual time is to be billed. The day of departure and the day of return are prorated.
- Charges for attendance at a Deposition either to assist the Client, testify as an Expert Witness, or while waiting at a Deposition site to testify or assist the Client are: Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) per hour, (four-hour minimum in advance). Client shall be responsible for all Deposition charges.
- Charges for attendance at court to assist the Client, testify as an Expert Witness, or while waiting at court to testify or assist the Client are: Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) per hour, (eight-hour minimum in advance).
- Items 4, 5, 6, & 8 describe minimum billings and if the actual time spent results in an amount due at the consultant’s standard rates which exceeds these minimums, then the actual amount will be due.
- For all other work including, but not limited to, research, report preparation, standby, and telephone calls, charges are: One Hundred Eighty-Five Dollars ($185.00) per hour. There shall be a four-hour minimum charge for forensic investigations and site examinations.
- Permission to use the Consultant’s name, or in any way indicate that he is an Expert Witness or Consultant for the Client, either formally or informally, with other parties, is not granted until receipt, by the Consultant, of an executed copy of our agreement together with the requisite retainer.
Retainer
A retainer of Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00) shall be payable in advance. This retainer shall not be paid down, but shall be applied to the final invoice.
Expenses
- Travel and miscellaneous expenses, including long distance calls, shall be charged at cost plus ten percent (10%).
- Automobile expense shall be billed at the rate of forty cents ($.40) per mile.
Invoices
- Shall be tendered immediately subsequent to completion of each portion of the Client’s work, or monthly at the discretion of the Consultant.
- A detailed breakdown shall be furnished within the invoice, itemizing each charge for the month.