Engagement Letter

We recommend speaking with the Client, the Court and/or an Attorney prior to issuing an engagement letter to “all interested persons” to make sure that no privacy rights of the Client are violated. With this caveat in mind, an engagement letter should be sent to all stakeholders or interested persons advising them of the following:

• Scope of services (be as specific as possible as to the purpose behind your engagement/assignment)

  For example, if engaged to assist with payment of certain bills, memorialize which bills you will and will not be paying, identify the specific account numbers, methods of payment, sources to be used for funding the payments, course of handling in the event of insufficient funds, and consequences in the event of non-payment.

• Billing practices (including frequency of invoices and names/rates of anticipated timekeepers)
• Methods of communicating (including availability to clients, preferred methods [phone/fax/email], preferred methods for receipt of information
• A description of your duties and responsibilities, including acting in the client’s best interests
• A comprehensive care/action plan outlining your forthcoming decisions to be made on behalf of the client
• Give all interested persons sufficient time to contact you and discuss the planned course of action, raise objections if applicable (see Decision Matrix)
• In connection with disengagement letters, provide all interested persons sufficient time to contact you regarding any objections they may have to your accounting or final settlement of the matter, prior to resignation.