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Performance of Clients' Work
Upon accepting work for any client, we attempt to provide
an approximate schedule of its completion, information on which employees
will be primarily responsible for the work, an explanation of how we will
calculate the costs and professional fees involved, and an estimate of
the total expense. Throughout our performance of your work, we will mail
you photocopies of all significant working papers, memoranda and official
forms or documents we prepare in your case.
Our Policy on Fees
It is our practice to discuss our expected fees with clients
at the initial interview and to confirm these fee discussions in writing.
Our fees are usually based upon hourly charges at rates which vary depending
upon staff expertise and experience required, the type of work involved
and which staff members will participate. Clients are normally billed
on a monthly basis and are expected to make special arrangements in advance
if the fee cannot be paid within thirty days. In certain types of cases,
fees will be contingent upon the results achieved and will be determined
by applying a percentage multiplier to the recovery or award in favor
of the client. In some cases, we are able to definitively determine what
fees will be charged for specified services. We encourage you to inquire
about fees at any time.
Privacy & Security of Information
All of the communications and information a client shares
with his attorney is confidential and is not obtainable by any outside
source under the law. In addition, within our firm, we make special efforts
to keep all client files confidential, not available for viewing by anyone
other than necessary employees and certainly by no other visitors to our
offices. All attorneys in the firm, and other employees as well, are subject
to and work within the provisions of the Illinois Code of Professional
Responsibility as promulgated by the Illinois Supreme Court. We would
be happy to discuss any provisions of the Code which might affect a client's
particular business at any time.
Telephone Policy
To insure all of our clients our undivided attention while
working with lawyers in our firm, we do not accept outside telephone calls
while we are with clients. However, we make consistent efforts to return
calls received before noon by the end of the business day and calls received
by the close of business hours before noon the following day. While it
is not always possible that the lawyer primarily in charge of a specific
client's work can return the call within that schedule, we do attempt
to have at least one of our professional staff members available to deal
with any emergency situation which may arise.
Client Service Resources
Our firm maintains one of the largest private law libraries
in this area containing federal and state material, as well as technical
services which provide us with complete and up-to-date information on
legal developments throughout the country. In addition, we utilize up-to-date
computer technology and have access to high speed on-line legal research
databases. Our library, of course, is primarily centered around the law
in the State of Illinois, however our firm is located within walking distance
of Northern Illinois University College of Law which maintains one of
the largest law libraries in Northern Illinois covering virtually all
legal topics, state, federal and even international. All of the technical
calculations and projections necessary for estate planning, pension planning,
income, estate and gift tax returns and all other related matters are
done on our own in-house computers. All forms, correspondence and other
documents are processed through our state-of-the-art computer equipment
including a networked system of document generation which includes constantly
available high speed web access and e-mail to and from all staff, traditional
printing and copying as well as high speed scanning and document imaging
capabilities, the ability to fax documents from all workstations, automated
computer backups and a 100baseT network backbone which assures a stable
and secure environment for all personal computers in the offices. This
highly advanced equipment enables us to handle our clients' work in the
most efficient, economical and error-free way possible. We have always
maintained an excellent staff of experienced individuals to serve your
legal needs including attorneys, paralegals, law clerks, and legal assistants
all of whom are dedicated professionals.
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