Consumer Law, Warranties Consulting agreement questions

[DavidZ]

Hello, I have a question that involves a small consulting firm being hired by a new corp for a project to set up a physicians office.
The problem I have is that there is no set term(duration) could take 3-9 months, can't commit to a set timeframe, what do I do?
Also there are steps involved by the client to complete the task.
What do I do in respect to statement of work, in some cases I will just refer the client to professional to handle a portion of the task?
How do put together the right agreement?

 

[dee_dub]

You establish milestones that are within your control, and you get paid for meeting those milestones. Anything that is not within your control, you write it into the contract that it is their responsiblity to do it or cause it to be done by certain dates. Maybe if those things are not done by those dates they compensate you for the delay. And you get a lawyer to draft it.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

You establish milestones that are within your control, and you get paid for meeting those milestones. Anything that is not within your control, you write it into the contract that it is their responsiblity to do it or cause it to be done by certain dates. Maybe if those things are not done by those dates they compensate you for the delay. And you get a lawyer to draft it.

Very well put. For an agreement to set up a physician's office you have to be very silly not to get an attorney to draft it for you. In addition to the issues you raised with regard to milestones, there are also rules and regulations and other liabilities you'll want to defer to another party. Do not try to draft this yourself. If you need professional help, let us know. Best of luck and glad to hear that you're working.

 

[DavidZ]

Thank you,
What should the attorney fee be for something like this?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Thank you,
What should the attorney fee be for something like this?

I have no idea. Off the cuff, it could be around or under $1,000 if relatively simple but I don't know the complexity of what is involved, the time or issues involved. It also depends upon the experience of the attorney, the geographic location, etc. I've done many agreements for setup of various businesses but you are talking about a medical office, which could be a very long agreement especially if it's not a simple job and limited to certain items, e.g. structural. If there isn't a set term sheet and you need the attorney to draft and figure out all the items that need to go on there, it could cost more than $1K easily. There is also the question of how much pain the attorney on the other side might inflict, e.g. constantly fighting about changes, need for too many phone calls, etc. Think of it this way - if you're getting paid good coin, e.g. over $50K, to set this up, you know you're going to have disagreements over satisfaction from the other party. Since you're dealing with medical equipment and there might be potential liability for your setup (don't know), you will likely need insurance and there is an added layer of complexity to the agreement. This is not a very common transaction and your best bet is to get this done correctly, especially the first time.

Bottom line is this - you need to speak to the attorney and get from them an understanding of how much work is involved and why. Then you can discuss what that comes to as an hourly rate and the return on the investment issue. Talk it out and make it clear before signing the retainer agreement.

 

[DavidZ]

Thanks
How do I find an attorney in NY area, that knows contracts?