Kelsey Jae LLC is a transactional practice dedicated to supporting social enterprise, cooperative culture, and the sharing economy. Many of the individuals and organizations I admire operate at very tight margins and hesitate to reach out to an attorney. I find it unfortunate that so many good people feel that legal advice is too expensive, and I want to diffuse that situation for my clients. My billing arrangements are based on my belief that I can be accessible to my community while meeting my own financial needs. I am committed to being a balanced part of the economic system and offer flat rate services, a sliding scale for hourly rates, and meaningful trade arrangements. To expand the options, I am excited to announce the Legal Coaching Subscription Service! By welcoming frequent calls, brainstorming chats, and document review/interpretation in exchange for an affordable monthly subscription price, I hope to reduce barriers to seeking legal advice and build deeper connections with my clients.

• Who is eligible for the Legal Coaching Subscription Service? The Client must be an individual or organization committed to sustainability or focused on social enterprise, cooperative culture and/or the sharing economy. If the Client’s request to subscribe to the Legal Coaching Subscription Service (“Service”) is accepted, the Client and the Firm will enter into an Engagement Agreement formalizing the attorney-client relationship and discussing issues such as values, scope, conflicts of interest, and confidentiality. The Firm reserves the right to decline an individual’s or organization’s request to subscribe.

• What is the fee and how do the Clients pay? The fee for the Service is $300 per calendar month. The fee is due on the 1st of the month. If payment is not received by the 5th, the Firm can suspend work until payment is received. To avoid administrative headaches, the Service operates in calendar months and new terms start on the 1st of the month. A Client may subscribe mid-month, but the fee will not be prorated and will only cover work within the Scope of Services through the end of that month (i.e. not 30 days from joining).

• What does the Legal Coaching Subscription Service include? Upon payment of the $300, the Client is entitled to up to 10 hours of the following Scope of Services:
  • Phone calls, emails, chats, and meetings seeking counseling on current matters or to consider future opportunities and risks
  • Review and interpretation of, and guidance relating to, the use of existing Client documents
  • Attorney participation in internal Client meetings (e.g. board and staff meetings, planning sessions)
  • Legal research and preparation of communications (written or oral) needed to respond to the Client’s requests

        

• What is not included? The Scope of Services must necessarily be limited to prevent an imbalance between the Client’s and the Firm’s needs. The Scope of Services is limited to the services explicitly listed; it does not include unlisted services such as drafting new documents or amendments to existing documents, negotiating with third parties, or services relating to adversarial processes or litigation. Unlisted services will be subject to their own flat fee or hourly fee arrangement.

 

• Shouldn’t I just wait until I have a problem and then hire the Firm? This is always an option, and the Firm offers other billing arrangements. However, the intention of the Service is to stay in contact, be proactive, and address legal issues early and often - before they escalate into messy problems. Using the Service can help the Client manage their legal bills and stay on top of their legal issues.

 

• Will the Firm help the Client keep track of the time spent? Yes, of course! Clients will be notified if and when they hit 8 hours in a month and will be notified prior to the Firm engaging in work beyond the 10 hours or otherwise outside the Scope of Services. Note that the Firm is ethically obligated to be efficient and make good use of the Client’s time and money. At any time, the Client can request an accounting of time spent.

 

• Do hours “roll over”, like unused cell phone minutes? Or, will the Client get a refund if it doesn’t use 10 hours? The Legal Coaching Subscription Service includes the Firm being available and working for the Client within the Scope of Services for up to 10 hours per month. The intention of the Service is to facilitate deeper relationships and encourage the Client to reach out to the Firm more often without fear of receiving crazy bills at the end of the month. “Unused hours” do not roll over to the following month, and Clients are not entitled to a refund if they use less than 10 hours of the Firm’s time. The only exception is if the Client cancels the service within the first 5 days of the month and prior to any services within the Scope of Services being performed.

 

• Are there time limits to using the Services? The firm is generally available to answer phone calls or attend meetings from 10:30 am to 7:45 pm on Monday through Friday. Of course, this availability is subject to fluctuation due to meetings, yoga classes, lunch time, etc. Participants are encouraged to make an appointment during those hours. Appointment requests (for on or off hours) may be made via email.

 

• How do we cancel? As discussed above, each month starts fresh and the Client must prepay for each month. If the Client wishes to discontinue participation in the Service, they simply tell the Firm they will not continue into the following month and stop sending payments. The only situation in which a refund will be given is if the Client cancels the service within the first 5 days of the month and prior to any services within the Scope of Services being performed. Other issues relating to termination of representation will be covered in the engagement agreement.

 

• What are some other benefits to participating in the Legal Coaching Subscription Service? In addition to having predictable monthly bills, Clients who are currently subscribed and have participated in the Service for at least a month qualify for a special hourly rate of $100 for services that are billed hourly and outside the Scope of Services.

 

•  What is the first step to subscribing? Please contact Kelsey at [email protected] or call 208-391-2961 and describe yourself and your organization. We will communicate, and if we both agree that the Client and the Firm are the right fit, we will enter into the Engagement Agreement and get started!