engagement-letter-drafterlisted

# Engagement Letter Drafter ## What this does Drafts the letter that begins or documents a client engagement: what work is included, what is explicitly excluded, how fees are charged, what happens if the scope changes, and the conflict position. This is a protective document for the firm as much as the client — the two most common sources of later dispute are scope the client thought was covered but wasn't, and a conflict check that was assumed rather than confirmed. Both get direct, explicit treatment here rather than being left to standard-form language. ## Before you start **The actual scope of the engagement.** What matter, what work is being retained for, supplied by the user. This is blocking — scope cannot be drafted from a title alone. **The fee basis and the actual figures.** Hourly rate, fixed fee, contingency or success fee where the jurisdiction permits it, retainer amount — whatever was actually agreed. This is blocking; do not draft a standard or assumed rate. **Whether a conflict check has actually been run, and its outcome.** This is blocking. An engagement letter issued without a completed conflict check is a real and specific risk — if the user has not confirmed one was run, ask directly rather than drafting a conflicts clause that implies one was. Not blocking, ask once and proceed on a reasonable default without it: **governing law and applicable professional conduct rules**, which affect specific mandatory content — some regimes require particular