SUBSCRIPTION LEGAL SERVICES AGREEMENT

(Monthly Retainer Program)

This Agreement is entered into as of [__/__/____] ("Effective Date")

BETWEEN:

ATTORNEY/LAW FIRM:
Name: [________________________________]
Bar Number: [________________________________]
Firm Name: [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
City, State, ZIP: [________________________________]
Telephone: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

AND

SUBSCRIBER/CLIENT:
Name: [________________________________]
Company (if applicable): [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
City, State, ZIP: [________________________________]
Telephone: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

OVERVIEW OF SUBSCRIPTION MODEL

This Subscription Legal Services Agreement provides Client with ongoing access to legal services for a fixed monthly fee. Unlike traditional hourly billing where you pay for each unit of time, or project-based flat fees, this subscription model provides predictable monthly costs and ready access to legal counsel when you need it.

ARTICLE 1: SUBSCRIPTION PLAN SELECTION

1.1 Available Plans

Select Subscription Tier:

☐ BASIC PLAN - $[________]/month
- Up to [____] hours of legal services per month
- Telephone and email consultations
- Document review (up to [____] pages/month)
- Basic contract templates
- Priority response within [____] business days

☐ PROFESSIONAL PLAN - $[________]/month
- Up to [____] hours of legal services per month
- All Basic Plan features, plus:
- Contract drafting and negotiation
- Business entity maintenance
- Demand letters and correspondence
- Priority response within [____] business hours

☐ ENTERPRISE PLAN - $[________]/month
- Up to [____] hours of legal services per month
- All Professional Plan features, plus:
- Litigation monitoring and early intervention
- Employment matters consultation
- Regulatory compliance review
- 24-hour priority response
- Dedicated attorney contact

☐ CUSTOM PLAN - $[________]/month
- Services: [________________________________]
- Hours included: [____]
- Response time: [________________________________]
- Special provisions: [________________________________]

1.2 Selected Plan

Client has selected the [________________] Plan at $[________] per month.

ARTICLE 2: SERVICES INCLUDED IN SUBSCRIPTION

2.1 Core Services (All Plans)

☐ Legal Consultations
- Telephone consultations during business hours
- Email consultations with response within specified timeframe
- Video conference meetings (scheduled)
- In-person meetings at Attorney's office (by appointment)

☐ Document Review
- Review of contracts before signing
- Review of correspondence from adverse parties
- Review of demand letters received
- Preliminary document analysis

☐ Legal Advice
- Guidance on business decisions with legal implications
- Risk assessment and mitigation strategies
- Compliance questions
- General legal questions within practice areas

2.2 Additional Services by Plan Level

Basic Plan includes:
☐ Contract review (simple agreements)
☐ Form document access
☐ Referrals for matters outside scope

Professional Plan adds:
☐ Contract drafting and negotiation
☐ Cease and desist letters
☐ Business formation/maintenance documents
☐ Terms of service and privacy policy review
☐ Non-disclosure agreement preparation

Enterprise Plan adds:
☐ Litigation assessment and early case evaluation
☐ Pre-litigation strategy
☐ Employment handbook review
☐ Regulatory response preparation
☐ Complex contract negotiation

2.3 Practice Areas Covered

☐ Business and corporate law
☐ Contract law
☐ Employment law (employer side)
☐ Real estate (commercial)
☐ Intellectual property (general)
☐ Collections and creditor rights
☐ [________________________________]
☐ [________________________________]

2.4 Practice Areas NOT Covered (Require Separate Engagement)

☐ Litigation (court appearances, depositions, trial)
☐ Criminal defense
☐ Family law
☐ Immigration
☐ Tax controversy
☐ Bankruptcy
☐ Patent prosecution
☐ Personal injury
☐ [________________________________]

ARTICLE 3: HOURS AND USAGE

3.1 Monthly Hour Allocation

Included Hours: [____] hours per month

3.2 Hour Tracking

Attorney will:
☐ Track time in [____]-minute increments
☐ Provide monthly usage report showing hours used
☐ Alert Client when [____]% of monthly hours have been used
☐ Provide real-time access to usage via [client portal/email updates]

3.3 Rollover Policy

☐ No Rollover: Unused hours do not carry over to the next month.

☐ Limited Rollover: Up to [____] unused hours may roll over to the next month, with a maximum accumulation of [____] hours.

☐ Full Rollover: All unused hours roll over, with a maximum accumulation of [____] hours.

3.4 Overage Policy

If Client uses more than the included hours in a month:

☐ Overage Rate: Additional hours billed at $[________]/hour
☐ Discounted Overage: Additional hours billed at $[________]/hour (discounted from standard rate of $[________]/hour)
☐ Plan Upgrade: Client will be offered upgrade to higher tier
☐ Hard Cap: No services beyond included hours without separate agreement

3.5 Minimum Usage

☐ No minimum usage required
☐ Subscription fee is the same regardless of usage

ARTICLE 4: SUBSCRIPTION TERM AND PAYMENT

4.1 Initial Term

Contract Length:
☐ Month-to-month (no minimum commitment)
☐ 6-month minimum commitment
☐ 12-month commitment (with [____]% discount)
☐ 24-month commitment (with [____]% discount)

Start Date: [__/__/____]
End Date (if applicable): [__/__/____]

4.2 Monthly Payment

Monthly Fee: $[________]

Payment Due: [____] day of each month

Payment Method:
☐ Automatic credit card charge
☐ Automatic ACH/bank draft
☐ Invoice with payment within [____] days
☐ Other: [________________________________]

4.3 Payment Information

☐ Credit Card:
- Card Type: [________________________________]
- Last 4 digits: [____]
- Expiration: [__/__]

☐ Bank Account:
- Bank: [________________________________]
- Account ending in: [____]

4.4 Price Adjustments

☐ Fees are fixed for the initial term
☐ After initial term, fees may increase with [____] days written notice
☐ Annual increase capped at [____]%

4.5 Late Payment

If payment is not received within [____] days of due date:
- Late fee of $[________] or [____]% may apply
- Services may be suspended until payment received
- Attorney may terminate after [____] days of non-payment

ARTICLE 5: RESPONSE TIMES AND AVAILABILITY

5.1 Response Time Commitment

5.2 Business Hours

Attorney's regular business hours are:
[________________________________] to [________________________________]
[________________________________] (days of week)
Time Zone: [________________________________]

5.3 Emergency Access

"Emergency" means a legal matter requiring immediate attention to prevent imminent harm or significant legal exposure.

Emergency access method: [________________________________]
Emergency contact: [________________________________]

☐ After-hours emergency access included in plan
☐ After-hours emergencies billed at $[________]/hour

5.4 Scheduled Unavailability

Attorney will provide [____] days notice of planned unavailability (vacation, conferences).
Coverage arrangements: [________________________________]

ARTICLE 6: ENGAGEMENT FOR SPECIFIC MATTERS

6.1 When Separate Engagement Required

Certain matters require a separate engagement letter and are NOT covered by the subscription:

☐ Litigation (filing suit, defending claims, court appearances)
☐ Transactions exceeding $[________] in value
☐ Matters requiring more than [____] hours
☐ Appeals
☐ Matters outside covered practice areas
☐ Matters with potential conflict of interest
☐ [________________________________]

6.2 Subscriber Discount on Additional Matters

For matters requiring separate engagement, Subscriber receives:

☐ [____]% discount on hourly rates
☐ [____]% discount on flat fees
☐ Priority scheduling
☐ Waived consultation fee for case evaluation

6.3 Transition to Separate Engagement

When a subscription matter evolves into a project requiring separate engagement:
1. Attorney will notify Client
2. Parties will execute separate engagement letter
3. Work already performed under subscription counts toward subscription hours
4. New engagement terms apply going forward

ARTICLE 7: CONFIDENTIALITY AND CONFLICTS

7.1 Attorney-Client Privilege

All communications under this Agreement are protected by attorney-client privilege to the fullest extent permitted by law.

7.2 Conflicts of Interest

Attorney will:
☐ Conduct conflict checks before engagement
☐ Conduct conflict checks for significant new matters
☐ Notify Client promptly of any conflicts
☐ Obtain informed consent for waivable conflicts

7.3 Confidentiality of Business Information

Attorney will maintain confidentiality of all Client business information, including but not limited to:
- Business plans and strategies
- Financial information
- Customer/client lists
- Trade secrets and proprietary information

ARTICLE 8: CLIENT RESPONSIBILITIES

8.1 Information and Cooperation

Client agrees to:
☐ Provide complete and accurate information
☐ Respond promptly to requests for information
☐ Provide documents necessary for legal advice
☐ Keep Attorney informed of relevant developments
☐ Notify Attorney of deadlines and time-sensitive matters

8.2 Decision-Making

Client retains authority over all significant decisions. Attorney provides advice; Client makes decisions.

8.3 No Guarantee of Outcomes

Client understands that:
☐ No outcome is guaranteed
☐ Laws and regulations change
☐ Courts and agencies may interpret law differently than expected
☐ Subscription provides access to legal advice, not insurance against legal problems

ARTICLE 9: TERMINATION

9.1 Termination by Client

Month-to-Month: Client may terminate with [____] days written notice. No refund for partial months.

Term Commitment: If Client terminates before end of commitment:
☐ No early termination fee
☐ Early termination fee of $[________]
☐ Early termination fee equal to [____] months' subscription
☐ Early termination fee equal to remaining term balance

9.2 Termination by Attorney

Attorney may terminate for:
- Non-payment of fees
- Client's material misrepresentation
- Irreconcilable conflict of interest
- Client's conduct making continued representation unreasonable
- Other good cause

Attorney will provide [____] days notice when possible.

9.3 Effect of Termination

Upon termination:
- Subscription fees paid are non-refundable (except unused pre-paid amounts for term contracts)
- Attorney will complete work in progress to a reasonable stopping point
- Pending deadlines will be protected
- Client file will be available for transfer
- Confidentiality obligations continue

9.4 Automatic Renewal

☐ This Agreement automatically renews for successive [month/year] terms unless either party provides [____] days written notice of non-renewal.

☐ This Agreement does not automatically renew. New agreement required for continued services.

ARTICLE 10: LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS

10.1 Scope Limitations

This subscription provides legal advice and limited services. It does not include:
- Representation in litigation
- Court appearances
- Administrative hearings
- Complex transactions (without separate engagement)

10.2 Not Insurance

This subscription is not legal insurance. Client remains responsible for legal costs and potential liabilities.

10.3 Limitation of Liability

Attorney's liability under this Agreement is limited to the fees paid during the relevant subscription period, except for gross negligence or willful misconduct.

ARTICLE 11: GENERAL PROVISIONS

11.1 Entire Agreement

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties.

11.2 Modifications

Modifications must be in writing and signed by both parties.

11.3 Governing Law

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of [________________________________].

11.4 Dispute Resolution

Disputes shall be resolved through:
☐ Mediation, then binding arbitration
☐ State bar fee arbitration for fee disputes
☐ Litigation in courts of [________________________________]

11.5 Assignment

This Agreement may not be assigned without written consent.

11.6 Notices

Notices shall be sent to the addresses above or as updated in writing.

ARTICLE 12: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

12.1 Client Acknowledgments

Client acknowledges:

☐ I have read and understand this Agreement
☐ I understand what services are included and excluded
☐ I understand the monthly fee and payment terms
☐ I understand the termination provisions
☐ I have had opportunity to ask questions
☐ No outcome is guaranteed
☐ I authorize automatic payment as indicated above
☐ I have received a copy of this Agreement

12.2 Attorney Acknowledgments

Attorney acknowledges:

☐ This fee arrangement complies with applicable ethics rules
☐ Client has been informed of services included and excluded
☐ Response time commitments will be honored
☐ Conflict checks will be performed as required

SIGNATURES

CLIENT/SUBSCRIBER:

Signature: ________________________________
Printed Name: [________________________________]
Title (if business): [________________________________]
Date: [__/__/____]

ATTORNEY:

Signature: ________________________________
Printed Name: [________________________________]
Bar Number: [________________________________]
Date: [__/__/____]

EXHIBIT A: SUBSCRIPTION PLAN DETAILS

[SELECTED PLAN NAME] PLAN

Monthly Fee: $[________]

Included Services:
1. [________________________________]
2. [________________________________]
3. [________________________________]
4. [________________________________]
5. [________________________________]

Included Hours: [____] hours/month

Response Times:
- Urgent: [________________________________]
- Routine: [________________________________]

Overage Rate: $[________]/hour

Contract Term: [________________________________]

Payment Method: [________________________________]

Start Date: [__/__/____]

EXHIBIT B: SERVICE REQUEST PROCEDURES

How to Request Services

Email: [________________________________]
Phone: [________________________________]
Client Portal: [________________________________]

Information to Include in Requests

1. Brief description of issue
2. Urgency level (emergency/urgent/routine)
3. Relevant deadlines
4. Documents to be reviewed (if applicable)
5. Preferred response method (email/phone/meeting)

Scheduling Meetings

Meetings can be scheduled via:
- Online calendar: [________________________________]
- Phone request
- Email request

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• ABA Journal: Law Firm Subscription Plans
• Lawyerist: Law Firm Pricing Models
• Clio: Alternative Fee Arrangements for Law Firms
• ABA Model Rule 1.5: Fees

This template should be reviewed by a licensed attorney and modified to comply with the specific requirements of the jurisdiction where it will be used.