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<br />130.
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<br />General Provisions
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<br />Except as modified by the accompanying engagement letter, the following provisions will apply to
<br />the relationship between Cox & Smith Incorporated and our clients:
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<br />1. The time for which a client will be charged will include, but will not be limited to,
<br />telephone and office conferences with a client and counsel, witnesses, consultants, court personnel, and
<br />others; conferences among our personnel; factual investigation; legal research; responding to clients'
<br />requests to provide information to auditors in connection with reviews or audits of financial statements;
<br />drafting of letters, pleadings, briefs, and other documents; travel time; waiting time in court or elsewhere;
<br />and time in depositions and other discovery proceedings.
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<br />2. In addition to our fees, we will be entitled to payment or reimbursement for
<br />disbursements and other charges incurred in performing services such as photocopying, messenger and
<br />delivery, air freight, computerized research, depositions, court transcripts, videotape recording, travel
<br />(including mileage, parking, airfare, lodging, meals, and ground transportation), long distance telephone,
<br />telecopying, word processing, court costs, and filing fees. To the extent we directly provide any of these
<br />services, we reserve the right to adjust the amount we charge, at any time or from time to time, as we deem
<br />appropriate, in light of our direct costs, our estimated overhead allocable to the services, and outside
<br />competitive rates. Unless special arrangements are made, fees and expenses of others that exceed $750.00
<br />(such as experts, investigators, witnesses, consultants, and court reporters) will not be paid by our fIrm and
<br />will be the responsibility of, and billed directly to, the client.
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<br />3. Although we may from time to time for a client's convenience, furnish estimates of fees
<br />or charges that we anticipate will be incurred on a client's behalf, these estimates are subject to unforeseen
<br />circumstances and are by their nature inexact. We will not be bound by any estimates except as otherwise
<br />expressly set forth in the engagement letter or otherwise agreed to by us in writing.
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<br />4. Fees, disbursements, and other charges will be billed monthly and are payable upon
<br />presentation. There often is an unavoidable delay in reporting disbursements and other charges, and
<br />therefore not all disbursements and charges may be billed at the same time as the related legal services.
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<br />5. A client shall have the right at any time to terminate our services and representation upon
<br />written notice to the fInn. Such termination shall not, however, relieve the client of the obligation to pay
<br />for all services rendered and disbursements and other charges made or incurred on behalf of the client prior
<br />to the date of termination.
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<br />6. We have the right to terminate representation subject to applicable legal and ethical rules
<br />governing attorney-client relationships. We also have the right to terminate the representation for good
<br />cause or if the client's conduct interferes with an effective attorney-client relationship. Reasons for
<br />terminating the representation may include, but are not limited to, the client's failure to honor the terms of
<br />the engagement letter, the client's failure to pay amounts billed in a timely manner, the client's failure to
<br />cooperate or follow our advice on a material matter, or any fact or circumstances that would, in our view,
<br />impair an effective attorney-client relationship or would render our continuing representation unlawful or
<br />unethical.
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<br />We also reserve the right to withdraw from our representation if the continuation of the
<br />representation will result in an unreasonable financial burden on the fInn or the client has rendered the
<br />representation unreasonably difficult. If we elect to do so, the client will take all steps necessary to free us
<br />of any obligation to perfonn further, including the execution of any document (including forms for
<br />substitution of counsel) necessary to complete our withdrawal, and we will be entitled to be paid for all
<br />services rendered and disbursements and other charges made or incurred on behalf of the client prior to the
<br />date of withdrawal.
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