1. I, [Name] (“Client”) do hereby retain and employ Vishio, Watkins & Forry, PLLC, (the “Firm” or “Attorney”) to represent me in my claim resulting from a [Type of Incident] claim involving a [Property Type], which occurred on or about [Date of Loss] (“Claim”), and for any and all extracontractual and bad faith claim and/or damages stemming from and/or related thereto.

2. RECOVERABLE COSTS: Attorney will advance any such costs or expenses reasonable and/or necessary to advance the claim and these costs and/or expenses will be repaid by the client at the end of the claim assuming sufficient monies are recovered to repay the same. Client understands, acknowledges and consents to Evolve Construction serving in the capacity as an expert on behalf of the Client for the Claim, and in that capacity, Evolve Construction’s designated experts involved in the Claim shall charge a reasonable hourly fee for any work in their capacity as an expert which shall be included as part of these recoverable costs.

3. CONTINGENT NATURE OF ATTORNEY’S FEES: In addition to recoverable costs discussed above in Par. 2, Client hereby agrees to pay Attorney, as compensation for legal services, an amount as outlined in paragraph 9 “CONTINGENT FEE” below. It is agreed and understood that if no recovery is made, the Client will not be indebted to the Attorney, except as may otherwise be set forth herein below.

4. CLIENT’S RIGHTS: The undersigned Client has, before signing this contract, received and read the Statement of Client’s Rights, and understands each of the rights set forth therein. The undersigned Client has signed the statement and received a signed copy to keep and refer to while being represented by the undersigned Attorney(s).

5. CANCELLATION: This contract may be cancelled by written notification to the Attorney at any time within three (3) business days of the date the contract was signed, as shown below, and if cancelled, the Client shall not be obligated to pay any fees to the Attorney(s) for the work performed during the aforementioned three (3) days. If in this 3 day cancellation period, the Attorney has advanced funds to others in representation of the Client, the Attorney is entitled to be reimbursed for such amounts as they have reasonably advanced on behalf of the Client. In the event that Client discharges Attorney more than three (3) business days into this representation, Section 8 below applies.

6. PARTICIPATION BY CLIENT STRICTLY REQUIRED: Client(s) acknowledge(s) and understand(s) that litigation requires constant client cooperation. Client expressly agrees to maintain regular and timely communication and cooperation with Vishio, Watkins & Forry, PLLC including appearing for reasonable discovery, depositions, EUO’s, court dates, etc. necessary for the appropriate prosecution of Client’s claim(s) against the insurance company. This is a material term of this agreement. Client acknowledges and consents the Firm periodically communicating directly with Evolve Construction and any of their employees, affiliates and agents, to discuss the claim as it relates to amounts of estimates, settlements, settlement checks, settlement offers, counteroffers, expenses, fees, costs, claim status, claim details, claim strategy, and litigation details.

7. CONSENT TO SETTLEMENT. No settlement will be made except with your consent. Consent may be verbal or written, however, Attorney prefers and almost always attempts to insist that Client’s Consent be in writing. Should Client refuse to Consent in writing for whatever reason, both parties hereto admit and affirm that verbal Consent to a settlement offer is sufficient to allow Attorney to resolve the Claim. Client acknowledges, understands, and consents to the Firm discussing any and all settlement offers directly with Evolve Construction, and any of their employees, affiliates and agents, and further understands and consents to Evolve Construction being listed as a payee on any checks issued to Client relating to insurance payments for the claim. Client also acknowledges, understands and consents to any check for insurance proceeds being directly sent to their office for deposit.

8. TERMINATION. In the event that Client terminates the Firm and/or its attorney(s) for any reason, client agrees and acknowledges that they are obligated, within thirty days of termination:

• (a) to pay Firm a reasonable fee under the principles of quantum meruit and that a hearing before a Court of Law may be necessary to determine the amount(s) that Firm is entitled to; and
• (b) to pay Firm any costs Firm incurred on client’s behalf in prosecuting the Claim.

9. CONTINGENT FEE (INDEMNITY): In the event we are able to recover additional amounts of insurance money on your behalf other than what the insurance company has already actually paid you before the effective date of this Agreement set forth below, Client(s) agree(s) to pay as compensation for legal services, from the gross proceeds of recovery, the following fee(s):

In addition to the above, under certain circumstances after the filing of a complaint and after trial, the court may award Attorney’s fees to be paid by the opposing/losing party. I understand and agree that the court may award attorney’s fees in an amount greater than the agreed-to percentage of the gross recovery as set forth herein. Any attorney’s fees awarded by the court will be the sole property of attorney. Regardless of the amount of any attorney’s fees awarded by the court, those fees shall be paid to attorney and shall not be aggregated with the judgment or settlement amount(s). In all cases, the fee recovered by the firm will be disclosed to the client via a “Closing Statement.” If client objects to the fee, client hereby agrees to raise his/her objection to the fee before signing the Closing Statement or such objection(s) are waived forever.

In the event any court-awarded or settlement based attorney’s fee is less than the agreed-to contingency fee, any fee awarded by the court or resulting from a settlement will be used to offset part of the agreed-to contingency fee, thereby reducing the amount of the fee paid out of the monies recovered. Note that Recoverable Costs are also owed by the Client in addition to the fees out of the amount of damages recovered from the insurance company. Unless specified in writing by Attorney, Recoverable Costs are not to be considered part of the fees recovered from the insurance company.

It is also agreed that should the signed version of this retainer be lost for any reason, that Client still owes a fee and recoverable cost(s) to Attorney based on the principles of quantum meruit. Should Client challenge the right to such fees and/or costs, Client understands that a hearing will be required before the Court.

In order to ensure payment of the Fees and Costs detailed herein, you authorize our Firm’s name to be put as a co-signer on any and all check(s) issued by the insurance company to you AND you specifically consent to such check(s) being deposited into our IOLTA trust account (to be held for your benefit) until such funds clear and are available for proper distribution in accordance with this Engagement Agreement. Once the funds clear, our Firm will remit a check to you for the amount of the claim, minus our attorneys’ fee and recoverable costs.

Failure to comply with this section may result in the Firm taking action to collect, which could include retaining a collection agency or filing a lawsuit against you. If, by mistake, the check is sent to you directly and/or made out to you solely, you agree to immediately deliver such check to the Firm and you agree to refrain from depositing it into any of your bank and/or other financial account(s) you maintain or control.

10. ACTION TO RECOVER FEES/COSTS: If any action is brought to enforce payment of any money due hereunder, the prevailing party shall be entitled to its reasonable legal fees and costs, including expert witness fees.

11. JURISDICTION AND VENUE: The laws of the State of Florida shall govern the construction and interpretation of this Agreement. Any action brought to enforce the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall only be brought in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in and for Collier County, Florida.

12. OTHER CONDITIONS OF DISCHARGE AND WITHDRAWAL:

13. OPINIONS AND BELIEFS: Since the outcome of negotiations (and litigation) is subject to factors that cannot always be foreseen, such as the uncertainties and risks inherent in the negotiation (and litigation) process, it is understood that the Firm has made no promises or guarantees to you concerning the outcome of this or any other matter and cannot do so. Firm does agree to use professional skills and efforts to attempt to achieve you an outcome you desire.

14. MODIFICATION: No modification of this Agreement shall be binding unless in writing and signed and dated by each party.

15. ACCEPTANCE: Please indicate your acceptance of the Firm’s representation and this Agreement regarding fees by signing the original of this Agreement in the appropriate place below and initial each page. You agree that the Firm will not begin representing you unless and until you deliver this signed Agreement. It is also agreed that Firm owes you no obligation whatsoever unless and until the Agreement is signed, dated and returned to the Firm. Also, once the aforementioned occurs, the Firm will use best efforts to obtain additional information and documentation related to your Claim that was not within your possession and/control at the time of the formation of the Attorney-Client relationship. Should such documentation substantially alter the Firm’s understanding of the Claim and/or your chances of success, Firm will inform you as soon as is practicable and reserves the right to immediately withdraw from representing you.

16. LIQUIDATED DAMAGES: In the event that Client terminates its relationship with Evolve Construction in relation to the Claim, Client acknowledges, understands, consents, and agrees to pay Evolve Construction their cancellation penalty as provided in their contract with Client as liquidated damages.

17. This Retainer Agreement contains the entire Agreement between the Firm and you regarding its representation and the fees, charges, costs and expenses to be paid. If you are in agreement with the terms of this Agreement, please sign below and return a copy of this Agreement to the undersigned. We are pleased to have this opportunity to represent you and assure you that we will represent you as diligently and efficiently as possible. However, please be advised that we may not be licensed in your state, and if so, we will be associating with a local, licensed attorney and law firm in your state.

I have, before signing this contingency fee agreement, read this document and understand each of the rights set forth therein.

The undersigned agrees to engage the Firm pursuant to the terms set forth in this Contingency Fee Agreement.