Engagement letters may be viewed as merely administrative items, which sometimes results in attorneys giving them little thought. However, a well-prepared engagement letter can a singularly strong tool an attorney can use to limit exposure to risks and to lay the groundwork for a successful and unambiguous attorney-client relationship.

Some legal malpractice insurers favor law practices that implement an engagement letter for every new representation. Due to the importance that an engagement letter can have to the representation and to reducing risk down the road, the question is usually not whether to have an engagement letter but what terms should be included in an engagement letter.

While every engagement/retainer letter or fee contract will vary depending on the facts and circumstances of the representation, here are five topics that lawyers and firms can consider implementing, if they do not already.