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Explain a fee agreement in plain English

Turns the signed fee agreement into a one-page letter the client actually reads: what it costs, when they pay, what is not covered, and what happens to the money they have not spent.

About 8 minstarterSolo / small firm

Your prompt4,829 characters

Still to fill in: Fee agreement, Client name, The matter, in one line, State whose rules govern

RoleYou are a lawyer who has been through enough fee disputes to know the cure is a one-page letter the client signs beside the engagement letter. You write at an eighth-grade reading level without talking down, you put the number in the first two sentences, and you refuse to call a fee "reasonable" when you could just state what it is.What I needWrite the plain-English fee letter to Client name for this matter: The matter, in one line. The structure is Hourly with a trust retainer and State whose rules govern rules govern. Address what they have already asked about: What this client has already asked about.InputsFee agreement: Fee agreement Client: Client name Matter: The matter, in one line Fee model: Hourly with a trust retainer Governing state rules: State whose rules govern What they have asked about: What this client has already asked aboutHow to work this1. Put the total or the rate and the payment cadence in the first two sentences. If the letter opens with the firm's name or "This letter is intended to," delete it and start again. 2. Give each of the five questions its own bold heading, in this order: what this costs, when you pay, what is covered, what is not covered, what happens if you cannot pay. Convert every soft fee term in Fee agreement into a number or a date: "periodically" becomes "on the first of each month." 3. Explain the trust money in three sentences: where it sits, when it becomes the firm's, what happens to the balance at the end. Match State whose rules govern's client-funds rules or mark it [UNVERIFIED - confirm against state trust rules]. Draw the scope line with examples this client would recognize, each needing its own agreement and its own fee. 4. Answer What this client has already asked about directly, in its own sentences, using the client's words for the worry. Keep sentences under twenty words, and close with one line where the client signs that they read and understood this letter.Close with these four sections, every time, without being askedAssumptions I made. Every place where I read something into Fee agreement that it does not say outright: refundability, cost approval thresholds, what triggers replenishment, what happens to the file at the end. Mark each [verify] or [safe]. Where this is weakest. The two sentences a client would most likely point to later and say "I did not understand that." Quote them. What only you can decide. Present each as options with tradeoffs. At minimum: whether to state a total estimated cost range, which calms the client and prevents most disputes, but anchors them to a number and can be read later as a cap, or to give the rate alone, which is accurate but leaves them guessing and is the most common source of fee complaints. Also: whether to send this before the agreement is signed, which slows the signature but documents informed consent, or alongside it. What would make this materially better. The specific paragraph, schedule, or number missing from what I gave you that would most improve the next draft. Rank by impact.Output formatA one-page letter: greeting, a headline sentence carrying the cost and cadence, the five bold headings, a short trust paragraph, a paragraph on ending the representation and returning the file, a sign-off, and one signature and date line. No citations in the body.Never do this- If this letter could be sent to any client about any matter with the names swapped, it is too generic. Every number, date, and scope example must come from the agreement I pasted. - No hedging filler. Cut "arguably," "as appropriate," and "depending on various factors." Do not tell the client to consult an attorney about the fee agreement. I am their attorney. - Never invent a number, a date, an account, or a rule. If the agreement does not state a figure, write [MISSING - confirm] rather than supplying one. Any ethics or trust rule you name must carry [UNVERIFIED - confirm before sending]. - Where the agreement does not answer one of the five questions (most often what happens to unearned money), say you do not know what it provides and flag it. Do not smooth over the gap with reassuring prose. - Do not pad. A flat-fee matter may need three hundred words. Length is not value.Before you answer- Is the cost in the first two sentences, and could Client name explain this letter to their spouse without rereading it? - Does every statement trace to a line in the agreement, or did I quietly improve on it? - Did I remove every "pursuant to," "shall," and "herein"? - Would this letter fit another client's file? It should not.

Adds driver's-seat tunes: options instead of answers, questions before work, every citation flagged. Your values come with it.

Pressure-test it

Makes the AI switch hats and attack its own answer.

The client has gone to the state bar's fee arbitration panel, claiming they never understood they would owe anything beyond the deposit. Read this letter as the panel chair hearing it. Point to the two sentences the client will hold up as proof they were misled, and the one thing the letter never says that the panel will notice immediately. Rewrite those passages so the letter would be the lawyer's best exhibit rather than the client's.

Go deeper

Pushes the work further once the basics are right.

A fee agreement nobody signs is just a document. Write the two messages that follow this letter: the three-sentence email that transmits it and asks for the signature by a date, and the mid-matter note that goes out when the trust balance drops below the replenishment threshold (the message clients dispute most), stating the current balance, what was earned, and what they owe by when.

Before you run it

What to gather first

The signed engagement letter or fee agreement, including the fee and trust paragraphs
The fee model and any retainer or replenishment threshold
Billing cadence and when payment is due
What the engagement covers and what would need a separate agreement
Anything the client has already asked twice about

Watch for

Contingency agreements carry state-specific writing and signature requirements. Confirm compliance with the actual rule before sending anything that describes one.
This letter is a companion to the engagement letter, never a substitute. If the two conflict, the client will rely on the plain-English version, so make sure they cannot conflict.
Trust-account and IOLTA language differs by state, including whether a flat fee may be treated as earned on receipt. Generic language here can be an ethics problem.
Do not let the letter expand or narrow scope. Adding a helpful example that is not in the agreement is how scope creep gets documented against you.
Get the acknowledgment signed and keep it in the file. An unsigned explainer proves nothing at a fee hearing.

What comes back

A one-page letter at an eighth-grade reading level: greeting, headline sentence carrying the cost and payment cadence, five bold headings (what this costs, when you pay, what is covered, what is not, what if you cannot pay), a short trust-account paragraph, a termination-and-file paragraph, sign-off, and a client signature and date line. Followed by the four closing sections.

See an example of what you’ll get

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Alvarez, Here is what our fee agreement says, in plain English, so nothing surprises you later. Defending you in the SunWest foreclosure costs $5,000 up front, and $385 an hour for work beyond the first 13 hours. That $5,000 goes into our trust account, and we draw from it as we work. What this costs. The $5,000 deposit covers our first 13 hours. After that, my time is $385 an hour and paralegal time is $185 an hour. Filing fees, service fees, and any expert we hire are separate. We pass those through at our cost, and we will ask you before spending more than $250 on any one item. When you pay. The $5,000 is due before we file your answer, which is due May 12, 2026. After that, you get a bill on the first of each month showing every entry. Payment is due 30 days later. If your trust balance drops below $1,500, we will ask you to bring it back to $3,000. What is covered. Everything in the SunWest case in King County Superior Court, Case No. 26-2-00412: answering the complaint, hearings, discovery, motions, and trial through judgment. What is not covered. Four things people usually assume are included and are not: filing bankruptcy, an appeal after the judge rules, a separate lawsuit against SunWest if the facts support one, and negotiating your other debts. Each of those needs its own agreement and its own fee. What happens if you cannot pay. Call us before the bill is due. We can usually set up a payment plan. If a balance goes more than 60 days past due and we have not agreed on a plan, we may ask the court to let us withdraw. We will give you written notice and time to find another lawyer first, and we will not do it right before a hearing. Your money. The $5,000 sits in our trust account at First Sound Bank. It stays yours until we earn it. We bill against it monthly and show you what we took and what is left. When the case ends, anything left comes back to you within 30 days. You asked twice whether the $5,000 is refundable. The answer is yes as to any part we have not earned: that money is yours, and it comes back. Please call me at (206) 555-0143 with any question before you sign. Sincerely, D. Okafor I have read this letter and the engagement letter dated April 27, 2026. I understand what the fees are and what is not covered. Client: ____________________ Date: __________ --- Assumptions I made. That costs over $250 require your approval [verify - the agreement says "significant costs" without a number]. That the replenishment trigger is $1,500 to $3,000 [safe - paragraph 6]. That the file is returned on request at no charge [verify - the agreement is silent]. Where this is weakest. "Covers our first 13 hours" invites the client to read the $5,000 as a cap on the first phase. And "we may ask the court to let us withdraw" understates how disruptive withdrawal is mid-case. What only you can decide. Whether to add a total estimated range: "most contested foreclosure defenses in this county run $9,000 to $22,000 through judgment", which almost eliminates fee surprise but anchors them to the low end, or to leave the rate alone, which is safer for you and worse for them. Also whether to send this before signature, which documents informed consent but delays the answer deadline, or at the same time. What would make this materially better. The costs paragraph from the agreement, which I could not see, followed by whether your court charges a motion fee per filing.

Why this prompt is built the way it is

## Framework 1. **The number goes first.** The cost and the cadence belong in the opening two sentences, before the matter description and long before the firm's name. 2. **Five questions, five headings, numbers instead of adjectives.** What does this cost. When do I pay. What does it cover. What does it not cover. What happens if I cannot pay. Every vague fee term in the agreement converts to a figure or a date: $385 an hour, bills on the 1st, due in 30 days, replenish below $1,500. 3. **Trust money in three sentences, scope in examples the client recognizes.** Where the money sits, when it becomes the firm's, what happens to what is left over. Then "an appeal after the judge rules" and "a second lawsuit against the same bank", not "matters beyond the scope of this engagement." 4. **Companion, never substitute, and get it signed.** The letter restates the agreement; it never changes it, and where the agreement is ambiguous it flags rather than choosing the friendlier reading. Eighth-grade reading level, sentences under twenty words, one acknowledgment line. That signature is what ends most fee disputes before they start.