Engagement
How an instruction starts, who may give it, and what happens to the money. There is no engagement until the conflicts check clears and the engagement letter is signed.
- Document
- WW-F-007
- Version
- 1.0
- Issued
- 2026-09-11
- Last revised
- 2026-09-11
- Scope
- Instruction, conflicts, billing terms
- Authority
- Principal
How an instruction starts
Scoping call, conflicts check, engagement letter — principal $425/hr, schedule at /rates — written ceiling, deposit, work. In an incident, the same order compressed into hours (/emergency).
No engagement exists until conflicts clear and the letter is signed. Until then I am not retained and take custody of nothing. Money arriving early is held unapplied, refunded in full, nothing deducted for card processing.
| Step | What it fixes | What this does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Scoping callno charge, up to 45 minutes | Whether you need a forensic examiner. | Does not retain me or hold a date. |
| Conflicts check | No position adverse to the parties you name, at that date. | Does not cover a party you did not name. |
| Engagement letter | Client, who may instruct, scope, rates, ceiling, refusals verbatim. | Promises no finding, and no admission. |
| Authorisation ceilingin writing, per phase | The maximum fee billable for that phase. | A stop-point, not an estimate. |
Conflicts
Names first, story second. Full legal names — parents, subsidiaries, opposing counsel, likely custodians, insurers, venue. Trade names are not enough; an incomplete list gets a partial check, described in writing as partial. I act for one side only, never as a neutral where I have advised either side.
If a conflict surfaces mid-matter I stop where I recognise it, seal custody unexamined, tell you the same day in writing, and refund the unearned balance in full within 10 business days. Work already reported is still billed; your own preservation duty is untouched.
Who may instruct
The letter names one client: whoever signs it. Where counsel instructs for a company, counsel is the client — the report goes to the firm, which decides who else sees it. Roles on /roles; instructing me privileges nothing by itself.
Scope, ceiling and deliverable changes in writing only. Counsel's material is logged apart from mine, so the FRCP 26(b)(4)(C) carve-outs hold without sweeping in drafts protected under FRCP 26(b)(4)(B).
What not to send yet
Intake asks a name, a role, counsel if engaged, and a callback number — no case detail in a web form.
Before signature, do not send evidence, privileged documents, credentials or regulated data. Anything arriving early is held sealed or returned unopened. I never ask for a password by email.
Documented authority
Before I touch a device, mailbox or account I confirm in writing who authorises it, for which item. Where authority cannot be established under 18 U.S.C. § 1030, § 2702, § 2511 or state law, I decline that item in writing.
Ceilings, and the stop at 80%
Analysis bills hourly against a ceiling you authorise in writing before work starts. No hour above it is billed — no overage rate, no surge rate.
At 80% I stop and write: hours used, what is established, what is unexamined, what the rest would cost. Work resumes on a written increase; silence is not one.
Invoicing
- Monthly and on phase completion, reconciled to the authorisation: hours billed, hours left, deposit balance.
- Time in 0.1 hour, one task per entry, no block billing: 2026-09-14 · principal · keyword search in mailbox export MBX-02 · 1.4. Itemised PDF plus CSV. Portal format and task codes agreed in writing before the first invoice.
- Expenses at cost, with receipts. Travel at the published rate, capped per day; out-of-hours uplift only on out-of-hours hours, listed separately.
- PO number on the letter before work starts; where the PO is below the ceiling, the PO governs. Onboarding at intake — W-9, MSA, security questionnaire, insurance limits — where one cannot be met you hear it then.
- Payable within 30 days. Bank transfer carries a 3% discount against the card price, not a surcharge. No pay-when-paid terms.
Retainers and closing
- The deposit sits in my operating account — not a trust account, not escrow, not IOLTA; no interest accrues to the payer.
- A deposit is not an authorisation, and a card on file is not permission to top up.
- Unearned balance refunded in full within 10 business days of the final invoice; no processing or administration fee.
- Storage runs 90 days free, then at the published monthly rate. Returned or destroyed on written instruction; nothing is destroyed while a hold or subpoena touches it, and where compulsory process reaches it you are told unless the law forbids it.
Refusals in every letter
Repeated verbatim in every letter I sign; full list at /#we-will-not.
I will not — extract
- Take a fee that depends on what I find, the outcome, or which side retains me.
- Bill an hour above your written ceiling, or run an uncapped password attempt.
- Touch a device or account without documented authority, whatever the ownership story.
- Take a matter I cannot finish inside your deadline.
- Promise a finding, a recovered file, an unlocked handset, or that anything I produce is admitted.
Where a matter requires a certified examiner, an accredited laboratory or a venue licence, that is stated in the engagement letter and satisfied before work begins.
To start
Send the conflicts names, your deadline, and the question in one sentence. Not the evidence. Ring 917-217-7975 and I will tell you whether this is even a forensics problem; if I cannot take it, you hear that on the call.