Retention Terms

Law Offices of Kenneth F. Smith, PLLC · SummonsPros.com
11 Broadway, Suite 615, New York, NY 10004 · (646) 450-9354 · mail@kfslawfirm.com

Please read these terms carefully. They govern representation by the Law Offices of Kenneth F. Smith, PLLC ("the Firm") on a New York City criminal court summons matter.

1. These terms apply ONLY if and when the Firm agrees to represent you. Submitting a form does not retain the Firm.
Submitting an intake form, sending your information, or even paying an invoice does not, by itself, create an attorney-client relationship and does not mean the Firm has agreed to represent you. The Firm reviews each matter first. You are retained only when the Firm confirms, in writing, that it has accepted your matter. Until that confirmation, no attorney-client relationship exists, the Firm is not responsible for your court date or deadlines, and these terms have not yet taken effect. If the Firm does not accept your matter, any payment made is refunded in full. Once the Firm confirms it has accepted your matter, these terms govern that representation.

2. What you are hiring the Firm to do. Upon retention, you are retaining the Firm to represent you on one (1) New York City criminal court summons (a "pink summons" / C-summons) in the identified matter. Representation includes reviewing your summons, filing a Notice of Appearance, requesting any necessary adjournment, appearing on your behalf so that you do not have to personally appear, and advocating for the most favorable available disposition for your situation.

3. The flat fee. The flat fee is $350 (or $450 for expedited handling when your court date is the next day). This is the Firm's legal fee only.

4. What the fee does NOT include. The flat fee does not cover, and you remain separately responsible for, the following if they apply to your case:

  • Any fine, surcharge, or penalty imposed by the court as part of a disposition (for example, a $50 fine). These are paid to the court, not the Firm.

  • A Certificate of Disposition, a separate court document evidencing the outcome. If you want one, it carries an additional court fee of approximately $10, not included in the flat fee.

  • Any fee for a separate matter, additional summons, or charge not identified at intake.

5. How the fee is earned. New York law entitles you to discharge the Firm at any time and to a refund of any portion of the fee the Firm has not yet earned. You are not giving up that right. Once you are retained, the fee is earned as the Firm performs work, in stages:

  • 40% is earned immediately upon engagement and review of your summons.

  • 30% is earned upon filing the Notice of Appearance and drafting and submitting the affidavit to you for execution.

  • 30% is earned upon resolution of the matter or the Firm's final substantive action on it.

If you discharge the Firm before a stage is reached, you are entitled to a refund of the portion not yet earned.

6. How the Firm pursues the best result. Your attorney's job is to secure the best available disposition for your specific situation, decided in consultation with you. There is a real chance your attorney finds a defect in the summons and gets the case dismissed outright — that is the goal pursued first. If outright dismissal isn't available, the judge will often offer an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD), an excellent result for many people, though it keeps the case open for six months and visible on WebCrims (the public court case-lookup) during that window. Some clients instead prefer the decisive closure of pleading to an administrative-code violation — not a crime, no criminal record — and paying a small fine. Which path is best depends on your circumstances, and your attorney will walk you through the options. No specific outcome can be guaranteed; what you retain is the Firm's representation, judgment, and effort to obtain the best result available.

7. Case timing outside anyone's control. In NYC, the police precinct must deliver the summons paperwork to the court. Occasionally the precinct does not get it there in time, the case is not "ready," and you are told to wait for a notice in the mail. If that paperwork never arrives, the matter is effectively over without ever being formally heard — a good result, though one driven by the precinct, not by anything the Firm can speed up. When a case ends this way, a Certificate of Disposition may not be available, because there may be no court record to certify.

8. Resolving any concern. If any concern about the representation or a payment arises, contact the Firm directly at (646) 450-9354 or mail@kfslawfirm.com so the Firm has the opportunity to address it.

9. Entire agreement. These terms, together with the Firm's written confirmation of retention govern the representation. No oral statement changes them.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.