A Message from Charles Rendina
Dear Valued Clients and Friends of our Firm:
As you probably know, for the past three years I have been working on a new way to deliver cost-effective legal services to our clients, and investigating the use of technology to counter the high cost of downtown office space. Having come to the conclusion that the future of top quality services lies in this direction, we are, effective November 1, 2011, we are beginning the transition.
LOCATIONS
We are locating our office in Vancouver to the 600 – 666 Burrard Street, Vancouver BC Canada V6C 2X8 , Park Place building on the corner of Burrard and Dunsmuir Streets. This building is across the street from the Bentall Centre and just around the corner from The Royal Centre Tower. We will be available to meet downtown with clients daily for appointments and are also expanding our meeting capabilities to include offices in Richmond, BC, as well as Seattle and Bellevue, WA. We will administer the business of the firm from our head office in Washington and retain our meeting capability in Bellingham at 1313 East Maple Street.
EXPANDED HOURS
We are extending our hours to include evenings and weekends to better align with your schedule.
CLOUD-BASED TECHNOLOGY
At the core of this plan is our online strategy. Our website (www.rendinalawfirm.com) has a new client portal, where clients will be able to log in with a password and view their files in much the same way as performing online banking. At the portal you will be able to access your file at any time, and collaborate on your case with your lawyer. Clients can download and print documents, send messages to us, open discussions and schedule appointments. Clients using ABRA, Inc. as the registered agent for their Washington Company will be able to see and update their corporate minute books.
By taking the above steps, we should be able to save a significant amount in overhead costs and will pass these savings on to clients.
DATA SECURITY
We have chosen a provider that offers a high level of data security; Canadian clients should take note that they will be dealing with a U.S. Law Firm. The servers for this secure portal are located in the United States and therefore subject to U.S. data collection and privacy laws. We intend to share certain limited areas of the corporate records section of this portal with our affiliated registered agent company, ABRA, Inc. This will be limited to corporate records belonging to those companies that have retained ABRA as their registered agent.
REDUCED RATES
Effective November 1, 2011, we are reducing our fees to clients who log into the portal as follows:
Lawyer fees: from $400.00 to $300.00 per hour
Paralegal fees: from $100.00 to $60.00 per hour
Legal Assistant fees: from $60.00 to $40.00 per hour.
ALTERNATIVE BILLING ARRANGEMENTS
We are expanding our commitment to alternative billing options for those clients who wish to work for flat rate, project-based or all-inclusive monthly fees.
IN THE NEAR FUTURE
We intend to expand the firm to include lawyers in Washington and British Columbia who are also committed to innovation and excellence.
ABRA will be introducing self-service alternatives for clients that want assistance with document preparation but do not need legal advice.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO OUR CLIENTS
As a client, you should notice an improvement in service, greater convenience, and lower cost.
PLEASE JOIN US
Go to: www.rendinalawfirm.com and follow the prompts to log in to your legal matters.
Sincerely,
Charles Rendina