How We Scope, Price, and Run the Work
Accord & Shield Legal advises established businesses, technology companies, and founders. This page sets out how an engagement is defined, how fees are handled, and what you can expect from us while the work is under way.
Who we work with
The firm advises companies at very different stages: businesses with years of operating history and multi-state footprints, technology companies negotiating commercial agreements, and founders building something new. What the work has in common is that it is transactional — the agreements, structures, and transactions a business relies on rather than litigation.
Nadine Deeb is licensed in Arizona, California, and Texas, and previously served as in-house counsel for a technology company. That background shapes how the work is approached: legal positions are weighed against commercial commitments and operating priorities rather than considered in isolation.
How scope is established
Most problems with legal bills start as problems with scope. Before substantive work begins, we settle what the engagement covers, what it deliberately does not, and what has to be true for the estimate to hold.
That usually means identifying the documents involved, who else has to agree to them, and what has to happen before a signature. Where a matter is genuinely open-ended, we say so rather than quoting a number that will not survive contact with the work.
Hourly and flat-fee engagements
The firm generally bills hourly. Where the scope of a piece of work can be defined clearly at the outset, a flat fee is often available and is usually the better arrangement for both sides.
Which applies depends on the work rather than the client. A defined document set with a known counterparty position lends itself to a flat fee; a negotiation whose length depends on the other side generally does not.
Estimates and changes in scope
An estimate describes anticipated fees under assumptions we state — the number of agreements, the expected rounds of negotiation, and how much redrafting is likely. Those assumptions are part of the estimate, not background to it.
An estimate is not a fixed fee or a cap on spending unless we agree to that in writing. When something materially changes the work — a counterparty reopens settled terms, the deal structure shifts, new documents come into scope — you hear about it at the time, along with what it means for the anticipated fees.
Timelines and what they depend on
We ask early about the date that actually matters: a signing, a board meeting, a customer go-live, a filing. Milestones are then set against that date and revisited if the work changes.
Some parts of a timeline are ours to manage and some are not. Counterparties, their counsel, procurement and security reviews, and information we need from you all affect timing. We plan around those dependencies and flag early when one of them moves a date, rather than reporting it afterwards.
Communication while work is under way
You work with the attorney handling your matter. We establish communication expectations at the outset and provide meaningful updates on progress, outstanding decisions, and next steps. When circumstances affect scope, timing, or anticipated fees, we explain the implications and discuss the path forward.
Where a matter is ongoing, we agree points of contact and a rhythm that fits how your business operates, and we make clear at each stage what happens next and what we need from you.
Efficient workflows
Structured intake, organized document collection, and secure file sharing exist to keep routine administration from consuming time that should go to substantive work. Gathering the same information twice, chasing attachments through email threads, and reassembling context are all avoidable, and avoiding them is part of managing legal spend well.
Starting a conversation
The initial consultation is a short conversation about what you are dealing with and whether the firm is the right fit. It is not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship — that begins only when we have agreed scope and fees in a signed engagement letter.
The initial consultation is offered at no charge by Accord & Shield Legal, PLLC. Fees for any engagement that follows are set out in a written engagement letter before work begins.