Engagement letter checklist

Read the document to make sure it meets your needs and that you’ve provided all of the necessary information about the services that will be provided. Ask a lawyer for advice if you have any questions.

Your Engagement Letter must incorporate terms and conditions so that it covers appropriate risks and provides necessary information to each party. For terms and conditions to be incorporated, they should be included with the Engagement Letter and flagged to the parties before the Engagement Letter is signed.

You will choose how the terms and conditions will be included when you make your Engagement Letter. Make sure you follow the methods you select. If you indicated that the terms and conditions will be:

• accessible online via a URL - no further action is required, as long as you inserted the correct URL while making your Engagement Letter

• attached to the Engagement Letter:  

  • if you print the Letter before sending it, include a printed copy of the terms and conditions physically attached to the Letter

  • if you send the Letter electronically, add a document or pages containing the terms and conditions to the end of the file containing the Letter

• inserted into the Engagement Letter - download your completed Engagement Letter as a Word document or similar and insert (eg paste in) the terms and conditions under the heading ‘Schedule 1 - Terms and Conditions‘  

For more information, read the FAQs ‘Do I need to make terms and conditions too?’ and ‘Which terms and conditions should I use with my Engagement Letter?’.

The party that is sending the Engagement Letter should sign the Letter. If the sender is a company or a partnership, its representative (ie signatory) must sign. 

You can sign your Engagement Letter by either:

• signing online using RocketSign, or

• signing in print (ie by hand) - print 2 copies and sign both

Send the Engagement Letter and any attachments (eg terms and conditions) to the other party by post or by email. If you signed in print, send both printed copies of the Letter that you signed. 

Be sure to:

• if you post the Letter, use a tracked delivery service and keep a copy of the proof of posting and delivery

• if you email the Letter, request a ‘read receipt’ to ensure it’s received

When the other party receives the Letter, they should either:

• if they agree to all of the terms of the contract contained within the Letter, including the incorporated terms and conditions - countersign the letter (ie sign and date it above their name) to make the contract legally binding:

  • they can either:

    • sign online using RocketSign, if they were sent an electronic version, or

    • sign in print (ie by hand), if they were sent printed copies -  in this situation, they should sign both printed copies of the Letter. They should then keep one copy for their own records and return the other to the original sender

  • if the recipient is a company or a partnership, its representative (ie signatory) must sign 

• if they do not agree to all of the terms of the contract (eg if they want a detail changed or they want their own terms and conditions to be used, they should:

  • not countersign the Letter, and

  • contact the sender to discuss the desired changes

If the recipient does not countersign the Letter and the parties agree on changes to the contract contained in the Engagement Letter, the sender should make an updated version of the Engagement Letter that reflects the changes.

This updated version of the Letter should then be completed and sent in the same way that the original was and, if the recipient is happy with this version, they can then sign to make the contract legally binding.

A copy of your Engagement Letter will be stored automatically in your Rocket Lawyer account ‘Dashboard’.

You should also download and securely store a copy of your Engagement Letter for your records, as well as any records of any further negotiations regarding the Letter.