Engagement Agreement

1. Who We Are

ConvictionRemoval.com is a service of Spindler Law, an Indiana law firm. Jason M. Spindler is the licensed Indiana attorney responsible for the legal services provided through this agreement. Our office is located at 112 N. Main Street, Princeton, Indiana 47670, and you may reach us at jason@spindlerlaw.com.

2. What You Are Hiring Us To Do

You are hiring us for a limited-scope representation under Indiana Rule of Professional Conduct 1.2(c). Specifically, we will:

• Review the information you provide through our intake questionnaire;
• Conduct a 30-minute Zoom consultation with you (recorded; transcript delivered to you within 24 hours);
• Determine the appropriate Indiana statutory section(s) for your petition (IC 35-38-9-1 through 35-38-9-5);
• Draft and review a Petition for Expungement for you to sign and verify as the petitioner;
• Draft a Proposed Order and the other documents the court requires with the petition (for example, a certificate of service and the confidential copy and notice required for your Social Security number);
• Give you written, step-by-step instructions for filing in your county: where and how to file, the clerk’s fee and how to ask for a fee waiver, how to serve the prosecutor, and what to expect afterward;
• Deliver the finished documents and instructions to you by email.

3. What We Will NOT Do — Read Carefully

This is a strictly limited engagement. The following services are NOT included, and we will NOT perform them:

• File your petition or any other document with any court, or enter an appearance in your case;
• Pay, advance, or collect any court filing fee or other court cost;
• Serve the prosecutor or any other party;
• Monitor your case or notify you of court rulings, hearing settings, or deadlines — the court and the prosecutor will contact you directly;
• Attend any hearing, conference, status, or other court appearance — under any circumstances;
• Negotiate with the prosecutor (e.g., over consent for IC 35-38-9-5 petitions);
• Respond to any motion, objection, or pleading filed by the prosecutor or any other party;
• Any appeal or post-judgment motion;
• Investigation of facts beyond what you provide and what is available in court records we routinely access;
• Verification of the accuracy of your criminal history beyond what you provide;
• Representation in any related matter (civil suits, immigration consequences, employment issues, etc.);
• Ongoing legal advice after the engagement ends under Section 4.

4. When This Representation Ends

This representation ends upon the FIRST of the following to occur:

• We deliver your finished documents and filing instructions to you;
• We decline your case under Section 6;
• You discharge us in writing (you may do so at any time).

When this representation ends, we will tell you in writing that it has ended and refund any unearned fee as described in Section 7. Because we do not appear in your case, there is nothing for us to withdraw from with the court. After that, you are responsible for filing and for all further proceedings, and we will not file documents, attend any hearing, or communicate with the prosecutor or court on your behalf, except as Indiana Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16(d) requires.

5. Filing and Afterward: Your Responsibilities

You are the petitioner and you represent yourself (pro se) in court. You are responsible for: reviewing the documents and telling us before delivery if anything is inaccurate; signing the petition, including its verification under penalty of perjury; filing it with the correct clerk; paying the filing fee or requesting a waiver; serving the prosecutor; and keeping your contact information current with the court.

In our experience, most Indiana expungement petitions under IC 35-38-9-2, -3, and -4 are decided on the papers without a hearing. However, a court may set a hearing for any reason, including (a) the prosecutor objects, (b) the petition involves IC 35-38-9-5 (felonies that require the prosecutor's written consent), (c) the court has questions, or (d) local practice in your county. If a hearing is set, you may:

• Appear at the hearing yourself, using the documents we prepared;
• Hire an attorney to represent you at the hearing (you may hire us under a separate agreement if we agree to take it on);
• Withdraw your petition and refile later (this generally requires paying the filing fee again).

6. Cases We Will Not Take Under This Tier

We will not accept this engagement for cases that we anticipate will require a hearing. Specifically, we may decline or refund this engagement if:

• Your petition involves IC 35-38-9-5 (felonies that require the prosecutor's written consent), unless we determine in our sole discretion that prosecutor consent is likely;
• There is a known prosecutor objection or active dispute regarding eligibility;
• You have indicated an intention to contest a denial or seek a hearing;
• The case involves circumstances that, in our judgment, make a hearing likely.

If we decline the engagement after you have paid, we will refund the fee in full within 7 business days.

7. Fees and Refunds

You pay a $1,299.00 flat fee when you accept this agreement, for all services described in Section 2. The flat fee is earned when paid and is not held in our trust account. It is nonrefundable except as stated in this Section: if this engagement ends for any reason before we deliver your finished documents — including if you discharge us, which you may do at any time, or if we decline your case under Section 6 — we will refund the portion of the flat fee we have not earned, based on the work actually completed, as Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct 1.5 and 1.16(d) require. If we decline your case or you cancel before the Zoom consultation, we refund the flat fee in full.

Once we have delivered your finished documents and filing instructions, the services in Section 2 are complete, and no part of the flat fee is refundable, including if a hearing is later set or the prosecutor objects.

Full refund mechanics are set out in our Refund Policy.

8. Court Filing Fee Is Not Included

The $1,299 fee covers our legal services only. You pay the Indiana civil filing fee directly to the clerk when you file (currently $157 per petition in most counties; the clerk can confirm the exact amount). If your matter requires petitions in more than one county, each county charges its own fee. If you cannot afford the fee, you may ask the court to let you proceed without paying it; our filing instructions explain how. We do not pay, advance, or hold court fees for you.

9. Confidentiality and Privilege

Information you provide is confidential under Indiana Rule of Professional Conduct 1.6 and, to the extent the law allows, protected by the attorney-client privilege. We will not share it with anyone outside our firm except (a) as needed to prepare your documents, (b) as required by law, or (c) as you authorize.

10. No Guarantee of Outcome

We do not guarantee that your petition will be granted. We do not guarantee that the prosecutor will not object. We do not guarantee any particular timeline. The court has discretion. Our work is based on our professional judgment, but the outcome is not within our control.

11. The Zoom Consultation

The 30-minute Zoom consultation is recorded with your consent (you will be asked to consent at the start of the recording). The transcript is delivered to you by email within 24 hours of the consultation. The recording is retained in our secure systems and is subject to the same confidentiality and privilege as written communications.

12. How to Accept This Agreement

You accept this agreement by clicking "I Agree" on the checkout page and submitting payment. Your electronic acceptance has the same legal effect as a signature.

You acknowledge that you have read this agreement in full, understand the limits of the representation (especially that you will file the petition yourself and that we will not appear at any hearing — Sections 3, 4, and 5), and have had the opportunity to ask questions before accepting.

13. Indiana Law Governs

This agreement is governed by Indiana law. Any disputes arising from this agreement will be resolved in courts located in Gibson County, Indiana.

14. Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct

This is a limited-scope engagement permitted by Indiana Rule of Professional Conduct 1.2(c). The limited scope is reasonable under the circumstances because: (a) the work to be performed (consultation and document preparation) is fully described in Section 2; (b) the work excluded (filing, court appearances, and hearings) is fully described in Sections 3 and 4; (c) you are informed of the consequence (you file the petition and handle any further proceedings yourself or with other counsel); and (d) you have an opportunity to consider this disclosure before accepting.