Effective version 2026-06-16. These are the operative terms you agree to at checkout. Please read them before you pay.
LawPassport connects North Carolina tenants with a licensed North Carolina attorney for a defined, limited piece of legal work. This page summarizes the engagement agreement you accept when you use a paid LawPassport service. By checking the agreement box at checkout, you agree to these terms.
No attorney-client relationship exists until you complete checkout and accept this engagement agreement. Browsing the site, searching the landlord database, or creating a free account does not create an attorney-client relationship. The relationship forms only through your acceptance of this agreement at checkout, and it is strictly limited to the work described below.
Every paid LawPassport service is a limited-scope (unbundled) engagement under North Carolina Rule of Professional Conduct 1.2(c). That means the attorney is hired to perform a specific, defined task — not to handle your entire matter. The agreement defines exactly what the attorney will and will not do, what it costs, and when the representation ends. You give informed consent to these limits when you accept.
The service you buy determines what the attorney does:
Every tier is a flat fee. There is no hourly billing and no subscription on the demand product. We disclose the entire potential ladder to you up front so you understand the whole path before you ever climb it — even though you pay only for each phase as you choose to proceed. No later phase begins, and no fee for it is charged, without your separate, affirmative consent.
| Phase | This phase's fee | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| DIY demand — limited review | $39 | You draft with our help, an attorney reviews, you send it yourself |
| Tier 1 — Attorney-Assured demand | $149 | Attorney drafts, signs, sends; reviews the landlord's first response |
| Tier 2 — Follow-up & clarification | +$99 | Back-and-forth, supplemental info, reconciling discrepancies, pushing for compliance |
| Tier 3 — Negotiated settlement | +$299 | Negotiation toward a settlement figure and papering the agreement |
| Litigation | Separate engagement | A new, separate written agreement and fee — not covered here |
Renter Shield members pay $49 for a Tier 1 demand (or $99 during the membership's first 60 days) in place of the $149 fee. All other terms apply.
If a dispute arises between you and the attorney under this agreement, you and the attorney agree to first confer in good faith within ten (10) days of written notice of the dispute. If the dispute is not resolved by that good-faith conference, you and the attorney agree that the dispute will be resolved by binding arbitration, and not in court, before a single arbitrator administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect, seated in North Carolina. The arbitrator's decision is final and binding on both parties. Any fee dispute remains subject to the North Carolina State Bar's fee-dispute-resolution program where that program applies.
A demand letter is a tool, not a guarantee. We do not promise any particular result, and nothing on this site or in this agreement is a guarantee about your specific matter. Whether and how your landlord responds is outside our control.
You agree to provide complete and accurate facts and documents, to respond promptly to reasonable requests, and to keep the attorney informed of communications from your landlord. The limited representation concludes automatically when the attorney completes the work for the tier you paid for (or at any earlier terminal point — for example, a refund, a decision not to proceed, or non-payment of a later tier). On conclusion you are again representing yourself, the landlord's side may contact you directly, and you may re-engage for a further tier at any time.
You have the right to consult another independent attorney to review this agreement and advise you before you accept it. By accepting, you acknowledge you have been advised of that right.
When you accept at checkout, your acceptance, this agreement's version (2026-06-16), the date and time, and your IP address are recorded in LawPassport's audit trail. Hall & Dixon, PLLC · Issa Hall, Esq. · NC Bar #47046.