Nearly all immigration law cases are on a flat or fixed fee basis. Some family law matters are fixed fee, e.g. simple, uncontested divorce, simple Separation Agreement or Marriage Contract ("Pre Nup"). Family law matters (contested divorce, court litigation) are on an hourly rate, or a fixed fee for each stage. Stages are 1) to interview client, prepare serve and file court "pleadings" (documents), 2) to prepare and attend at a Case Conference, 3) to prepare and attend at a Settlement Conference, 4) to prepare for and attend at at Trial Management Conference, etc. But for trial preparation and going to trial it is per hour.
For cases done on an hourly rate, we charge $450 per hour. For work done that a legal secretary could do, (even if done by lawyer or paralegal when secretary unavailable) the rate is $50 per hour. Paralegal work $150. We do not accept Legal Aid certificates. As with nearly all law firms, fees exclude disbursements which are necessary expenses incurred on your behalf. Examples are photocopies (first 50 pages are free), translations, court fees, process server fees. You must reimburse us for those expenditures if they are not paid directly from your Trust Account.
Some family law clients are on a discount plan including discounted hourly rates, cheaper or free consulations thanks to an arrangement between their employers and Law Assist or Legal Shield. We do accept these but if you qualify for this we still need you to sign a Retainer Agreement (insurance rules). This discount is great for such employees of big companies but what about people who work for smaller companies that do not have this arrangement?. And what about the self-employed? So to make things fair we offer a similar deal if you bring us your (and your spouse's if any) last two year's Canada Revenue "Notice of Assessment" and it shows a combined family income on line 15000 of less than $85,000. The discount is 25% off regular hourly rate.
HOW LAWYERS BILL AND "WHAT IS A RETAINER"
What is a Retainer for legal services?
A retainer is a deposit (pre-payment) toward your account, a retainer is not a quote or estimate of the total bill at the end of the case. A retainer is deposited into a Trust account, which is strictly regulated by the Law Society or the Bar Association or the Courts, whoever controls lawyers in your jurisdiction. (In Ontario it is the Law Society.) Your lawyer bills you at the end of each month (unless he/she did no work on your case) and takes what you owe from the Trust account. When the Trust Account balance gets below a certain amount e.g. $1000 he/she will usually want you to replenish it ("top it up") unless it appears the case will soon end and cost less than what is left in the account. Obviously if a lot of work was done one month there may not be enough money in Trust to cover the lawyer's fees so you would need to pay what is outstanding AND "top up" the Trust account. This can be difficult if you are not expecting it. If the case ends and you still have a credit in trust it will be promptly refunded (if you can show that your refund was due and not paid, the Law Society, Bar or Courts will go after any lawyer who tried to keep your money), but usually you will need to replenish the trust account whenever the lawyer asks and/or the Retainer Agreement requires.
What is a Retainer Agreement?
It is simply a contract between you and the lawyer about what service will be provided at what costs. It may focus on actions such as review a document and give advice, prepare and file an application or brief, prepare and file an appeal, attend at court to argue a case, but usually it is an agreement that you will pay the lawyer for his/her time and effort and expertise in doing whatever he/she thinks is necessary regarding the legal issue you hired the lawyer for; with no promise or outcomes or guarantee of results. It will rarely talk about winning the case, application or procedure. Unlike a contract with a mechanic you are paying for the effort and not a successful result. e.g. when you pay a mechanic to install new brakes you expect them to work; for a new starter in your car you expect it to work (unless the car won't start because of the engine or fuel or battery, rather than the starter motor, but then you would have to pay the mechanic to diagnose and repair that extra problem.) The more detailed the Agreement is, the less chance there is for future misunderstandings and arguments, so read every word before signing.
