FEES
A Consultation to Discuss Your Needs
It’s important that we speak in person to determine whether I can take on your matter and for you to decide whether you want to work with me. This consultation is a 90-minute paid appointment during which you will receive legal advice relevant to your situation. If I am able to quickly determine that you would be better served by another professional, I will try and give you the names of a few other people to call.
To make the best use of the consultation time, please be prepared to give me an overview of the issues as opposed to the specific details. If you have an existing court order or agreement, please have it handy or better yet, send it to me by e-mail to review in advance or bring it with you to your consultation.
Legal Fees
My current hourly rate is $350.00 per hour, plus HST. Typically, lawyers are paid on the basis of retainers. A retainer is an amount of money that is used as a deposit towards future legal fees that will be billed to you as we move forward with your file. When the retainer is getting low, I will ask that you provide me with a further retainer, and this will continue until we are no longer working together. The retainer serves two purposes – first, it ensures that you are never in a situation where you owe money for legal fees, and second, it ensures that I continue to be paid for the legal work that I am doing on your behalf.
The standard retainer for matters that are proceeding outside of court is $2,000.00. This may vary depending on the complexity of your case.
Legal Aid Certificates for Mediation
I am part of the community of lawyers that accepts special legal aid certificates to provide clients with independent legal advice and to represent them at mediations. To find out whether you qualify for one of these mediation certificates, please call the local legal aid office at 613-238-7931.
Unbundled Legal Services
In certain circumstances, I can provide focused legal assistance with specific tasks and bill these tasks on the basis of a flat rate, based on an estimate of time needed to complete the work. These are referred to as unbundled legal services, as they do not involve the standard retainer and hourly billing arrangement.
In many cases, it is possible to break down the process into various steps. In order to save on costs, clients may choose to handle some of the steps on their own, and have a lawyer assist with the others. In such a case, the various steps can be billed separately and on a flat-rate basis. During our consultation, we can discuss whether unbundled legal services are appropriate for your case.