- Flat, Fixed Fees
- Payment of Fees
- Payment Plans
“So, how much is this going to cost me?” everyone asks. When a lawyer is charging by the hour, that’s a hard question to answer. That’s why in virtually all cases, I quote clients a “flat, fixed fee”. This way, I can tell you before you make any financial commitment exactly how much it’s going to cost.
Sometimes I can quote a fee in an initial meeting just on the basis of the documents you’ve been given by the police and what you tell me. In many cases, however, it is essential that I obtain a degree of disclosure from the Crown Prosecutor prior to quoting a fee. That’s because in order to quote a flat, fixed fee, I have to have some conception of how much time a case will take to try. I will probably also require information from you in response to the Crown Prosecutor’s disclosure to have at least a general idea of how the defence is going to be conducted. In those cases, I will give you a ballpark idea of what the fees are likely to be in the case and ask that you deposit a “retainer”—a portion of that fee—in my Trust Account. With that money in Trust, I will begin to act for you. Once I have received sufficient disclosure from the Crown Prosecutor, we will review the case and I will quote you a flat, fixed fee at that time.
Note: If your case is a serious one that involves a “two stage” proceeding, that is, with a Preliminary Inquiry in Provincial Court and a Trial in Supreme Court, a flat, fixed fee will initially be quoted for the Preliminary Inquiry. Once the Preliminary Inquiry is completed, a flat, fixed fee will be quoted for Trial.
Once a fee is quoted, all fees, taxes and major anticipated disbursements are payable in advance, without exception. That money is deposited into a Trust Account and held as security until an account for services rendered is delivered to you. Then, and only then, is money transferred out of Trust and into our General Account.
Payment plans are available on approval. Generally, we will require that approximately one-third of the quoted fee, taxes and anticipated disbursements be paid up front and the balance paid by monthly, post-dated cheques. Full payment must be received two months prior to the scheduled Trial or Preliminary Inquiry date.