Hiring A Lawyer
You Need A Lawyer When…
• Buying a Property
• Filing a Lawsuit
• When You Get Charged with a Crime
• You Get Arrested
• Signing an Important Document
• Preparing a Will
• You are Involved in an Accident
• Getting a Divorce
You Don’t Need a Lawyer When….
• You Go to Traffic Court
• You go To Small Claims Court
• You Negotiate Simple Agreements
Tips When Hiring a Lawyer
1. Shop Around. You do not need to Hire the First Lawyer You Meet
2. Do your Research. You May Call the Law Society in your Area for Recommendations.
3. Make Sure you are Comfortable with your Lawyer
4. Do Not Hesitate To Ask Them Questions
5. Ask Friends and Family for a Referral
Before You Meet With Your Lawyer it is Important to Prepare a Brief But Complete Summary of Your Case and To Prepare Important Questions to Ask Them.
What To Ask A Lawyer Before You Hire Them:
• Their Experience in the Field of Law You are Involved In
• If They Have Handled Similar Cases
• Their Success Rate
• Your Case’s Success Rate
• Their Fees
The Cost of Hiring A Lawyer ( Legal Fees )
Remember :
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ASK: You have to make sure you understand the lawyer’s billing terms. If you do not understand the agreement, do not hesitate to ask.
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NEGOTIATE: Remember that a law firm is also a business. If you have a reasonable proposition, your lawyer may consider it too keep you as a client
Retainer Fee- is a fee that a client agrees in advance to pay to ensure of the lawyer’s availability to the client.
Billable Hours – Lawyers keep track of the time ( down to the minute ) that they attribute to one case and bill the client for it. Example, research on the client’s file, phone call, writing correspondence, preparing court documents, notarizing, in short, almost all the time the lawyer spends on your case that could be billed.
Hourly Rate – This amount varies according to the location of the law firm, the size of the firm, the experience and expertise of the lawyer, the field of law your case is about, competition and more. In Canada, it can go from around $150 to as high as $800 an hour.
Flat Rate- Lawyers usually charge a fixed rate on certain jobs such as completing a transaction, preparing a document, or any similar tasks where the lawyer can predict when the job will get done.
Contingency Fees – In a general sense, a percentage of the client’s judgment award in court which is usually around 20 – 30 percent. This is when the lawyer gets paid based on whether they win their case or not. If the client wins, the lawyer gets paid by percentage, and if they lose, then the lawyer does not get paid. Keep in mind, even if you’re not paying the lawyer per se, you may still have to pay other associated fees like Filing Fees, Courier, Paper etc.
Blended Fee – A combination of hourly rate and flat rate. For example, the client gets billed a flat rate for a document, and gets billed an hourly rate for court appearances