Civil Law Flat Rates
Independent Legal Advice $1,500 & up
This option covers reviewing the complaint the social worker is facing, the College’s finding if an investigation is directed and the investigator’s report (if the social worker is at this stage of the complaint process), and a 1-hour meeting with the social worker to discuss their case (pros and cons). Fees for consultation are based on the amount and seriousness of the allegations that the social worker is facing. Allegations of sexual abuse or misconduct are not included in the flat rate above and will be more depending on the seriousness of the sexual allegations. If you have a civil legal agreement and only require review and advice relating to the same, we can ensure you have been informed about your rights and obligations.
Negotiating Settlement Lite Monthly Subscription $600 & up
Some matters can be settled relatively simply through one or more exchanges of correspondence. Our office strives to minimize back and forth communication and therefore costs incurred by our clients. We are usually able to achieve this by encouraging reasonable initial proposals and managing our clients’ expectations. Unfortunately, we cannot control the responses or positions of opposing parties and therefore, do not recommend expending significant costs with correspondence between lawyers or the other party. Fees for negotiation are based on the number of exchanges in a given month (i.e. less than 10 communications per month: $500: between 10-20 communications per month: $750; between 20-30 communications par month: $1,000; more than 30 communications per month: $2,500).
Settlement & Release/Waiver Agreement $3,500 & up
If you have already reached a settlement in a civil matter, and only require it to be written in a legally binding contract this option is for you. It is a contract between two parties that is meant to resolve disputes or streamline legal issues. Because lawsuits are time-consuming and expensive processes in which it’s very possible that neither party will achieve the outcome they desire. One of the major motivations behind encouraging settlement is to avoid those significant legal, financial and personal costs of proceeding to trial. For many people, a lawsuit is a significant financial burden and many individuals also experience a great deal of personal stress and anxiety as a result.
Queen’s Bench Statement of Claim $2500
Commencing a court action in the Court of Queen’s Bench requires the issuance of a Statement of Claim. This starts the litigation process and is required step to obtaining a court order or judgment. This also signals to the opposing party what specific relief you are claiming. This does not include court fees of approximately $300, couriering fees, process server fees (or substitutions service orders if the opposing party cannot be served personally)
Queen’s Bench Statement of Defence $1750
Responding to a Statement of Claims is your opportunity to respond to the claims being made against you and sets out your defense. If you have a counterclaim/Reply/Demand for Notice this will be an additional $550 for each. This does not include court fees of approximately $300, couriering fees.
Provincial Court Civil Claim $1500
In the Civil Claim Process, the maximum amount that anyone may claim in Provincial Court Civil is $50,000. Any claims that cannot be heard in the Provincial Court or exceed $50,000 must be heard in the Court of Queens Bench. Commencing a court action in Provincial Court requires the issuance of a Civil Claim. This starts the litigation process and is required step to obtaining a court or judgment. This also signals to the opposing party what specific relief you are claiming. This does not include court fees of approximately $300, couriering fees, process server fees (or substitutions service orders if the opposing party cannot be served personally)
Provincial Court – Responding to a Civil Claim $1500
Responding to a Civil Claim is your opportunity to respond to the claims being made against you and sets out your defense. If you have a Counterclaim this will be an additional $500. This does not include court fees of approximately $300, couriering fees.
Judgmental Enforcement $1750
If you have been successful in obtaining a Judgment of Provincial Court Civil or the Court of Queen’s Bench and you would like to collect on it from the defendant/enforcement debtor, it can be a difficult process. We will take the steps to enforce your judgment, including a writ of enforcement, garnishing process or instructions to a bailiff to seizure. This does not include court fees, bailiff fees, or other disbursements.
Interim Application Simple (Initiate) $3000
From time to time, your legal issues cannot wait to be resolved in the ordinary course and require more immediate court intervention. This could involve preservation orders, exclusive possession, injections, litigation plan, delay applications, applications regarding Questioning and Undertakings. Although interim applications are generally suggested to be a last-resort mechanism, occasionally they are necessary where the opposing party refuses to take a reasonable position or resists your attempts to move forward in a more efficient manner. This includes the $20 to $50 in court fees that may be incurred. Usually includes 2-3 simple legal issues.
Interim Application Complex (Initiate) $7500
From time to time, your legal issues cannot wait to be resolved in the ordinary course and require more immediate court intervention. This could involve summary judgment applications, contract disputes involving subcontractors, and usually where large sums of money are involved (up to a certain dollar amount). This does not include court fees that may be incurred. These typically involve a plethora of legal issues.
Interim Application Simple (Response) $3000
This does not include court fees that may be incurred. These typically involve a plethora of legal issues.
Interim Application Complex (Response) $5000
This does not include court fees that may be incurred. These typically involve a plethora of legal issues.
Preparing for and Attending a Pretrial Conference or Judicial Dispute Resolution (JDR) $7500
A pretrial conference is a mandatory procedure on the litigation path in the event you are not able to otherwise resolve matters by agreement. At the PTC, a judge will be present and attempt to mediate a settlement between the parties. If you go to trial this will not be the same judge at a Trial. We start by scheduling the pretrial by teleconference. Judicial Dispute Resolution (JDR) is a confidential pre-trial settlement conference led by a Justice f the Court of Queen’s Bench. The objective of a JDR is to resolve the dispute so a trial will be either unnecessary, or at most limited to those issues on which the parties do not agree. The parties meet with Justice to confidentially discuss the background of the case and what the parties feel is important in the case. The participants will then discuss possible solutions. If no agreement is reached, the Justice may give a non-binding opinion of what decision they would make if this case and these facts were presented at trial. The justice’s non-binding opinion may help the parties and their lawyers reach a resolution without having to go to trial. A settlement is only reached if everyone agrees. Binding JDRs are also available at the Court of Queen’s Bench. In these cases the parties agree that the Justice’s opinion will be binding . Once it is scheduled we will need to put together your witness, discuss your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA), which is the course of action you can take if negotiations fail and no agreement reached (your fallback plan). While attending the PTC or non-binding JDR, if the value of the deal proposed to you is lower than your BATNA value, we may suggest you reject the offer and pursue your BATNA. However, if the final offer is higher than your BATNA value , we may suggest you to accept the offer. The process involves both parties coming together in the presence of a judge who assist the parties in facilitating meaningful settlement discussion. They are highly effective in reaching a final resolution with a high probability of settlement by way of minutes of Settlement or Consent Judgment. This does not include any court fees, if the court grants consent orders.
Trial $7500 per day
The last stage in the litigation process is trial. There is a considerate amount of preparation involved in trials including organization of documents to be used as exhibits, strategizing preparing questions for witnesses, reviewing all pleadings and court documents, etc. It is estimated that for every day of trial, there are 3-4 days of preparation. This preparation occurs at various phases in the days, weeks, and months before the trial. For this reason, fees are typically charged for one day of trial even if the matter settles within two months before the start of the trial, for two days of trial even if the matter settles within two weeks of trial, for three days of trial even if the matter settles within one day of trial and for the entirety of the scheduled days of trial whether they are utilized or not. It is always advisable to avoid trial if at all possible, not just because of the high financial cost, but also due to the high emotional cost given the stress of the process.
Appeals: $10,000 per 10 pages of Decision Under Appeal
Occasionally, litigants end up with a decision they do not agree with and wish to challenge the court’s decision to a higher authority. The law is constantly evolving and the Court of Appeal’s decisions serve to advance those evolutions and provide valuable commentary and clarification to lower courts, lawyers and litigants. Because the complexity of an appeal often depends on the complexity of the lower court’s decision, there are few metrics that can assist us in determining an appropriate fee. Accordingly, our general policy is to round up to the nearest ten pages to calculate the fee estimate. This includes court filing fees but not the cost of obtaining any transcripts.
