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What will this all cost? Clients usually want to know "what will this all cost?" That is a reasonable question. This page addresses how we calculate fees for professional services to be rendered on your behalf. 1. Flat Rate Where it is possible to accurately estimate costs in advance, we offer pre-determined flat rates for our legal services. Examples of services where our firm has flat rate billing include residential real estate transactions, incorporation of companies, and wills drafting. Please be advised, however, that we reserve the right to adjust the fees accordingly where unanticipated issues or atypical problems significantly increase the time spent on a file. 2. Hourly Rate At the beginning of most family law and litigation matters, the number of legal issues may not be apparent and we cannot anticipate the type and degree of resistance by the opposing party. Even as a case progresses, new issues may arise and existing issues may become more complex. As a result, we cannot predict the amount of work to be done, nor the time needed to resolve such matters. In these cases, your fees are calculated primarily, but not necessarily exclusively, on the basis of time spent on your behalf, including, but not limited to: (a) incoming and outgoing telephone calls; (b) incoming and outgoing letters, facsimiles and emails; (c) preparation of correspondence and memoranda, (d) attendances in court or at meetings and any travel time required for such purposes. Time spent on a client's behalf will be calculated in periods of not less than 1/10th of an hour. Our current standard hourly rate of $150.00 per hour is then applied to convert the time spent into a monetary figure. Recognizing our clients. desire to minimize legal costs, our goal is always to resolve a client.s matter as quickly and economically as possible, consistent with protecting a client.s interests. 3. Special Circumstances In some instances, we will charge an amount which is above or below the number of hours multiplied by the standard rates, weighing the following elements: (a) The complexities of the issues and the client.s potential monetary exposure; (b) The extent to which the client.s individual circumstances warrant substantially discounted or pro bono legal services; (c) The degree of success and results accomplished; (d) The extent to which the expertise of this firm contributed to a successful outcome; (e) The degree and type of resistance encountered; and, (f) The extent to which any work needs to be performed on an emergency basis. 4. Disbursements Disbursements are out-of-pocket expenses incurred on behalf of the client, and are charged to the in addition to legal fees. Disbursements include, but are not limited to couriers, process servers, government fees (court filing fees, registration fees, etc.), long distance telephone and facsimile charges, photocopies, and travel costs, as well as Goods and Services Tax. 5. Retainer In most cases, we require money retainers to begin and continue to serve you. The retainer is an amount paid to our firm in trust, for deposit to your credit, on the understanding that it will be used to satisfy our accounts for legal services and disbursements at the time accounts are delivered. The retainer is a source of payment for your accounts. You are expected to provide and replace the retainer when requested, as it is spent, so that we continue to have enough money in trust to cover legal services completed and necessary next steps. Until you provide us with a retainer, or replace it when it is exhausted, we will not work on your file. The retainer is not a flat fee or an estimate of the cost of completing your file. You are responsible for the fees and disbursements not covered by the initial or replacement retainer. If you have any questions about our billing policy, please do advise us now so that there are no future misunderstandings. Listed below are my fees for a number of typical transactions: RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE PURCHASE WITH MORTGAGE (NEW AND RESALE HOMES) LEGAL FEES
(vary by transaction)
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE SALE AND DISCHARGE OF MORTGAGE LEGAL FEES
(vary by transaction)
PURCHASE OR SALE OF BUSINESS LEGAL FEES
LEGAL FEES
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