3. Sign your retainer agreement and pay a deposit
Question & Answer
How do I prepare for my meeting with a lawyer or paralegal?When you hire a lawyer or paralegal, they usually ask you to sign a agreement. The retainer agreement is a written document that says:
- what you're hiring the lawyer or paralegal to do
- how you will be charged for their services
For example, you can hire a lawyer or paralegal to represent you for your whole case or for a specific task, like helping you prepare for or mediation.
A retainer agreement may also include other details like:
- how you will communicate with each other
- how you will be charged for services
- whether you will be charged for emails and telephone calls, and how much
Ask about anything you're not sure about or don't understand. And get a copy of your retainer agreement for your records.
Fees
Lawyers and paralegals keep track of the time they spend on your case and might charge you an hourly rate. They may also have other people helping them with your case who charge a different rate. For example, they may get another lawyer, paralegal, or law clerk to help with your case.
Or they may have fixed fees for doing certain things, like a half-day or daily rate for going to court.
Or the fees may depend on the amount of money or value of the property involved in your case.
Lawyers and paralegals usually also charge for other expenses, such as photocopies and court filing fees. These other expenses are called .
Your retainer agreement should tell you how much the fees and disbursements are. Your lawyer or paralegal should be able to give you an estimate of the total cost. You can ask your lawyer or paralegal to put this estimate in writing and to let you know if something happens to change the estimate.
Pay a deposit
Lawyers and paralegals usually ask you to pay a before they start to work on your case. This is sometimes called a retainer.
If your lawyer or paralegal asks for a deposit, you can ask them how much work the deposit is likely to cover. You can also ask if they would agree to a payment plan if you're not able to pay all of the deposit at once.
Ask for a receipt that shows the amount of money you paid. If the total cost of your legal work is less than the deposit, you should get the rest of your money back.
Legal aid certificates
If you have a legal aid certificate, this means that Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) pays a lawyer to work for you.
If your lawyer accepts your certificate, you should not have to pay a deposit or any other money directly to the lawyer. Your is supposed to cover the full cost of your matter. If you need more time, your lawyer can ask LAO for more hours.
In some cases, LAO may need you to sign a “contribution agreement”. This is an agreement between you and LAO where you agree to pay back LAO some money based on your income. You will need to sign the agreement before LAO will give you a legal aid certificate.
Community legal clinics
Legal Aid Ontario funds community legal clinics to provide free legal help to people with low incomes in certain areas of law. The most common areas of law clinics help with are:
- housing
- income assistance
- employment
- human rights
You don't need a legal aid certificate to get help at a community legal clinic. Lawyers and paralegals at clinics don't charge fees or require deposits. But, in some cases, they might ask you to pay for disbursements. For example, you might have to pay for a medical report for your appeal.
