Transparency Is Important
Transparency
At Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, we believe that transparency is of utmost importance, especially with regards to fees for legal services. Our legal professionals (lawyers and paralegals) and staff are highly educated and trained. We spare no expense in advancing matters forward and our objective is to always maximize results for our clients in the most efficient way possible. Each case is unique because no two sets of facts are the same. Every legal matter requires its own strategy and results are often dependant on many factors, some of which are within our control, and some are not. Our approach to cases is to treat each case as unique and to ensure that we work with our clients on a payment method for legal fees that is most appropriate for their specific circumstances.
Your Choice
Traditionally, legal professionals bill hourly for their services. However, since no two cases are the same, we have developed several different fee structures for our services. Not every fee structure applies to each case. It is important to understand that you are the ultimate decision maker with regards to your case. We will do our best to present you with the most advantageous fee option. We will explain it to you and answer all your questions. Moreover, an example of the applicable fee structure is typically included with each of our retainer agreements for additional clarity. You then have the option of agreeing or not agreeing to that option. The choice is yours.
Our Intake Process
When you contact our Firm, our in-house intake team will speak with you and collect all of the relevant information required in order to conduct a preliminary assessment of whether we can help you with your legal matter. Our intake team members are not lawyers. They are trained professionals and are qualified to speak with you. Once you speak with an intake team member, you will be advised of your options with regards to scheduling a consultation with a lawyer or paralegal. In some cases, the consultation with a lawyer or paralegal at our Firm will be free.
In other cases, however, a consultation fee may apply. If a consultation fee applies to your case, our intake team will advise you of that and you will then have the choice of whether to proceed with scheduling the consultation, or not. Consultation fees are flat fees, which means that they apply to the entirety of the consultation, whether it takes 10 minutes, half an hour or 2 hours. Again, we pride ourselves on transparency and on providing access to justice. We therefore do our best to offer most individuals with free consultations with our lawyers and/or paralegals.
Types of Fee Structures & Access to Justice
Our fees depend on the type of legal issue that we have, and the circumstances of your case. We strive to promote access to justice, which is why the vast majority of cases we take on are on contingency. You can find out more information about our contingency fees at the bottom of this page.
In addition to a contingency fee structure, in some cases we offer hourly, deferred, and flat fee structures. An hourly fee structure is the traditional method lawyers have historically used to bill clients (i.e. charging for legal services based on an hourly rate). A deferred fee structure is similar to hourly fee billings, except that payment of the fees is deferred to a later point in the client’s legal matter. A flat fee structure means a set fee for defined services. Again, our legal professionals will advise you of the fee structure(s) applicable to your specific case following your consultation. You will then have the option of agreeing or not agreeing to the fee structure we propose.
Contingency Percentage Billing
This is a no-risk billing structure where a client is only billed at the conclusion of their matter, and only if we are successful in recovering money for the client. We do this by negotiating a settlement or winning the client’s case. The contingency fee that the client owes the firm cannot be more than what the firm has recovered for the client. In addition to legal fees, we also charge for any disbursements incurred and applicable taxes. If we are unsuccessful in recovering any money for our client, under the contingency billing option, the client does not owe our firm anything.
For labour and employment legal matters, our maximum contingency fee is one-third (1/3), depending on the jurisdiction and complexity of the matter. We only calculate the contingency fee on any additional monies recovered for our clients after they have hired our firm.
For disability and personal injury matters, our maximum fee is also one-third (1/3) of any amounts we recover on our client’s behalf, depending on the jurisdiction and complexity of the matter.
Reasonableness of Our Fees
When it comes to our fees, transparency is key, but so is the reasonableness of the contingency percentage that we offer. Keeping in mind that each case is unique, we feel it is important to consider all aspects of a case, as well as the circumstances of the client, when providing contingency billing arrangements. The factors that go into our assessment include:
- the time we anticipate will be spent working on the case,
- the legal complexity of the client’s matter,
- the anticipated legal results to be achieved, and
- the risk assumed by the client, as well as the legal professional and the firm.
When it comes to contingency billing, it is important to understand that our firm and the legal professional handling the matter are taking a risk that they may not be paid for their time working on a client’s matter. The client does not have to pay anything upfront or while their case is being worked on. If the client’s matter is unsuccessful, they do not owe anything to their legal professional and our firm will not be paid for their work and will suffer a loss. Other times, the matter may resolve quickly, and the fees paid to the legal professional and our firm may be greater (sometimes substantially) than the client would have been billed if they had been charged under a traditional hourly structure. Many clients prefer the contingency billing option because of the guarantee that they do not need to pay anything to the firm and the legal professional representing them if their matter is unsuccessful. Moreover, our contingency percentage is in line and competitive with other firms’ and legal professionals’ fees in the industry.
We pride ourselves in providing the highest quality legal services for competitive prices, and for treating each case in a unique, transparent, and reasonable manner to achieve maximum results and satisfaction for our clients.