Amicus Law & Mediation

Fees

PRICE LIST – AS OF AUGUST 25, 2019
*Disbursements are in addition to legal fees- not included*

Regular Hourly Rate: $275.00 plus HST

Premium Hourly Rate:  $350.00 plus HST (applies to unscheduled drop-ins, after-hours appointments, and after-hours work required by clients – see Frequently Asked Questions)

Initial Consult: $275.00 plus HST

Mileage:  $0.41 per km

Photocopies:  $0.30 per page

We frequently get calls asking us what our retainer is for various services.  We cannot give a specific amount for a retainer without doing an initial consult to determine the scope of work required.

FAMILY LAW SERVICES

* Consults are not included in prices unless specifically noted*

CONTESTED PROCEEDINGS (I.E. CUSTODY, ACCESS, SUPPORT, OR DIVISION OF PROPERTY & DEBT):
  • Charged Hourly Rate
  • An administration Fee of $50.00 will be charged upon opening a file.
UNCONTESTED DIVORCE PROCEEDING:
  • $1,200.00 plus HST where uncontested divorce does not deal with any of the following issues:  custody of children, support issues, division of property/debt
  • $1,750.00 plus HST  in cases where uncontested divorce proceeding deals with custody & support of children but does not require a consent order
  • $2,000.00 plus HST in cases where uncontested divorce proceeding deals with custody of children, support issues, or division of property and debt requiring a consent order
  • Filling fee’s and disbursements not included
  • Negotiation is not included in price
  • If an expected uncontested divorce proceeding becomes contested by a Respondent filing an Answer or an Answer & Counter-Petition, the proceeding will be charged at our normal hourly rate
PREPARATION OF PAPERWORK (APPLICATION/MOTION/DIVORCE):
  • Charged Hourly Rate
  • Disbursements not included
  • Lawyer does not go on record and will not attend court
PREPARATION OF DOMESTIC CONTRACT:
  • Ranges from $1,500.00 to $2,000.00 plus HST (depending on the scope of work required)
  • Disbursements not included
  • Negotiations are not included in price and are charged at our hourly rate
  • Fee is charged regardless of whether the other party agrees to sign so please discuss with the other party prior to instructing us to draft a Domestic Contract
  • Limited grammatical revisions not going to the substance of the agreement are included in price

 

WILLS & ESTATE SERVICES

APPLICATION UNDER INFIRM PERSON’S ACT:
  • Hourly Rate
LAST WILL & TESTAMENT-ONE PERSON:
  • $300.00 plus HST
  • Consult is included in price
POWER OF ATTORNEY- ONE PERSON:
  • $150.00 plus HST
  • Consult is included in price
BUNDLE-WILL & POA- ONE PERSON:
  • $350.00 plus HST
  • Consult is included in price
LAST WILL & TESTAMENT- MIRRORS FOR A COUPLE:
  • $500.00 plus HST
  • Consult is included in price
  • Wills must be mirrors of each other for price to apply
BUNDLE- WILL’S AND POA’S- MIRRORS FOR A COUPLE:
  • $650.00 plus HST
  • Consult is included in price
  • Wills and POA’s have to be mirrors of each other for price to apply

 

REAL ESTATE SERVICES

AFTER-HOURS APPOINTMENTS
  • An additional $200.00 will be added to regular legal fees
  • Please note that availability is dependent upon lawyer’s schedule
PURCHASE OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY:
  • $650.00 plus HST and Disbursements
  • If a mortgage is required for the purchase, preparation of the mortgage is included in this price.
MORTGAGE ONLY- REFINANCE:
  • $650.00 plus HST and Disbursements.
SALE:
  • $550.00 plus HST and Disbursements.
CONVERSION TO LAND TITLES ONLY:
  • $400.00 plus HST and Disbursements
PID CONSOLIDATIONS:
  • $100.00 plus HST and Disbursements
TRANSFER ONLY:
  • $300.00 plus HST and Disbursements
  • To secure this price, land must be gifted or a party is merely being added/removed from title.

 

CORPORATE LAW SERVICES

PROVINCIAL OR FEDERAL INCORPORATION:
  • $600.00 plus HST and Disbursements
DRAFTING BY-LAWS:
  • Hourly rate
DRAFTING INITIAL RESOLUTIONS:
  • Hourly rate

 

MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES

INDEPENDENT LEGAL ADVICE:
  • Hourly Rate
NOTARIZING DOCUMENTS:
  • $75.00-$275.00 (Depending on scope of work required)
COMMISSIONER OF OATHS:
  • $25.00 -$50.00 (Depending on scope of work required)
WEDDINGS:
  • $300.00 plus HST if Officiant does not need to attend a rehearsal.
  • $500.00 plus HST if Officiant is required to attend a rehearsal.
  • Mileage will be charged if travel of more than 30 km round trip is required.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the "premium hourly rate" and when does it apply?

Our “premium hourly rate” is a rate applied to those clients who request immediate or expedited service (i.e., unscheduled appointments, after-hours services, or unscheduled telephone calls).  This will not appear as a surprise rate on your invoice and it will be discussed in advance with clients who are in danger of incurring it.  Please note that we cannot always accomodate immediate or expedited service.

Why would you charge a "premium hourly rate"?

To be honest, the “premium hourly rate” is an experiment in managing client expectations.

In this modern era of nearly instantaneous communication in many service sectors, it is natural for clients to want to be able to instantly connect with their lawyer.  However, instant and unscheduled connection between client and lawyer can cause massive distraction and disruption to a lawyer’s schedule.  Distraction and disruption means that the lawyer cannot work as efficiently, resulting in everything taking longer.

By implementing a “premium hourly rate”, we are attempting to make clients think before deciding whether they really need that unscheduled contact and whether they really need to jump the queue to have their matter placed at the top of our to-do pile.

Most clients who are offered the opportunity to pay a premium rate for immediate service or after-hours service, in fact, decline the opportunity and, in doing so, realize that their issue is not so immediate that they actually need to jump the queue.  This realization, with altered expectations and altered behaviours that accompany it, is our goal in implementing this rate.

When the clients respect that all of our files are important and keep unscheduled contact with our lawyers to to emergencies only, we can generate paperwork and help everyone faster.

Please note that in cases of true emergency for existing clients, we may consider waiving the “premium hourly rate” at our discretion.

Why can't you tell me what your retainer is without an initial consult?

Without an initial consult, we really don’t know the scope of the work.  Larger jobs require larger retainers and smaller jobs require smaller retainers.  Clients who have not had an initial consult are frequently unaware of the scope of work required.