Did you know that you can now hire a lawyer on a limited scope basis? We are allowed to help you with just part of your case if you would like.
It's a win/win situation for both lawyer and client as long as both are very clear about exactly what the lawyer will and won't do for the client.
In family court there are self-represented individuals - people who are representing themselves in their court case. Sometimes this is because the cost of a lawyer can be cost-prohibitive, other times because clients can feel quite capable of speaking for themselves about their own case.
Parts of a court case may however be too challenging for a non-lawyers and they may want to pay a flat fee for legal assistance in these areas. For example, drafting documents, arguing at a contested hearing, preparing a written legal opinion, conducting an Examination for Discovery or just helping prepare the client for mediation, arbitration or court.
Unlike with a full Retainer Agreement, the Limited Scope Retainer also allows the client to have some certainty as to what their legal fees will be. If they negotiate and provide a retainer for two hours for drafting court documents, their bill should be exactly what they'd anticipated. In the more conventional way of hiring a lawyer, factors such as the behaviour of the other lawyer, the other client or the Judge can create unexpected work for the lawyer, and therefore unexpected legal fees for the client. This is why it is so difficult for family law lawyers to give an estimate as to total fees for a contested divorce.
A limited scope role of a lawyer can end up being on-going. The self-represented client may seek legal help at several points of their case. The extent of the lawyer's role may expand over time as well, but it is very important that the retainer agreement be followed exactly without blurred lines, and if both lawyer and client want it to expand or continue, they first update and sign the agreement.
The Law Society requires that the Limited Scope Retainer Agreement be in writing. As well, for court cases the Agreement must be filed with the court and the lawyer must let opposing counsel know if the Limited Retainer Agreement includes whether communication must be through them or the client directly.
Limited Scope Retainers are relatively new to Manitoba but have proven popular and successful in other provinces.
Comments
Post a Comment