Chris Forguson Employment Law

I charge by the hour for all services including initial consultations. My hourly rate is currently $450 per hour. Legal services are subject to GST and PST.

In some cases I will take on a matter on a contingency fee basis. On a contingency fee agreement, my fee is chargeable as a percentage of the amount recovered. Not all matters are appropriate for a contingency fee arrangement. The percentage of the amount recovered is negotiated on a case by case basis.

In addition to legal fees, any disbursements such as court filing fees, courier and photocopying charges are also the responsibility of the client. I do not mark these up but rather pass the actual expense on. I will pay for minor disbursements and pass it on in monthly bills. I will ask my clients to arrange to pay larger disbursements directly or in advance.

Due to the nature of legal proceedings, there is no way to provide an accurate estimate of total legal fees at the outset. However, I do understand that people do not want to get into a blank cheque situation. I seek to provide realistic estimates of each step of the process so that you can budget for such expenses and also to ensure that the desired outcome justifies the likely costs.

I do not believe in underestimating the cost of legal proceedings. It is expensive and you deserve to know how much it will likely cost so that you can make a reasoned decision about how to proceed.

If a case goes to trial, the general result is that the party that wins some money is entitled to some costs to be paid by the "losing" party. Generally these court awarded costs are in the range of 25% to 35% of actual legal costs.

I don't generally bring "losing" cases to Court without stern advice as to the outcome in the event a plaintiff were to lose.

Following an initial consultation, in the event you decide to retain me to represent you, I will ask you to enter into a retainer agreement that sets out our mutual obligations moving forward.

I generally don't require a lump sum retainer up front. Most of my clients have recently lost a job and are under financial duress. I do ask that my clients pay my invoices promptly upon receipt.

At this time, I do not have the ability to process credit or debit transactions.