Lawyers provide advice and representation as a professional service. This also means that they owe a professional duty to clients and can be held liable if they make mistakes.
This obligation to their clients means that every time they provide advice or take instructions, they are opening themselves up to risk. Since lawyers often deal with large sums of money, they are required by law to purchase practice insurance to cover them in the event of a mistake.
Most of the work done by law offices is billed at an hourly rate that varies by lawyer and level of experience or expertise, measured in six-minute increments. Many law offices charge for an initial consultation.
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Some items, such as simple wills, are billed at a fixed rate. Others, such as the sale of real estate or the managing of an estate, are billed based on the value of the assets involved.
Estate fees in Saskatchewan are fixed by the Queen’s Bench Rules of Court. All lawyers must charge the same fee for the core services of administering an estate and securing letters probate.
The Law Society of Saskatchewan provides a suggested tariff of fees for lawyers working in real estate. If something goes wrong in the transaction, it is the lawyer who is often held liable.
The suggested tariff provides a guideline for fair compensation for the amount of work and risk involved for the lawyer. The risk in a race to the bottom for real estate fees lies in lawyers cutting corners or relying on assistants to justify the low bill. This can lead to mistakes, which cost both the lawyer and the client in the long run.
Whenever you speak with lawyers about a matter, they are under an obligation to take notes to add to your file along with any instructions you may have.
Many lawyers handle hundreds of files a year. They will remember you and your case, but perhaps not the specifics of your faulty window.
To fulfil their professional obligations to you, they will likely need to pull your file and review it before giving any advice over the phone.
Do not feel discouraged from contacting your lawyer about issues you may have, but understand that even responding to a quick email may take a quarter of an hour or longer, and you will be billed accordingly. For lawyers, and many other professionals, time is money. This is how they make their living.
Finally, do not call a law office with a new problem and expect to receive free legal advice over the phone. Any advice lawyers provide opens them up to liability. They have a duty to investigate and can be taken to court if they provide quick advice that turns out to be wrong.
If it is important, make an appointment. You might even discover that facts you did not think were relevant turn out to be important. Getting the whole picture takes time and is a big part of any lawyer’s job and a professional responsibility.
Brayden Gulka-Tiechko, student at law in McDougall Gauley’s Moose Jaw office, helped research and draft this article.
