Our Fees
About Our Fees
At McLean Lawyers, we believe in simple, predictable and "no-surprise" legal bills. For many matters, you will know exactly how much you will be paying for our legal services ahead of time, because we offer a "flat fee" for a number of services, such as drafting a will, or creating a power of attorney.
When the legal service you require is more complex, and we are not able to predict the time needed for the tasks, our fees are charged on a time-spent basis (charged in one-tenth hour increments). Our hourly rates are set at competitive levels, commensurate with the level of experience of our lawyers. For information on our hourly rates, please contact us.
For anything other than short-duration, fixed fee services (such as Wills), we often use written, signed retainer agreements, which set out the nature of the work to be undertaken on your behalf, the hourly rates, the billing frequency and the manner in which accounts are to be paid. Similarly, for less complex or short-duration non-fixed fee matters, we sometimes merely confirm these terms of service in our initial reporting letter.
Talk To Us About Our Fees
We thoroughly review our billing policies with all potential clients during or prior to the first appointment. We encourage you to bring up any questions about fees, invoices or expenses, at any time.
Important Points to Note
We are required by law to charge HST on our fees and disbursements. Our accounts are due upon receipt of your invoice; interest accrues on the unpaid balance after 30 days unless other arrangements have been made.
You may pay by cash, cheque or eTransfer. We do not have debit or credit card service, however both our offices are located conveniently close to nearby banks (CIBC in Chesley and Royal Bank in Sauble Beach).
Please contact us if you have any questions about our fees. We look forward to hearing from you.
Your Account With Us - Retainers and Disbursements
In many cases, we require a cash retainer before we begin work on your behalf. A cash retainer is a form of deposit. It is placed into our trust account and used as a credit that, in most cases, is applied to disbursements (our out-of-pocket expenses) and to your final bill. The amount of the retainer depends on the work to be done.
As your file progresses, we pay for disbursements (out-of-pocket expenses) on your behalf. These can include registration or filing fees, long-distance telephone charges, special postage or courier fees, parking and similar charges.