The following is an example of the legal mandate which I have drafted and use, which should answer most questions about what is expected of you when I am engaged to act as your lawyer in a litigious matter:

Andrew H. Heft
Attorney
1155, rue Université, Suite 714, Montréal (Québec) H3B 3A7
Téléphone: (514) 879-1388 Télécopieur: (514) 879-0605
E-mail: aheft@quebecdivorcelawyer.com

Andrew H. Heft, B.A., B.C.L.

[date]

Personal & Confidential

Name
Address


Re:

Dear Sir / Madam,

Introduction

This letter will constitute our agreement for my representing you as your legal counsel in the following matter:

Please read this letter carefully and indicate if you have any questions about it.

Extra-Judicial Legal Fees

It is agreed and understood that you will be billed for the legal services that I will render on your behalf in the execution of this present mandate on an hourly basis. I will thus charge for my legal fees at the hourly rate of $_________.

My fees will thus depend on the amount of time that I spend on your case.

The time spent on your case will generally involve making and receiving telephone calls from yourself and/or third parties, issuing correspondence, studying correspondence and/or proceedings received, drafting proceedings and agreements, attending meetings, participating in settlement negotiations, preparing for court – including review of the file, briefing depositions, identifying the legal issues, researching questions of law, preparing questions for direct and cross-examination, preparation of legal arguments - and attendance at court whether for depositions, pre-trial motions or conferences, as well as actual court hearings. There will be preparation required in order to respond to additional issues of fact and law which may come to light during trial. Such preparation may be done in the morning before court, during the lunch hour, or in the afternoon after court.

It is my practice to bill not less than one-tenth [.1] of an hour for all telephone calls made in relation to your file, whether such calls are from or to you or others.

Preparation for court hearings is based on the principle that one day of preparation is generally required for each day of scheduled hearing. A full day of hearing requires six (6) hours. If your case is fixed for 2 days, therefore, you may anticipate charges for at least twelve (12) hours of preparation time. Depending upon the complexity of the case, and last-minute postponements which may occur, additional preparation time may be required. In such cases I will charge my additional preparation time at one-half of my normal hourly rate.

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Additional Contingency (if applicable)

Matrimonial:

[In view of the reduction of my hourly rate which you acknowledge to be normally $200]

You will also be billed a fee equal to % of any capital sum obtained on your behalf in the form of a lump sum, compensatory allowance, partition of the family patrimony, and/or compulsory execution of gifts in your marriage contract.

The said contingency fee shall be payable whether the said capital sum is obtained by judgment or settlement out of court, shall be due upon collection by our offices of the amount in question, and shall be payable out of the sum collected on your behalf which shall itself be payable to our office in trust and deposited to our trust account.

Civil

I will be paid a fee equal to % of any amount ultimately collected on your behalf, whether by judgment and subsequent execution proceedings, or settlement out-of-court;

There will be a minimum fee of $   which will become due only in the event that the action is dismissed by the court by final judgment;

If judgment is rendered in first instance (Superior Court) and then the said judgment is appealed to the Quebec Court of Appeal there will be an additional minimum fee for the preparation of the factum in appeal of $ .

Extra-Judicial Disbursements

In addition to the rates described above, you will also pay disbursements or out-of-pocket costs incurred in your case.

Such costs include: photocopies and faxes @ 25 cents per page, long-distance charges for telephone calls and faxes, computer research time, bailiffs fees (process servers), court filing fees, stenography fees, witness fees, taxis, parking charges, out-of-town travel expenses, experts fees and investigators fees.

I will not hire experts or investigators unless you agree that they should be hired and to pay directly for their services.

However, I will in the exercise of the discretion accorded to me by my mandate determine whether an examination on discovery of the adverse party is necessary, and if so you will pay the stenographer’s fees associated therewith.

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Retainers / Advances

You will pay $________________as an advance upon your fees.

I will deposit this sum to my trust account and bill you on a regular basis (monthly or after a significant amount of work has been done on your file).

I am authorized to pay any invoiced amounts due to me from monies held on your behalf in my trust account.

If you have any questions about your bill, please call me to discuss them on receipt of your invoice.

When the retainer in my trust account has been depleted you will be asked to provide additional advances. The amount will depend on the additional work which is anticipated to complete the next phase of your case .

At the conclusion of my representation of you, and after payment of my final bill, any monies remaining in trust to your credit will be refunded to you.

Interest

All bills are to be paid on receipt and bear a one percent (1%) monthly late charge (which equals 12% per year) on all amounts unpaid after 30 days from the date of the bill.

My firm is not a financial institution. I strongly recommend that you seek alternative methods of financing your case that avoid payment of interest to me.

Caveat on total bill

At the outset it is extremely difficult to predict with certainty how much time your case will take. However as the case progresses I will obtain a better sense of what the disputed issues are and how long the negotiations or trial preparation or trial in your case may last.

Your cooperation in getting relevant information to me and in working with me may expedite your case and help reduce your legal fees.

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Possible Payment of legal fees by opposing party

Sometimes the court will order one party to pay a provision for costs, or a contribution to payment of a portion or the whole of the other party's legal fees and costs.

This is more likely to happen when one party has substantially more income and assets than the other party. If you are the party with more income and assets, the court may order you to pay all or a portion of the opposing party's fees.

If appropriate circumstances, I will ask the court to order the other party to pay your fees and costs.

Whether or not the court makes such an order, or in the event that the court does not order full payment of your legal fees by the other party, it is clearly understood and agreed that you remain responsible for payment of your own fees.

Client duties

As the client, you agree to tell me the truth, to keep me advised of your address and telephone number, to cooperate in the preparation and trial of the case, to appear on reasonable notice for meetings, court appearances and depositions, to pay my bills on time, and to comply with all reasonable requests made of you in connection with the preparation and presentation of this matter.

You agree not to settle or compromise your claim without discussing the matter with me, and I agree not to settle or compromise your claims without your consent.

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No guarantees of outcome

You acknowledge that I have made no guarantees regarding the outcome of your case or about issues that may be decided by the court prior to a final ruling. Statements that I make regarding the likely outcome or the range of possible outcomes are only opinions--not guarantees of results.

Scope of representation

The provisions of this agreement shall apply only to the matter referenced above and shall apply to all Superior and Court of Appeal proceedings, both final and interlocutory. These provisions shall apply and we shall each be bound by these terms, unless and until we have a written agreement to the contrary.

Termination of Mandate

You have the right to discharge me as your attorney at any time.

If contingency:

Given that I have agreed to a contingency arrangement, if you terminate my services by changing attorneys or abandoning the present case before its completion it is agreed and understood that you will then pay me for the time that I have spent on your file based on my hourly rate of ($___ per hour); I will then give you an invoice with a detailed listing of the hours spent and services rendered;

I have the right to withdraw as your attorney (or seek permission from the court to withdraw as your attorneys) if you misrepresent or fail to disclose a material fact to me, if you fail to follow my advice, if you fail to make payments (of fees, disbursements, or advances) as required by this agreement, if you demand that I do something unlawful or unethical, or if we have a profound disagreement regarding the way this case should be handled.

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Confidentiality

Communications with me concerning your case are generally confidential and are protected from disclosure under attorney-client privilege rules. This privilege is not absolute, and I may be required to reveal information if necessary to prevent a crime or fraud or if I am ordered to.

Your privilege of confidentiality can also be lost if you discuss our communications with other persons. If the court is asked to decide the issue of attorney's fees in this case, this agreement may be disclosed to the court. If, at any time, you have questions about confidentiality, please call me to discuss it.

If you are in agreement with the above terms and conditions kindly confirm same by signing the enclosed copy of this present agreement and returning same to me.

I look forward to representing you and working with you on this case. I welcome and encourage your input and suggestions.

Yours very truly,

Andrew H. Heft

ACKNOWLEDGED AND ACCEPTED THIS

________DAY OF ___, 200 _:

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