Retainer Agreement

The following General Retainer Agreement defines the standard client service terms that apply when we are retained to act as your counsel.  These standard terms are subject to any other terms that may be agreed upon between you and WV LLP.

We look forward to working with you.

Please note that the presentation of this General Retainer Agreement on our Website does not establish a lawyer-client relationship between you and WV LLP.

GENERAL RETAINER AGREEMENT

Thank you for engaging Wilson Vukelich LLP to provide you with legal representation in regard to [insert information].

If this matter involves litigation, we confirm that we are not automatically retained for any appeals.

Billing Policy

Fees for our services will be billed on an hourly basis and at rates which vary with the experience and skill of the lawyers and law clerks rendering the services.  Your service team is comprised of the following individuals:

[insert details]

Clerk billing rates range from [insert details] per hour and lawyer billing rates are at [insert details].  From time to time, I will need to consult with other lawyers in our office, whose hourly rates will vary from [insert details].  Our rates are adjusted from time to time and usually on February 1 of each year.

You agree to pay Wilson Vukelich LLP all fees and disbursements incurred even if the proposed matter is not disposed of or resolved or we cease acting for you. 

In addition to legal fees, you will be billed for disbursements, which are expenses incurred by us on your behalf.  These include, without limitation, charges for photocopying, facsimiles, postage, long distance telephone calls, courier, computerized legal research, travel expenses, filing and search fees paid to government agencies, fees and disbursements of experts or agents retained by us for services, registrations, opinions, and other similar services.  If significant expenses are to be incurred, we may either request funds from you in advance or make arrangements for invoices to be sent to your attention for direct payment.

We generally bill our accounts monthly.  Accounts are due upon receipt and are considered past due thirty days from the invoice date.  As is provided on each account, if you fail to pay the amounts owing by the past due date, interest charges will begin to accrue based on the rate indicated on the statement. 

Subject to our ethical and professional obligations, we reserve the right to withdraw from your file and decline to perform further services if your accounts are not kept current or if you refuse to provide a reasonably requested deposit.

Deposit

We have taken a deposit of $[insert amount], which will be held by us in trust and will be applied to the payment of our accounts that we render to you, pursuant to the terms of our retainer, which authorize us to withdraw trust funds for this purpose.

OR

We do not require a deposit from you at this time.  Should a deposit be required at a later date, the deposit will be held by us in trust and will be applied to the payment of our accounts that we render to you, pursuant to the terms of our retainer, which authorize us to withdraw trust funds for this purpose. 

The Law Society of Upper Canada (“LSUC”) rules applicable in Ontario require any interest which accrues on the retainer account to be forwarded to the Law Foundation of Ontario.  We reserve the right to ask for a (additional) deposit(s) from time to time.

Communications

We confirm that that you are authorizing us to communicate with you via email and by cellular telephone.  We note that we cannot guarantee the confidentiality of email and cellular telephone discussions.

Privacy

Wilson Vukelich LLP is required from time to time to collect and use certain personal information from our clients in order to provide legal services.  Such personal information includes any information that identifies you, or by which your identity could be deduced, but does not include so-called “business card” information (i.e. name, title, business address or telephone number of an employee of a firm or company).  Wilson Vukelich LLP is required to meet certain professional and statutory obligations in respect of our collection, use, disclosure and retention of such personal information by complying with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Canada), and we will handle personal information only in accordance with our privacy policy, a copy of which is available on our website at www.wvllp.ca.  In addition to the foregoing, in order to act for you, the LSUC now requires us to collect certain information necessary to identify our clients (such as your name, home address and occupation).  As well, in certain circumstances, we are required to verify our client’s identity. In general, Wilson Vukelich LLP shall seek written consent where possible (we will also accept oral consent in certain circumstances) for all personal information we collect, use and disclose, either prior to or at the time of collection.  By signing below, you are providing us with your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of any personal information required by us to establish, develop and/or manage our relationship with you, provide the legal representation and services contemplated by the scope of our retainer from time to time, fulfill legal duties, avoid conflicts of interest, and develop and manage our business and operations.  Your provision of personal information in this regard shall also serve as implied consent to our use and disclosure of the same.

If the above terms are acceptable, please sign below where indicated and return a copy of this letter to us (retaining a copy for your files).

Yours truly,
WILSON VUKELICH LLP