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 choosing Wilson Vukelich LLP to act as your counsel in regards to [insert details].
These standard client service terms will apply to any matter in which you engage us. These terms can only be amended by way of joint written agreement.
We look forward to working with you.
Your Service Team
One or more lawyers will be assigned to take primary responsibility for seeing that your legal needs are addressed. They will also determine the appropriate additional staffing for each matter you entrust to us. Lawyers and other legal professionals will be assigned to assist with each matter based on their experience, their expertise, the issues, and any time constraints. We have found that drawing upon the expertise of colleagues, when appropriate, enables us to provide a higher quality of advice.
Your current service team and their contact information is as follows:
[insert details]
Scope of Our Role
The scope of our role for each specific matter we are retained will be confirmed in continued communications between us. We will not expand the scope of our role without discussion. For example, we will not advise you in respect of the tax aspects of a matter unless it is specifically agreed that tax services will be included in the engagement.
Our role is to provide legal advice and legal services to you. We will work with you to seek to achieve your desired outcome and to ensure that you are informed of our opinion.
Although we will use every effort to help you achieve your objectives, we cannot guarantee that you will achieve your desired outcome.
If your matter involves litigation, we confirm that we are not automatically retained for any appeal.
Fees and Disbursements
Our fees are generally based on the time spent or the value of time spent by lawyers and others on your behalf. Our rates are adjusted from time to time and usually on January 1 of each year.
The currently hourly rates of your service team are as follows:
[insert details]
In addition to our professional fees, your accounts will include amounts for disbursements and ancillary services, such as long-distance telephone charges, photocopying charges, facsimile charges, postage charges, courier charges, travel expenses, software charges, application charges, fees paid to government agencies, and other out-of-pocket costs incurred on your behalf. These charges may be revised from time to time. For larger disbursements, we may seek funds from you in advance or forward invoices to you for direct payment.
You will also be responsible for payment of the fees and disbursements of other law firms, experts, and third-party service providers engaged by us on your behalf. These other law firms, experts, and third-party service providers may bill you directly, or we may forward their invoices to you for direct payment by you to them.
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.
All invoices will be sent to you via email. If you wish to change the email address for invoicing or if you wish to also be sent a copy of your invoices by mail, please contact your service team. Please also let your service team know if you have any specific requirements for invoicing.
You agree to pay Wilson Vukelich LLP all fees and disbursements incurred even if the matter is not disposed of or resolved.
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. We reserve the right to ask for (additional) deposit(s) from time to time.
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.
Please note that the Law Society of Ontario Rules require any interest which accrues on the retainer account to be forwarded to the Law Foundation of Ontario.
Payments and Transfers
To prevent fraud and ensure the safe and accurate receipt, release, and transfer of any funds or assets, the following steps will always be taken to safeguard such funds and assets.
We will only accept funds from you or other parties by way of:
- Electronic funds transfer OR wire transfer to one of the following trust accounts which are all in the Account Name of Wilson Vukelich LLP: i. [redacted – please call our Firm at 905-940-8700 to be provided with our current trust account information] (Please note: Initial retainer payments made by electronic funds transfer OR wire transfer can only be made to the TD Canada Trust account).
- Certified cheque payable to Wilson Vukelich LLP and delivered to us at 60 Columbia Way, 7th Floor, Markham ON L3R 0C9 OR certified cheque payable to Wilson Vukelich LLP directly deposited into a Wilson Vukelich LLP trust account.
- Non-certified cheques payable to Wilson Vukelich LLP and delivered to us at 60 Columbia Way, 7th Floor, Markham ON L3R 0C9 (Please note: non-certified cheques are held for ten days until cleared).
- Credit card payments through our website portal at https://wvllp.ca/clients/
We will only transfer funds to you by way of (check off all that apply):
- Certified cheque delivered to you at the address on this retainer letter.
- Non-certified cheque delivered to you at the address on this retainer letter.
- Electronic funds transfer to your account numbered [to be filled in when preparing the retainer letter] (Please note: this option is not available for closing transactions).
- Wire transfer to your account numbered [to be filled in when preparing the retainer letter].
We will only release funds or assets to a third party upon receiving verbal confirmation of the transfer from you and any other party necessary to confirm the veracity of the transfer details.
You and other parties should not expect to receive any revised instructions for the transfer of funds or assets from us. If you or another party receive any written communication advising of such a change that appears to come from us, immediately contact us at 905-940-8700 to verbally confirm these changes.
If we receive any changes to your contact information, or any changes to the instructions for the transfer of funds or assets as set out above, we will not act on these changes until we have verbally confirmed the new instructions in-person or by calling you at the following phone number: [insert phone number]. If we receive any changes to another party’s contact information or transfer instructions, we will call them at the previously provided phone number to verbally confirm the new information/instructions.
Limited Liability Partnership
Wilson Vukelich LLP is a registered limited liability partnership (LLP). A partner in an LLP is not personally liable for any debts, obligations, or liabilities of the LLP, including those that arise from any negligent act or omission by another partner or by any person under that other partner’s direct supervision or control. Partners of an LLP are personally liable only for their own actions and omissions, and for the actions and omissions of those they directly supervise or control. All partners of Wilson Vukelich LLP are professional corporations.
Privacy
Wilson Vukelich LLP is required from time to time to collect and use certain personal information to provide services. This includes the obligation imposed by the Law Society of Ontario to collect certain information to identify our clients. Your information will be collected, stored, used, and disclosed for the sole purpose of providing our services to you in accordance with the applicable laws and our current Privacy Policy, which is available at www.wvllp.ca. By accepting these standard terms, you are providing us with consent to collect, store, use, and disclose personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Our Client and Our Reporting Obligations
Our obligations are to the person that retained us. Unless agreed otherwise, no lawyer-client or other fiduciary relationship exists between Wilson Vukelich LLP and any related persons or related entities.
When we are engaged to act on behalf of an organization, our obligations are to that organization and not to any of the directors, officers, employees, or other agents of the organization, unless we have expressly agreed otherwise. Similarly, when we are engaged to act on behalf of an organization, our obligations are to that organization and not to any related or associated entities, unless we have expressly agreed otherwise.
In certain circumstances, we may be required to report issues or wrong-doings to appropriate representatives or directors of an organization. There may also be government reporting or disclosures obligations. Please note, these government reporting or disclosure obligations do not apply to information properly protected by solicitor-client privilege.
Electronic Communications
We will communicate with you and provide documents to you through various forms of electronic communications, including email and e-file sharing sites. You may also correspond or provide documents to us through electronic means.
There is a risk that any such electronic communications may be intercepted or interfered with by third parties or may contain computer viruses. In addition, we employ filtering techniques (e.g. anti-spam software) which might interfere with the timely delivery of electronic communications. We are not responsible for any issues, delays, damages, or otherwise caused by electronic communications.
Alert Emailers
You will be signed up to receive our alert emailers. These emailers share important changes to legal obligations and advise of upcoming Wilson Vukelich LLP webinars and events. If you do not wish to receive these emailers, please let us know.
Termination
You may terminate your engagement of us for any reason by giving us written notice to that effect. On such termination, all unpaid legal fees and disbursements become immediately due and payable, whether or not an account for them has yet been issued.
Subject to our ethical and professional obligations, we reserve the right to stop performing legal services and terminate our legal representation. Reasons for our terminating our relationship can include but are not limited to: unanticipated conflicts of interest, unpaid legal fees and disbursements, a refusal to provide a new retainer deposit, and a breakdown in the solicitor-client relationship.
Unless our engagement has been previously terminated, our representation of you will automatically cease upon the issuance by us of our final account for services to you. If upon termination or completion of a matter, you wish to have a copy of the file or you wish to have any documents returned to you, please let us know. We reserve the right to destroy or dispose of any documents in accordance with our records retention policy and with the Law Society of Ontario’s Rules.
After completing any particular matter, changes may occur that could affect your current or future rights, obligations, and liabilities. We have no continuing obligation to advise you with respect of the same, unless we are specifically engaged to do so.
Governing Law
The terms of our engagement by you will be governed by the laws of Ontario.
For More Information
If you have any questions regarding our work on your behalf or the terms of our engagement, please feel free, at any time, to contact the lawyer(s) responsible for our relationship with you.
Thank you for retaining our firm to represent you. In acceptance of these standard terms, please sign below where indicated and return a copy via email to a member of your service team.
Yours truly,
WILSON VUKELICH LLP