Introduction
In the interest of transparency and clarity in its business relationships, Lavery publishes, for the benefit of its clients, the terms and conditions applicable to its provision of legal services. These are intended to clarify, in particular, the terms and conditions applicable to the issuance of invoices, payment deadlines, applicable interests and fees, as well as any other condition related to the provision of our services and products.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing between Lavery and a client, these terms and conditions apply to all services rendered. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency with the terms and conditions of a specific agreement entered into with the client, the latter shall prevail.
Lavery reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions from time to time without notice.
For any additional information regarding these terms and conditions, please contact the professional responsible for your file or contact us at the following address: info@lavery.ca.
Invoicing
Our goal is to deliver quality legal services, in a timely fashion, at a reasonable cost.
To that end, we will allocate the appropriate resources, based on their experience and expertise, the nature of the issue at hand and the time constraints imposed by the matter.
Legal services rendered by us are usually charged at hourly rates.
Our fees for a particular matter are based upon various factors in accordance with the nature of the file, namely : the time spent on the matter, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved, the experience, reputation, and abilities of the professionals implicated in the file, the risk or the monetary amount at issue, and whether work on the matter will preclude the firm from rendering services to other clients. These rates are revised in the normal course of our business at the beginning of each calendar year and are subject to the applicable taxes.
Billing will normally and when possible occur monthly, and will include a brief description of each item of work performed. Monthly invoices will also include a statement of additional disbursements and expenses that could be incurred in connection with the services rendered.
Bills pertaining to disbursements more than $1000 are payable by the client. This said, it is possible that the disbursements incurred may not all be billed to us during the monthly billing period relating to the services rendered; in such a case, they will be included on a subsequent invoice.
Fees billed are to be paid no later than 30 days following receipt of our invoice.
To prevent undo costs, we reserve the right to decline to continue to provide services to clients who fail to follow the above-mentioned terms and conditions. Furthermore, any invoice unpaid after the 30-day period will bear interest at a rate of 12% per annum. The client undertakes to reimburse the Firm for expenses incurred for the purposes of collecting fees, including extrajudicial fees, up to a maximum of 25% of the balance owing (principal and interest).
Retainer
As our standard practice is to receive a retainer prior to opening a file. This initial retainer may be increased at any time. Any changes in the amount of the initial retainer will be based on our assessment as to services to be rendered and expenses to be incurred during future billing periods until the foreseeable conclusion of the engagement.
This retainer will be held in a trust account, in accordance with the rules of the Barreau du Québec, as security for payment of our fees and disbursements. The retainer will be applied as a credit to the final accounts rendered in connection with a matter or to any unpaid invoice, at the firm's option. Any surplus will be returned to the client at the end of the mandate.
Exclusion of Certain Services
This agreement pertains only to services that can be offered by an attorney, a notary, a trade-mark agent or a patent agent. Although several professionals at the firm are also members of other professional orders, it is understood that they will not perform services in this capacity within the course of a matter.
In the case where a mandate requires the services of a professional that is not an attorney, a notary, a trade-mark agent or a patent agent, the firm has a large network of contacts with experts that can intervene, at our request, within a separate services agreement.
Conflicts
Issues of conflicts of interest between the firm and its clients are an important aspect of our relations and are to be constantly kept in mind. The firm has implemented procedures to identify such conflicts, whether actual or potential, throughout the engagement and subsequent to it, prior to accepting any new client or engagement.
Because the firm serves many clients, it is possible that one or more of our present or future clients may have at some point a dispute with another existing client, on matters that may or may not be related to an ongoing file. If a such situation comes to our attention, and that the circumstances allow it, the firm will notify the client without delay and will put in place the appropriate measures in accordance with the applicable rules of professional conduct.
Confidential Information
The firm undertakes to preserve the confidentiality of, and to maintain professional secrecy of, all information which is provided to the firm. The firm will not disclose any information belonging to a client to a third party without the client's express consent, unless the communication is authorised or required by law in accordance with rules governing the firm's professional responsibilities, or to the extent that such communication is necessary for the purposes of carrying out the engagement. For more information about the collection, use, retention and disclosure of personal information by the firm, please refer to our Privacy Policy available on our website www.lavery.ca.
Document Retention
The firm's policy is to return to the client, upon request, all documents and other property the client had provided to the firm, as well as final versions of documents prepared as part of the representation. However, internal memoranda, personal memoranda, drafts, accounting files and other working materials never intended for distribution will not be returned to the client. We also reserve the right to retain a copy of any part of the file material returned to the client, at our expense.
The firm will retain the file material not returned to the client for the statutory period, currently set at 7 years or more in accordance with the nature of the mandate or the professional(s) involved.
Use of Information Technology
In order to provide services efficiently and diligently, the firm uses various technological services and tools, including email, IP telephony, and cloud computing, as well as AI-assisted solutions such as transcription, character recognition, translation, research, analysis and writing assistance. The use of these services and tools is subject to strict guidelines related to confidentiality and compliance with our legal and ethical obligations. Should the client believe that specific protection is required for the processing of certain data, they shall provide the firm with specific instructions to such effect.
General Communications
From time to time, we publish legal information bulletins and occasionally organize conferences and networking opportunities. These communications are generally targeted based on our clients' interests. The client may contact us at any time to have its contact information removed from our general communications list.
Termination
The client shall have the right to terminate our services upon written notice to the firm at any time prior to the completion of the engagement.
The firm may also, for serious grounds, including but not limited to non-payment of its invoices, and except at an inopportune moment, terminate the services. In such a case, a written notice shall be promptly sent to the client.
Governing Law
This engagement letter is governed by and must be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the province of Québec and the laws of Canada that apply.
The parties agree to submit any dispute arising from the interpretation or application of this engagement letter to the courts of the province of Québec.