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Volume3 Issue3
Howdo Ichoosea lawyer?
Youwant toworkwith somebody that yougenuinely like, someoneyoucanbuilda
relationshipof trust andconfidencewith. Just likeany service, youwant to look for good
value formoneyandwhether you’regoing toget responsiveandgoodquality service. You
alsowant tobecertain theyhaveexpertise in theareas youare looking for.
Wouldevery lawyerbeable toadviseadentiston thevarious issues
related to runningapractice?
Every lawyer inCanada is licensed topractise invirtuallyeveryareaof law. However,many
lawyers specialize. For example, onemight specialize inbusiness law, tax law, employment
lawor litigation.Many larger firmsoffer expertise inall of thoseareas; this is knownas
full service. Adentistmight require services inanumber of areas suchas real estate,
incorporatingyour practice, creatingemployment or associateagreements, or taxandestate
planning.
Howare feescharged forvarious services, andwhatcanweexpect
in fees?
Lawyersusuallybill basedon the time they spentworkingonyour fileand theyoftenbill
monthly. Youmayalsobeasked toprovidea retainer inadvance. That is essentiallyadeposit
fromwhich fees anddisbursements canbedrawn. Thatmoneygoes intoa lawyer’s trust
account andmaybeused if andwhen services areperformedandbilled to theclient.
For somematters itmaybeappropriate tobill aflat fee. That canbenegotiatedbetween the
client and lawyer. For certain services, likecreatingemployment agreements for staff, it’s fairly
easy toestimatehowmuchworkwill be involved.
The rangeof feeswill varygreatly, dependingon factors likeyearsof experience, location,
and thefirm. As ageneral rule, youcanpayaround$200/hour for a junior lawyer andup
to$600/hour for amore senior lawyer. Again, that pricemaygoupdependingon their
geographical area.
a
KarinPagé
LLB (cum laude),BPA(Hons)
Ms.Pagé isa lawyerat
Perley-Robertson,Hill
&McDougallwhere she
appliesher experienceand
knowledgeof thedental
industry inher legal practice.
Karinpractises in thearea
of employmentand labour
law, andalso represents
clients in contractdisputes,
defamationand trade secret
cases.
What should a dentist look for
WhenChoosingaLawyer?
Adentistmight require services in anumber of areas such as real
estate, incorporating your practice, creating employment or associate
agreements, or tax and estate planning.
This interviewhasbeencondensedandedited.
Theviewsexpressedarethoseoftheauthorand
donotnecessarilyreflecttheopinionsorofficial
policiesoftheCanadianDentalAssociation.
Tohear the full interviewwith
Ms. Pagé, visit
oasisdiscussions.ca/
2015/09/10/law
