Associate Lawyers
Vancouver, British Columbia | Toronto, Ontario
Pax Law Corporation – Vancouver, British Columbia & Toronto, Ontario
Pax Law offers experienced lawyers an opportunity to develop and operate their practices using an established legal-services platform, professional infrastructure, centralized systems, and administrative support.
Our model is intended for entrepreneurial lawyers who value professional independence while recognizing the benefits of practising within a structured law-firm environment.
Subject to the written agreement governing each engagement and the actual circumstances of the relationship, participating lawyers are engaged as independent contractors rather than employees. Each lawyer remains personally responsible for complying with all professional, regulatory, and legal obligations applicable to the lawyer and the lawyer’s practice.
Pax Law provides the infrastructure needed to support the efficient, responsible, and client-focused delivery of legal services. Lawyers can concentrate on legal work and practice development while using the Firm’s established operational systems, subject to applicable professional obligations and Firm-wide risk-management requirements.
Our Legal Platform
- Equipped office premises and meeting facilities
- Practice-management and billing systems
- Approved trust-accounting and financial-management systems
- Client-intake and conflict-checking procedures
- Administrative and intake personnel
- Legal assistants and paralegal support
- Marketing and business-development resources
- Technology, cybersecurity, and cloud-based file-management systems
- Document-management and precedent resources
- Practice-management policies and compliance protocols
- Centralized accounting, billing, and collection support
- File-opening, file-management, and file-closing procedures
- Risk-management and quality-control systems
- Professional-development and collegial support
Firm policies and centralized systems support compliance, consistency, and risk management. They do not replace each lawyer’s individual professional responsibility or independent legal judgment.
Our Commitment to Professional Standards
Pax Law is committed to maintaining systems and procedures designed to support compliance with applicable professional, regulatory, financial, trust-accounting, privacy, cybersecurity, and client-service obligations.
These systems are reviewed and updated as appropriate to reflect regulatory developments, operational experience, professional standards, and risk-management considerations.
No internal policy, administrative procedure, compensation arrangement, or direction from the Firm overrides:
a lawyer’s duty of loyalty to the client;
a lawyer’s duty to preserve confidentiality and legal privilege;
a lawyer’s obligation to avoid conflicts of interest;
a lawyer’s duty to provide competent and timely legal services;
a lawyer’s duty of candour;
a lawyer’s independent professional judgment;
applicable trust-accounting requirements;
duties owed to courts, tribunals, regulators, and the administration of justice; or
any other applicable professional or legal obligation.
Where a Firm policy and a professional obligation appear to conflict, the lawyer must comply with the applicable professional obligation and promptly raise the issue through the Firm’s designated professional-responsibility process.
Nature of the Engagement
The parties intend eligible lawyers to be engaged under a written independent-contractor arrangement.
Subject to the terms of the applicable agreement, Firm policies, client requirements, court and tribunal obligations, and applicable professional rules, lawyers generally:
manage their professional practice and assigned client matters;
exercise independent professional judgment;
determine how legal services are performed;
organize their working methods and professional schedule;
participate in practice development and client relationship management;
maintain responsibility for the competence, quality, timeliness, and integrity of their legal services;
comply with applicable Firm-wide administrative and risk-management protocols; and
bear the economic opportunities and risks associated with their individual practice.
The written agreement and the actual working relationship will govern. Describing the engagement as an independent-contractor relationship does not displace any applicable statutory, common-law, tax, regulatory, or professional determination concerning the relationship.
Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing or required by applicable law, the relationship does not include:
a guaranteed salary;
a guaranteed draw;
guaranteed minimum billings or collections;
vacation pay;
employee benefits;
a bonus structure;
an ownership interest in the Firm; or
partnership status.
A lawyer is not authorized to represent that the lawyer is a partner, shareholder, director, or authorized signing officer of any Pax Law entity unless the lawyer has received express written authorization to do so.
Nothing in the independent-contractor arrangement limits the authority of the applicable Pax Law entity to establish reasonable practice-management, financial, client-protection, cybersecurity, confidentiality, file-management, conflict-checking, trust-accounting, and regulatory-compliance requirements.
Nature of the Engagement
The parties intend eligible lawyers to be engaged under a written independent-contractor arrangement.
Subject to the terms of the applicable agreement, Firm policies, client requirements, court and tribunal obligations, and applicable professional rules, lawyers generally:
manage their professional practice and assigned client matters;
exercise independent professional judgment;
determine how legal services are performed;
organize their working methods and professional schedule;
participate in practice development and client relationship management;
maintain responsibility for the competence, quality, timeliness, and integrity of their legal services;
comply with applicable Firm-wide administrative and risk-management protocols; and
bear the economic opportunities and risks associated with their individual practice.
The written agreement and the actual working relationship will govern. Describing the engagement as an independent-contractor relationship does not displace any applicable statutory, common-law, tax, regulatory, or professional determination concerning the relationship.
Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing or required by applicable law, the relationship does not include:
a guaranteed salary;
a guaranteed draw;
guaranteed minimum billings or collections;
vacation pay;
employee benefits;
a bonus structure;
an ownership interest in the Firm; or
partnership status.
A lawyer is not authorized to represent that the lawyer is a partner, shareholder, director, or authorized signing officer of any Pax Law entity unless the lawyer has received express written authorization to do so.
Nothing in the independent-contractor arrangement limits the authority of the applicable Pax Law entity to establish reasonable practice-management, financial, client-protection, cybersecurity, confidentiality, file-management, conflict-checking, trust-accounting, and regulatory-compliance requirements.
Professional Independence
Every lawyer practising through Pax Law must exercise independent professional judgment in the interests of the client and in accordance with applicable professional obligations.
Compensation, collection status, administrative considerations, business-development objectives, or Firm financial interests must not improperly influence:
the advice provided to a client;
- the position taken in a proceeding;
- the amount of time reasonably required for a matter;
- whether a client should commence, defend, settle, or discontinue a proceeding;
- whether the lawyer should accept or continue a retainer;
- the identification and management of conflicts;
- billing judgment;
- withdrawal from representation; or
- any duty owed to a court, tribunal, regulator, or the administration of justice.
No lawyer is expected or authorized to bill unnecessarily, increase fees improperly, pursue work that is not reasonably required, or place revenue considerations ahead of a client’s lawful interests.
Professional Independence
Percentage of Net Collected Legal Fees
Subject to the applicable Independent Lawyer Services Agreement, participating lawyers are compensated based on a percentage of Net Collected Legal Fees attributable to legal services performed by the lawyer.
Compensation is ordinarily calculated for each semi-monthly accounting period, subject to the Firm’s accounting records, collection status, adjustments, and reconciliation procedures.
Compensation is based on amounts actually collected and finally retained by the applicable Pax Law entity. It is not based solely on:
time entered;
work in progress;
accounts rendered;
gross invoice amounts;
uncollected accounts receivable; or
funds that remain in trust and have not become properly payable to the Firm.
Receipt of money into trust does not, by itself, constitute collection of legal fees for compensation purposes.
Tiered Compensation Structure
Subject to the written agreement, the applicable tiered percentages for each semi-monthly accounting period are:
50% of the first $5,000 of Net Collected Legal Fees;
55% of Net Collected Legal Fees from $5,001 to $10,000;
60% of Net Collected Legal Fees from $10,001 to $15,000; and
65% of Net Collected Legal Fees exceeding $15,000.
The percentages apply progressively to the portion of Net Collected Legal Fees falling within each tier. They do not apply retroactively to all collections in the accounting period.
Example
If a lawyer has $18,000 in Net Collected Legal Fees during a semi-monthly accounting period, compensation is calculated progressively:
50% of the first $5,000;
55% of the next $5,000;
60% of the next $5,000; and
65% of the remaining $3,000.
All calculations remain subject to the definitions, adjustments, reconciliation rights, and other terms contained in the applicable Independent Lawyer Services Agreement.
Meaning of Net Collected Legal Fees
“Net Collected Legal Fees” means professional legal fees that:
have been properly billed in accordance with the client’s retainer agreement and applicable professional requirements;
have been actually received by the applicable Pax Law entity;
have become properly transferable from trust, where applicable;
are not subject to a chargeback, reversal, refund, credit, write-off, dispute, or repayment obligation; and
are properly attributable to the lawyer under the Firm’s accounting records and the applicable Independent Lawyer Services Agreement.
Unless the written agreement expressly provides otherwise, Net Collected Legal Fees do not include:
GST, HST, PST, or other applicable taxes;
client trust funds that have not become payable to the Firm;
third-party disbursements;
government filing fees;
court, tribunal, registry, courier, interpretation, translation, expert, agent, or process-server charges;
amounts collected for another lawyer or service provider;
refunded or credited fees;
reversed or dishonoured payments;
credit-card or payment-processing reversals;
written-off accounts;
uncollectible accounts receivable; or
other amounts that do not constitute professional legal fees earned and retained by the applicable Pax Law entity.
The attribution of fees involving more than one lawyer will be determined under the applicable written agreement and the Firm’s documented allocation procedures
Operating Costs and Internal Overhead
The Firm’s general operating costs and ordinary institutional overhead are taken into account in establishing the compensation model.
The Firm may also identify lawyer-specific or file-specific costs for internal compensation calculations where those costs are expressly authorized by the lawyer’s written agreement and reasonably supported by the Firm’s accounting records.
No amount will be charged to a client merely because it constitutes a cost to the Firm or affects a lawyer’s compensation.
Ordinary Firm overhead will not be represented to clients as a third-party disbursement. Any fee, expense, administrative charge, or disbursement billed to a client must:
be permitted by applicable law and professional rules;
be authorized by the applicable retainer agreement or otherwise properly authorized by the client;
be fair and reasonable;
be accurately described;
not be misleading;
be properly recorded in the client account; and
comply with applicable billing, tax, accounting, and disclosure requirements.
Lawyers must exercise independent billing judgment and remain responsible for ensuring that accounts issued for their work are fair, reasonable, accurate, and consistent with the client’s retainer agreement.
Trust Funds and Client Property
Client trust funds and other client property must be handled strictly in accordance with applicable legislation, Law Society requirements, client instructions, and the Firm’s approved trust-accounting procedures.
No lawyer’s compensation is earned or payable merely because money has been deposited into trust.
Funds may be transferred from trust for payment of fees or disbursements only when the transfer is:
authorized by the client’s retainer or other lawful client instructions;
supported by a properly prepared and delivered account where required;
directly related to the legal services for which the funds are held;
permitted under the applicable Law Society’s trust-accounting requirements; and
processed through the Firm’s authorized accounting personnel and procedures.
Neither the Firm nor an individual lawyer may remove funds from a client’s trust ledger to recover an internal overhead allocation, contractor adjustment, compensation dispute, or unbilled amount unless the withdrawal is independently authorized and permitted under all applicable client, legal, and professional requirements.
A compensation or accounting disagreement between a lawyer and the Firm does not authorize either party to use, withhold, redirect, or encumber client trust funds improperly.
Adjustments and Reconciliations
Semi-monthly compensation calculations may be adjusted to account for:
refunds;
credits;
chargebacks;
dishonoured or reversed payments;
billing corrections;
fee reductions;
write-offs;
reassignment or sharing of work between lawyers;
accounting errors;
amounts paid to third-party service providers;
amounts incorrectly attributed to a lawyer; or
other adjustments expressly permitted by the Independent Lawyer Services Agreement.
Any adjustment must be reasonably supported by the Firm’s accounting records and applied consistently with the written agreement.
Where an adjustment cannot be reflected in the period in which the underlying transaction occurred, it may be carried forward to a subsequent contractor distribution, subject to the written agreement and applicable law.
Nothing in this section authorizes the Firm to charge an amount to a client, transfer money from trust, or alter a client account merely to resolve an internal compensation issue.
Client Relationships and File Responsibility
The applicable engagement letter will identify the Pax Law professional entity retained by the client and the lawyer or lawyers responsible for the matter.
Client retainers, accounts, trust transactions, and file records must be maintained through the appropriate authorized professional entity and approved Firm systems.
A participating lawyer must not:
accept a client matter outside approved Firm intake procedures;
bypass conflict checking;
receive client funds into a personal or unauthorized account;
issue an account outside the Firm’s approved billing system;
maintain undisclosed client files;
divert Firm clients or opportunities contrary to the written agreement or professional obligations;
share confidential information without authority;
delegate legal work without appropriate authorization and supervision; or
use the Firm’s name, trust accounts, systems, or resources for unauthorized purposes.
Professional services must be provided in accordance with the client’s retainer, applicable Law Society requirements, and the lawyer’s duties to the client and the administration of justice.
Jurisdictional Structure
Pax Law’s legal services are provided through the professional entity authorized to practise in the applicable jurisdiction
British Columbia
British Columbia legal services are provided through Pax Law Corporation, subject to the regulatory authority of the Law Society of British Columbia and all applicable British Columbia professional and legal requirements.
Ontario
Ontario legal services are provided through Pax Law Professional Corporation, subject to the regulatory authority of the Law Society of Ontario and all applicable Ontario professional and legal requirements.
The appropriate professional entity, retainer agreement, billing arrangements, trust account, supervisory structure, and client communications must be used for each matter.
A lawyer may provide legal services in a province or territory only where the lawyer is authorized to do so and has satisfied all applicable licensing, mobility, insurance, practice, and regulatory requirements.
No lawyer may rely solely on the Firm’s presence or infrastructure in a jurisdiction as authority to practise law in that jurisdiction.
Professional Requirements
Every participating lawyer must:
- be and remain entitled to practise law in each applicable jurisdiction;
- maintain good standing with the applicable Law Society;
- maintain all required professional-liability coverage;
- comply with applicable licensing and mobility requirements;
- comply with client identification, verification, source-of-funds, and monitoring requirements;
- maintain competence in the lawyer’s practice areas;
- provide courteous, conscientious, diligent, and timely service;
- preserve client confidentiality and solicitor-client privilege;
- identify, disclose, and properly manage conflicts of interest;
- comply with applicable trust-accounting and financial-recordkeeping requirements;
- comply with Firm cybersecurity, privacy, and file-management procedures;
- maintain accurate time, billing, and file records;
- report actual or potential errors, claims, trust irregularities, privacy incidents, missed deadlines, or regulatory concerns promptly;
- cooperate with authorized audits, reviews, insurer requirements, and risk-management processes;
- comply with duties owed to courts, tribunals, regulators, opposing parties, and other legal professionals; and
- refrain from any conduct that could reasonably compromise clients, the administration of justice, the Firm, or the reputation of the legal profession.
These requirements apply regardless of the lawyer’s compensation structure or contractor status.
Professional Liability and Indemnification
Each lawyer remains responsible for the lawyer’s own professional conduct, competence, legal advice, file management, regulatory compliance, and professional judgment.
The Independent Lawyer Services Agreement may contain insurance, indemnification, contribution, defence, reporting, cooperation, and risk-allocation provisions.
Any such provisions operate only to the extent permitted by law and do not:
limit duties owed to clients;
remove or reduce professional obligations;
restrict a lawyer’s duty to report matters where reporting is required;
excuse misconduct or negligence;
interfere with an insurer’s rights;
improperly restrict cooperation with a Law Society or other regulator; or
represent that the applicable Pax Law entity has no responsibility for legal services provided through the Firm.
Internal allocation of risk between the Firm and a lawyer does not determine or limit the rights of a client, regulator, insurer, court, tribunal, or third party.
Confidentiality, Privacy, and Technology
Participating lawyers must protect:
client confidentiality;
solicitor-client privilege;
litigation privilege;
client identity and personal information;
Firm confidential information;
passwords and authentication credentials;
intellectual property;
precedents and internal resources; and
the security and integrity of Firm systems.
Client information may be stored, accessed, transmitted, or processed only through approved systems and in accordance with applicable privacy obligations, client instructions, professional requirements, and Firm policies.
Lawyers must not transfer client files or confidential information to personal email accounts, unauthorized storage platforms, unapproved artificial-intelligence services, or unauthorized devices.
Marketing and Business Development
Pax Law supports responsible practice development and may make marketing, intake, and client-acquisition resources available to participating lawyers.
All lawyer profiles, advertisements, social-media content, website statements, fee information, testimonials where permitted, credentials, practice descriptions, and public communications must be accurate, verifiable, dignified, and compliant with applicable professional rules.
Lawyers must not make statements that:
are false, misleading, confusing, or deceptive;
create unjustified expectations;
guarantee an outcome;
compare professional ability without an objective and verifiable basis;
imply Law Society approval or endorsement;
claim specialist status unless properly authorized;
misstate experience, credentials, location, capacity, or jurisdictional authorization; or
compromise client confidentiality.
The Firm’s marketing resources do not guarantee inquiries, retainers, collections, or any level of income
Who This Opportunity Is For
This platform may be appropriate for lawyers who:
want to develop an independent and sustainable practice;
value professional autonomy and personal accountability;
are entrepreneurial, organized, and self-motivated;
are committed to competent and ethical legal service;
understand the relationship between billings, collections, expenses, and practice sustainability;
value established infrastructure and centralized systems;
are comfortable with performance-based compensation;
can work effectively within Firm-wide compliance and risk-management protocols;
communicate consistently with clients and colleagues; and
are committed to protecting the public and upholding the integrity of the legal profession.
Who May Prefer a Different Model
This opportunity may not be suitable for lawyers seeking:
traditional employee status;
a guaranteed salary or draw;
guaranteed billable work;
guaranteed clients or revenue;
paid vacation;
employee benefits;
an employer-directed associate role; or
compensation based solely on time recorded or accounts rendered.
The Firm does not guarantee that describing the relationship as an independent-contractor engagement will determine the legal characterization of the relationship for every statutory, tax, regulatory, or common-law purpose.
Practice Areas
Pax Law welcomes applications from qualified lawyers practising in, or seeking to develop an appropriate practice in:
- Immigration and Refugee Law
- Civil Litigation
- Family Law
- Criminal Defence
- Business and Corporate Law
- Real Estate and Conveyancing
- Wills and Estates
- Administrative Law
- Employment Law
- Other complementary practice areas
Acceptance of a lawyer or practice area remains subject to licensing, competence, conflicts, insurance, operational capacity, jurisdictional requirements, and the Firm’s practice-management assessment.
No Guarantee of Files or Income
Participation in the Pax Law platform does not guarantee:
a minimum number of client inquiries;
a minimum number of retained matters;
a particular practice mix;
a minimum billing or collection level;
uninterrupted workflow;
a particular level of compensation; or
business or financial success.
Results depend on many factors, including the lawyer’s competence, experience, availability, client service, practice area, reputation, business development, market conditions, billing practices, collection results, and compliance with Firm procedures.
Application Process
Qualified lawyers may submit:
a curriculum vitae;
a cover letter;
a summary of their current or intended practice;
their Law Society membership details and practising status;
information concerning applicable professional-liability coverage;
details of any existing practice, files, staff, or clients proposed to be integrated into the platform; and
any other information reasonably required to assess compatibility, conflicts, regulatory requirements, and operational capacity.
Applications will be handled discreetly and used for recruitment, conflict-review, due-diligence, and practice-assessment purposes, subject to applicable privacy and legal requirements.
Submitting an application does not create a solicitor-client relationship, employment relationship, contractor relationship, partnership, or obligation on either party to proceed.
Any engagement is subject to:
satisfactory due diligence;
conflict review;
confirmation of licensing and good standing;
confirmation of insurance requirements;
agreement on jurisdiction and scope of practice;
execution of an Independent Lawyer Services Agreement;
acceptance of applicable Firm policies and procedures; and
completion of required orientation and systems training.
Equal Opportunity and Professional Respect
Pax Law is committed to professional dignity, inclusion, and a respectful workplace.
Applications are considered based on legitimate professional and operational criteria, including qualifications, licensing, competence, experience, practice needs, conflicts, regulatory requirements, and compatibility with the Firm’s client-service and professional standards.
Pax Law does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, reprisal, or conduct inconsistent with applicable human-rights, workplace, or professional obligations.
Important Notice
This page provides general information about a potential practice arrangement. It is not an offer of employment, partnership, ownership, or engagement and does not create a binding contractual relationship.
The final terms applicable to any lawyer will be contained in a written agreement. If there is any inconsistency between this page and the executed agreement, the executed agreement will govern, subject always to applicable legislation and professional requirements.
Nothing on this page modifies or limits the duties of a lawyer or law firm to clients, courts, tribunals, regulators, insurers, or the administration of justice.
Main Drafting Improvements
- Trust accounting: Removed any automatic right to recover internal costs from client trust funds and tied all withdrawals to lawful authorization, proper billing, and applicable trust-accounting requirements.
- Client billing: Distinguished professional fees, genuine disbursements, client-authorized administrative charges, and ordinary Firm overhead.
- Professional independence: Made clear that compensation and collection considerations cannot influence legal judgment or billing decisions.
- Contractor status: Replaced absolute declarations with an intention-based formulation that recognizes legal status depends on the written agreement and actual relationship.
- Ontario structure: Distinguished Pax Law Corporation in British Columbia from Pax Law Professional Corporation in Ontario.
- Marketing: Removed the unverified compliance-review claim and avoided language suggesting Law Society approval or guaranteed regulatory compliance.
- Compensation: Defined Net Collected Legal Fees more precisely and clarified that the tiered percentages apply progressively.
- Risk allocation: Preserved indemnification conceptually while confirming that an internal contract cannot eliminate client-facing or regulatory responsibility.
- Duplication and tone: Removed duplicated language and reframed the posting as a professional-practice opportunity rather than an aggressive revenue-focused recruitment advertisement.
