Online retainer agreement

Retain Pax Law Corporation in three simple steps

Sign your retainer agreement securely online, from any device. Please read each section before you sign.

  1. Choose your serviceSelect the legal service you are retaining us for.
  2. Enter your detailsTell us who you are and how to reach you.
  3. Review and signRead the terms, then sign with your finger or mouse.
Important legal notice

This is a legal agreement between you and Pax Law Corporation. Please read it in full before signing. You are welcome to ask us questions, or to obtain independent legal advice, before you sign. Signing this form does not guarantee any particular outcome of your matter.

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Retainer Agreement

Purpose and Acceptance of the Agreement

This Retainer Agreement (“Agreement”) establishes the terms and conditions under which Pax Law Corporation (“the Firm”) agrees to provide legal services to you (“the Client”). By signing this Agreement, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by its terms.

General Terms (apply to every service in this Agreement)

1. Parties and responsible lawyer. This Agreement is with Pax Law Corporation (British Columbia matters) or Pax Law Professional Corporation (Ontario matters), whichever handles your matter (the "Firm"). The lawyer responsible for your file will be named to you in writing and may be changed with notice to you. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the province in which the responsible lawyer is licensed and the federal laws of Canada that apply there, and the lawyer is bound by the rules of the Law Society of British Columbia or the Law Society of Ontario, as applicable.

2. Flat fees and non-routine files. A flat fee covers routine work only. If, in the professional judgment of the lawyer or staff member working on your file, the matter becomes non-routine or needs work beyond what was reasonably expected when you signed, additional fees may be required even though this is a flat-fee Agreement. Examples include: unusual or complex facts or law; late, missing, inconsistent or additional documents or information; government or tribunal requests for information, procedural fairness letters, interviews, hearings, or security or other screening; involvement of CBSA or other agencies; additional applicants; changes in your instructions or circumstances; many revisions or large volumes of material; delays caused by you or third parties; and changes in law, policy, forms or government fees. Before significant additional work, the Firm will email you what is needed and the proposed fee, either a fixed fee or the Firm's then-current hourly rate (currently $500.00 per hour) plus applicable taxes and disbursements. If a deadline makes advance notice impractical, the Firm may act to protect your interests and will tell you promptly afterward. If you do not agree to the additional fee, the Firm will complete the original scope and may withdraw from the additional work as the Law Society rules allow. The Firm will not charge for work made necessary by its own error. All fees will be fair and reasonable. If this paragraph and a service paragraph below both deal with extra work, the service paragraph applies to its own specific items and this paragraph applies to everything else.

3. Government fees, disbursements and taxes. Government fees, biometrics, translations, notarizations, courier costs, expert reports and other third-party costs are paid by you unless your fee option says they are included. If a government fee included in a flat fee increases before the Firm files, the Firm may charge you the difference at cost. Fees are in Canadian dollars. Taxes are as stated in your fee option.

4. Payment, trust and instalments. Fees are earned as work is done. Money received for work not yet done is held in trust until earned. If this Agreement ends early, you pay for work done to that date and the Firm refunds the unearned part of any fee paid in advance. If an instalment is more than seven (7) days late, the Firm may suspend work and the balance of the fee becomes due. If the agreed fee or payment arrangement is not set up within seven (7) days of signing, this Agreement lapses without further notice.

5. Joint retainer. If more than one person is a client (for example spouses and children), this is a joint retainer. The Firm cannot keep information that is relevant to the matter secret between joint clients. The principal client may give instructions for all joint clients unless the Firm is told otherwise in writing. If the interests of joint clients conflict, the Firm may have to stop acting for one or all of them.

6. Your responsibilities and deadlines. You must give complete, true and current information and documents, tell the Firm at once about any refusal, letter, interview, hearing or removal date and about any change in your address, phone, email, family or immigration status, and answer the Firm's requests within a reasonable time. The Firm relies on what you provide. Court and government deadlines are fixed; late instructions may mean the Firm cannot meet a deadline or that a rush fee applies. If you do not respond for ninety (90) consecutive days, the Firm may place your file on inactive status and a reactivation fee may apply.

7. Communication and documents. Email is the main way the Firm communicates with you. Send documents only by email to the legal assistant assigned to your matter. The Firm does not accept documents or voice messages sent through WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or other social media because they are not secure. You agree to sign documents electronically and to receive communications by email.

8. Identity verification and lawful payment. The Firm must verify your identity and, in some matters, the source of funds, as the Law Society rules require. Payments must come from you or from a person you identify to the Firm, and every payment must comply with Canadian law, including sanctions law. The Firm may decline or stop acting if it cannot act lawfully.

9. Privacy and file retention. The Firm collects, uses and keeps your personal information to provide legal services and meet its professional duties, and may store it in secure cloud systems in Canadian data centres. You may ask for a copy of your file. The Firm keeps closed files for seven (7) years after closing and then destroys them securely unless the law requires a longer period. Please keep your own copies of your original documents.

10. Ending this Agreement; lien. You may end this Agreement at any time by written notice and remain responsible for fees, taxes and disbursements to that date. The Firm may withdraw for reasons the Law Society rules allow, including non-payment, loss of confidence, inability to communicate, conflict of interest, false information or unlawful instructions, and will give reasonable notice. If fees are unpaid, the Firm may keep the file until they are paid or until successor counsel gives a written undertaking to pay them, as the law allows.

11. Fee disputes. If you disagree with an account, you may ask the Firm to review it. You may also apply for a review of the account under the Legal Profession Act (British Columbia) or an assessment under the Solicitors Act (Ontario). The Firm will first try to resolve the matter by discussion and, if needed, mediation.

12. No guarantee, no tax advice, processing times. The Firm provides legal services, not guarantees. No result, approval, decision or timing is promised. Government processing times are outside the Firm's control and change without notice. The Firm does not give tax advice. Changes in law, policy or government practice may affect your matter.

13. Insurance and independent legal advice. Each lawyer practising at the Firm carries professional liability insurance as the Law Society requires. You have been encouraged to obtain independent legal advice before signing.

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