How much does it cost to hire a lawyer for criminal charges?

One of the most common questions the lawyers at our firm receives is “How much does it cost to hire a criminal defence lawyer?” This is often followed up with a description of the offence: “…for assault charges?”, “…for an impaired driving charge?”, “for a sexual assault case?” and so on.

As much as we strive to provide a clear answer, assessing legal fees relative to effort and work on a file is nearly impossible in the early stages. Similar to asking “How much is a car?”, it depends. As with most things, your cost will also reflect the value of the item or services you are receiving.

Legal fees are dependent on what is required to properly defend the client.

When someone seeks legal counsel for a criminal case, it is usually at an early stage when certain details are still unclear making it challenging to accurately estimate the total fees.

These details include:

Whether the prosecutor is willing to withdraw the charges with minimal work, which could lead to lower fees
Whether the client is open to a resolution offered by the prosecutor, which could also result in lower fees
Whether negotiations alone can settle the matter, leading to lower fees
Whether the client intends to go to trial if the prosecutor doesn’t withdraw the charges, which could increase fees
Whether special motions are needed for a proper defence, which could also increase fees
Whether additional investigation is required beyond what the police have done, which could increase fees
Whether an expert is needed to assist in negotiations or defend the case at trial, which could also increase fees
Whether the jurisdiction requires the attendance of counsel in person or allows virtual proceedings
Whether the client has a criminal record
Whether the client wants their case decided by a judge or a jury

Hourly rates vs. Block and Flat Fees: which one is better?

Legal fees can be structured in two ways: “flat/block” fees or “hourly rates”.

While “flat fees” may seem appealing because they offer a sense of certainty and a limit on fees, our experience has shown that this can be misleading. In fact, it may incentivize lawyers to do the minimum amount of work possible to maximize profits.

For instance, if a client agrees to a flat fee of $2500.00 for the entire case, including the resolution meeting with the prosecutor, and the lawyer quickly learns that the prosecutor does not intend to prosecute the case, the client will still be charged the full $2500.00 fee. Furthermore, if the fee agreement includes a clause that charges an additional $2500.00 for each court appearance, the client may end up with a bill of $5000.00 for what was less than an hour’s worth of work.

In contrast, an hourly rate structure would bill only for the actual time spent on the case. For example, assuming an hourly rate of $295.00, the total fee for the scenario above would be $295.00, with the remaining funds held in trust or returned to the client.

To put it simply, a lawyer using a flat fee structure in the above scenario could earn $5000.00 for just one hour of work, while a lawyer using an hourly rate structure would only earn $295.00.

Detailed retainer terms and transparency in bills and work completed is essential

In any type of fee agreement, the following are crucial:

A written retainer that is reviewed and agreed to by the client.
Keeping proper financial records and providing receipts and transaction confirmations to the client.
Providing detailed bills to the client, regardless of the fee structure, so they understand what work was done for the fees paid.

Clients should be cautious of any legal service agreement that:

Requests cash without providing a receipt, which is prohibited by the Law Society of Ontario
Requests additional fees to supplement a Legal Aid Ontario certificate, which is strictly prohibited by Legal Aid Ontario.
Refuses to provide detailed dockets on work completed. The retention of detailed dockets, available for client review, is required by the Law Society of Ontario, regardless of fee structure.

Is a “flat fee” really what is says it is?

Lawyers may offer “flat fees” for legal services, but it is important to understand what this means. Flat fees often refer to work completed up to certain predictable points in a legal case, and may not cover all the work a lawyer actually does. For example, a lawyer may charge a flat fee for work up to the Crown resolution meeting or the first day of trial, but may charge additional fees for each subsequent day of trial or contested court proceedings.

However, in a flat fee structure, a lawyer may have little incentive to do more work than necessary to reach each subsequent stage of payment obligation, potentially resulting in a windfall of fees for the lawyer while not necessarily providing the best representation for the client. In contrast, an hourly fee structure would reflect the actual amount of work done and result in a more accurate bill for the client independent of what stage the proceeding is at.

To address this issue and offset the potential abuse of flat-fees, a client should look for a lawyer who promises to provide detailed dockets of work completed up to each payment stage, which can be reviewed by the client. It is important to note that this is rarely done in flat-fee structures, so it’s important for clients to ask whether this is an option when considering a lawyer for a flat-fee arrangement.

Additionally, it’s important to understand that charges are rarely withdrawn at the initial instance, so clients should look at the maximum amount of work a lawyer may have to do, such as several days at trial, rather than assuming the case will be resolved quickly.

Some final pointers for clients seeking clarity on legal fees:

To protect yourself when hiring a lawyer, follow these tips:

Always get your legal agreement (retainer) in writing.
Make sure the retainer clearly states what the lawyer will and won’t do for you (for example, will they handle an appeal?)
If you’re unsure about any part of the agreement, ask the lawyer to explain it to you.
Never give the lawyer payment, especially cash, without getting a receipt.
Don’t work with a lawyer who asks you to pay extra on top of your Legal Aid certificate. If this happens, report it to Legal Aid Ontario’s complaints department.
If the lawyer offers a flat fee for your case, ask them to explain exactly what’s included in that fee and to put it in writing.
Find out if the lawyer will cover expenses like expert fees or travel costs, or if you’ll need to pay those yourself.
Make sure the lawyer’s fee includes all necessary motions to properly defend your case. This is particularly important for cases involving sexual assault or constitutional issues.
Ensure the lawyer is willing to provide detailed records of their work on your case, either as part of their regular billing process or upon request.

While this may sound like a lot to ask of a lawyer, these are systems that any reputable lawyer or law firm will already have in place and/or are required to do so by law or regulatory requirements.

Our firm’s fees.

At our firm, we want our clients to feel confident and well-informed about the fees associated with their case, and we are committed to working with them to ensure that they are able to make informed decisions when choosing the right lawyer for their needs. While unusual to most other firms, we proudly and openly display our fees on our website so clients can review them in advance of calling our firm to discuss how we can assist. You can click on the menu CLIENT RESOURCES above to the submenu of LEGAL FEES to learn more.

We understand that legal fees can be overwhelming and difficult to understand for those unfamiliar with the legal system. Therefore, we take the time to explain our fees in great detail during our extensive initial consultations. These consultations are provided at no cost to our clients, and our lawyers explain the value, services, and cost-effective strategies associated with our fee structures.

We strive to work with our clients to adapt our fees to their individual needs and budgets, while still providing a complete legal defence. To achieve this, we offer various flexible payment options, including payment plans.