CONTINGENCY FEE AGREEMENTS, O. Reg. 195/04

• Jurisdiction: Ontario

Solicitors Act

ONTARIO REGULATION 195/04

contingency fee Agreements

Note: This Regulation was revoked on July 1, 2021. (See: O. Reg. 563/20, s. 10)

Last amendment: 563/20.

This is the English version of a bilingual regulation.

Signing and dating contingency fee agreement

1. (1) For the purposes of section 28.1 of the Act, in addition to being in writing, a contingency fee agreement,

(a) shall be entitled “Contingency Fee Retainer Agreement”;

(b) shall be dated; and

(c) shall be signed by the client and the solicitor with each of their signatures being verified by a witness. O. Reg. 195/04, s. 1 (1).

(2) The solicitor shall provide an executed copy of the contingency fee agreement to the client and shall retain a copy of the agreement. O. Reg. 195/04, s. 1 (2).

Contents of contingency fee agreements, general

2. A solicitor who is a party to a contingency fee agreement shall ensure that the agreement includes the following:

1. The name, address and telephone number of the solicitor and of the client.

2. A statement of the basic type and nature of the matter in respect of which the solicitor is providing services to the client.

3. A statement that indicates,

i. that the client and the solicitor have discussed options for retaining the solicitor other than by way of a contingency fee agreement, including retaining the solicitor by way of an hourly-rate retainer,

ii. that the client has been advised that hourly rates may vary among solicitors and that the client can speak with other solicitors to compare rates,

iii. that the client has chosen to retain the solicitor by way of a contingency fee agreement, and

iv. that the client understands that all usual protections and controls on retainers between a solicitor and client, as defined by the Law Society of Ontario and the common law, apply to the contingency fee agreement.

4. A statement that explains the contingency upon which the fee is to be paid to the solicitor.

5. A statement that sets out the method by which the fee is to be determined and, if the method of determination is as a percentage of the amount recovered, a statement that explains that for the purpose of calculating the fee the amount of recovery excludes any amount awarded or agreed to that is separately specified as being in respect of costs and disbursements.

6. A simple example that shows how the contingency fee is calculated.

7. A statement that outlines how the contingency fee is calculated, if recovery is by way of a structured settlement.

8. A statement that informs the client of their right to ask the Superior Court of Justice to review and approve of the solicitor’s bill and that includes the applicable timelines for asking for the review.

9. A statement that outlines when and how the client or the solicitor may terminate the contingency fee agreement, the consequences of the termination for each of them and the manner in which the solicitor’s fee...