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Barrister [ˈbærɪstə] noun A lawyer who pleads in court.

Solicitor [suh–lis-i-ter] noun A lawyer who advises clients on matters of law, draws up legal documents, prepares cases for barristers, etc.

Notary public, noun A public officer or other person authorized to authenticate contracts, acknowledge deeds, take affidavits, protest bills of exchange, take depositions, etc.

COVID-19 Notice

Our commitment

We are committed to keeping clients and the public safe during this challenging time, and are thus observing the following protocols:

1. safe distancing of two meters

2. disinfecting protocols, such as washing or disinfecting hands before handling documents

3. electronic communication and sharing of documents

Please stay home if:

1. you’re experiencing a cough, fever or difficulty breathing or

2. you travelled out of the country in the last 14 days

Please consult this information sheet issued by the Ontario Ministry of Health.

Benefits for Employers and Employees

Please consult this website for benefits available to employers and employees during this challenging time. For more detailed information on all supports visit this website.

Prepare Your Will and Powers of Attorney

Tens of thousands of Canadians have lost their lives to COVID-19. We therefore advise you to prepare your Will and Powers of Attorney to make sure your person and property are disposed according to your wishes and prevent any further losses.

Retainer Agreement Between Hamza Law and Client

1. Parties to This Agreement

This Retainer Agreement (‘retainer’) is between you, the client(s) and Hamza Law (‘we’ or ‘us’). We will be your legal representatives in this matter. We do not legally represent any other parties in this matter.

If there is more than one client in this matter, any of you may instruct us. However, you agree and are responsible to make sure the other clients agree with your instructions or authorize you to give us instructions on their behalf.

2.1 Professional Relationship

Our professional relationship begins, endures, and ends with our mutual fulfillment of the terms of this retainer. We will take reasonable actions, after consulting you, to ensure the efficient achievement of your objectives. While we are responsible to do the legal work, you are responsible to pay us for that work. If it is a lawsuit or negotiation, we cannot guarantee the outcome.

2.2 Written Confirmation

Any agreement between us must be signed and confirmed in writing. The same is true of any statement or intention you attribute to us.

3. Fees and Acceptance of Risk

3.1 Deposit

We require:

• a retainer for each legal matter

• a $1,000 deposit per retainer for legal advice or preparation of a legal document

• a $3,000 deposit per retainer for representation in a legal matter

After services are completed, we will issue an invoice to you and return to you the balance of your deposit with the final invoice.

3.2 Billable Hours

We charge according to the time a matter takes us to complete and  the Law Society of Ontario Fee Schedule. The Table below shows our fee structure.

3.3 Fixed Rates

In addition to HST, expenses and billable hours for additional work, we charge the following fixed rates for the following services:

3.4 Method of Billing

Our method is to bill necessary work for hours that are reasonable. Work is necessary if it is necessary to achieve your goals in this retainer. Hours are reasonable if they represent the amount of time a lawyer or paralegal would spend doing this work.

Thus, in order to dispute an invoice, you may dispute the necessity of work done, for any given entry, or the reasonability of hours doing it. To do this, you must seek independent legal advice from two lawyers who will review the invoice. If they agree that certain work was not necessary or certain hours are not reasonable, we will follow their opinion.

3.5 Premium Fee

If we represent you in a lawsuit and you win the lawsuit, we charge 20% of the award, minus costs. If other lawyers also contributed to your success, we charge the same premium fee pro rata to our work on the case, measured in hours. For instance, if we did 10% of the work on the case, we will claim 10% of 20% of the award, minus costs.

3.6 Acceptance of Risk

If we represent you in a lawsuit and you win the lawsuit, the other party may have to pay for costs. However, you understand and agree that you may have to pay the other party’s costs if you lose the lawsuit.

4. Communication

4.1 Rules

To fulfill our retainer, we need to manage our time. As such, we only communicate by email or phone, where we call you. We will call you when we need something and have time. If you need something, you may send us an email or leave us a voicemail, which goes to our inbox.

We do not receive or answer communications by any other methods or outside of work hours. You hereby agree not to communicate with us by any other method or outside of work hours unless it is an emergency. You may leave us an email or a voicemail at any time, which will reach our inbox.

Communications with us are billed by the hour, so plan your communications carefully and keep them focused on legal issues. You do not need to contact us unless you have necessary information we lack, as we will contact you and request information if necessary. However, we do appreciate reminders.

You hereby agree to respect our work hours. You understand that we are not responsible for your emergencies, as it is beyond the scope of our services. We may charge twice our regular rate if forced to work outside our hours.

If any communication with us is time sensitive, you should indicate the deadline when you need us to answer. If, for whatever reason, we do not answer you on time (e.g., because we are ill or on vacation) you are responsible to send us a letter ending our retainer and to seek the help of another lawyer with your mater.

You hereby agree to answer us promptly and to provide us with information we request in relation to your matter. You also agree to provide us with information, including contact information, of (1) any previous lawyers you retained, (2) lawyers you consulted about your matter, (3) what they advised, (4) why you or they ended the retainer, and (5) lawyers you wish to retain or consult.

While you must answer us promptly, we may not answer you promptly because we need to manage our time.

Information concerning Hamza Law staff and their work hours and days off is available on the Hamza Law website. You should check this information, which may change, before making a plan of action or if we are not responding.

4.2 Protection of Privacy

You understand that no method of communication is entirely secure. We are not responsible for loss or misdirection of information beyond our control.

You understand that we may need to share some information with other professionals, such as expert witnesses, physicians, or other lawyers. While information you share with us during our retainer is generally confidential, we encourage you to be discreet with others, as discussions with them are not privileged.

Certain documents, however, like this Retainer Agreement, are not confidential. If you are not sure if information is confidential during our retainer, you must ask us.

You understand and accept that we may have private conversations with other lawyers. This is usually done to discuss points of law or fact—in negotiations, for example—to facilitate resolutions.

We do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour. As such, you agree to waive lawyer-client privilege for any false, inappropriate, tortious, or criminal communication or interaction with us.

4.3 Storage, Retrieval or Destruction of Information

We require information from you that is necessary for us to fulfill the retainer. At the close of your matter, we may destroy all the physical and electronic information in our possession.

We may, however, store certain information for a certain period. Hence, we charge a storage fee of 5$ per MB, and the same rate to retrieve your information.

You understand and agree that we are not responsible for loss, modification, misdirection or misuse of your information. You also agree to release us from liability in connection thereto.

If you pay us a storage fee and we lose some of your information, we cannot compensate you for more than the value of the storage fee. For instance, if you pay us $200 to store 40 MB of information and 10 MB are lost or destroyed, we will compensate you for $50.

5. Ending This Agreement

You can end this agreement by sending us a written notice. We will then ask you to sign a court form that tells the court and other parties that we are no longer your lawyer.

We may end this agreement for reasons including:

• a conflict of interest between you and other clients

• your failure to cooperate with a reasonable request

• your failure to pay on time

• our continuing to act for you would be impractical or unethical

If you or we end this agreement, you must pay for our work up to that point. If you owe us a debt you agree that (1) we are a primary creditor to you, (2) to show this agreement to any other lawyer you consult and to inform it of your debt to us, and (3) to include it in any costs submissions.

7. Notice of Any Issue

You agree to immediately inform us of any issue you may have with our service, so we can choose to continue or end the retainer without the issue persisting. Otherwise, you are responsible for any ensuing damages to us and you.

8. Interpretation

You are responsible to obtain clarification from us for any term of this agreement before signing it. Should any difference arise concerning its interpretation afterwards, the interpretation should favour the legitimate purpose of this agreement, which is to ensure we are paid for our services and protect us from abusive clients and unnecessary liability.

9. Scope and Validity of This Agreement

This agreement contains the whole agreement between us about our professional relationship and fees. This agreement revokes and supersedes any previous ones you may have with us or another lawyer or paralegal.

If you are incapacitated, this agreement will legally bind your heirs or attorney. It also binds a lawyer who replaces us. If you choose to end this agreement, you or your lawyer agree to pay our fees when you are able to pay them or when you receive money from a settlement or judgment.

This agreement is only valid when we sign it and receive:

1. your deposit

2. all your relevant legal documents and evidence to review

3. copies of:

a. your passport or driver’s licence, front and back, or

b. an official certificate of status of the company you represent

Affirmation

By checking the box to confirm this agreement, you confirm that you understand and agree with its terms, as well as the terms and policies on our website, as amended.