As legal fees continue to increase, more and more Canadians cannot afford to pay for legal advice and assistance. In a March 2007 article, the Toronto Star estimated the average cost for a three-day civil trial was more than $60,000, higher than the income of an average Canadian household. As a consequence, faced with a legal problem like a tax audit or reassessment, the average Canadian only has two choices: Accept the inequity and inequality of the situation and pay the amount assessed or or attempt to navigate through the complexities of Canada’s tax assessment and appeal system alone.
At Sixth Sphere, as a law firm, we recognized that there must be a better way. That’s why we created The Canadian Tax Audit Protection Plan. It’s a different way of charging for our services; a way designed to make access to Justice a reality for average Canadian taxpayers and small businesses.
Average cost of a two-day civil trial in 2005: $20,830.
-Canadian Lawyer Magazine 2005 Survey of Legal Fees
Average cost of a three-day civil trial in 2007: $60,738.
-Toronto Star, March 2007
In 2005, the average hourly rate for a lawyer with 10 years of experience ranged between $170 to $300 per hour, depending upon the region of the country.
-Canadian Lawyer Magazine 2005 Survey of Legal Fees
The average hourly rate for a tax lawyer with similar years of experience is significantly higher.
Remarks of the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, P.C.
Chief Justice of Canada to the Council of the Canadian Bar
Association at the Canadian Legal Conference
Calgary, August 11, 2007
The cost of legal services limits access to justice for many Canadians. The wealthy, and large corporations who have the means to pay, have access to justice. So do the very poor, who, despite its deficiencies in some areas, have access to legal aid, at least for serious criminal charges where they face the possibility of imprisonment. Middle income Canadians are hard hit, and often left with very the difficult choice that if they want access to justice, they must put a second mortgage on their home, or use funds set aside for a child’s education or for retirement. The price of justice should not be so dear.
Remarks of the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, P.C.
Presented at the Empire Club of Canada
Toronto, March 8, 2007
. . . The Canadian legal system is sometimes said to be open to two groups – the wealthy and corporations at one end of the spectrum, and those charged with serious crimes at the other. The first have access to the courts and justice because they have deep pockets and can afford them. The second have access because, by and large, and with some notable deficiencies, legal aid is available to the poor who face serious charges that may lead to imprisonment. To the second group should be added people involved in serious family problems, where the welfare of children is at stake; in such cases the Supreme Court has ruled that legal aid may be a constitutional requirement.
It is obvious that these two groups leave out many Canadians. Hard hit are average middle-class Canadians. They have some income. They may have a few assets, perhaps a modest home. This makes them ineligible for legal aid. But at the same time, they quite reasonably may be unwilling to put a second mortgage on the house or gamble with their child’s college education or their retirement savings to pursue justice in the courts. Their options are grim: use up the family assets in litigation; become their own lawyers; or give up. . . .
Reproduced with the permission of the Supreme Court of Canada, 2007
No justice for the middle class: Why only the very rich and very poor can afford to hire a lawyer.
John Intini, Maclean’s, September 10, 2007
Many of us only have to deal with a lawyer when drafting a will and closing the purchase of a home. But those in sudden need of legal counsel for, say, a divorce, a wrongful dismissal or a child custody battle, can find themselves in a debt spiral. In 2005, Canadian Lawyer published its annual survey of the going rates across the legal profession. A Canadian lawyer with at least 10 years of experience was charging an average of $235 an hour. A child custody battle cost, on average, $6,180 (up from $5,140 in 1997). A contested divorce was $8,505 (compared with $6,715 in '97). And the legal costs associated with a typical two-day civil trial averaged $20,830 (that was $8,235 eight years earlier). The magazine found that responses to its questions about fees dried up in '06 and '07. One Canadian legal search firm projected that salaries for lawyers at large firms with one to three years' experience would spike by 9.8 per cent in 2007 compared to last year. Meanwhile, corporate lawyers with the same experience were expected to get a 12.4 per cent bump.
While an estimated 90 per cent of civil cases never even make it to court, just getting a lawyer to do a few hours of research, offer a basic opinion on your chances, and maybe write a couple of letters in a simple civil matter -- like a dispute with a noisy neighbour -- will cost about $5,000, says Lorne Sossin, a law professor at the University of Toronto. And according to former Justice John Gomery, many lawyers these days ask for some money up front. "The lawyer is going ask for a $10,000 advance and most people are going to say, 'I'll buy earplugs,' " he says.