Affordable Criminal Lawyer Toronto – How To Locate One?
Introduction
Depending on a Criminal Lawyer’s experience level, fees for a criminal defence case may be significant. Often, however, individuals charged with criminal offences are not expecting the charges in the first place, leading to a situation where they may be caught off guard financially, being unprepared to pay the type of fees that a Toronto Criminal Lawyer might command.
In this article, I will answer some general questions I often hear about how Toronto Criminal Lawyers bill clients, and will ultimately attempt to answer the question of how to find an Affordable Criminal Lawyer in Toronto for you.
What is an Affordable Criminal Defense Lawyer in Toronto, Anyways?
Here, it is worth noting what I mean by Affordable Criminal Lawyer and my recommendations as to what steps you can take to locate one:
- First, I do NOT mean a Cheap Criminal Lawyer in Toronto. Criminal charges carry significant consequences if someone is found guilty, from life long criminal records, to loss of immigration status, to inability to travel outside the country. Further, criminal cases can be complex, and require a significant amount of time from the perspective of a Criminal Lawyer. If you are looking for a Cheap Criminal Lawyer in Toronto, while you might save money in the short term, you may be costing yourself significant expense, both financially and personally, in the long run. Assuming you have allocated some funds to retain a Toronto Criminal Lawyer, I would suggest that you not start the process by calling around to find the Lowest Costing Lawyer, for these reasons.
- When I note the term Affordable Criminal Lawyer, what I am talking about is a Toronto Criminal Lawyer who has the required expertise to assist you with your defence, meanwhile being able to accommodate your personal financial situation to the best of their ability. More on this below.
- Locating an Affordable Criminal Defense Lawyer in Toronto does not mean that you cannot locate a Great Criminal Lawyer in Toronto – the two concepts are not mutually exclusive. Your search should be for a Great Criminal Lawyer in Toronto – one that can attempt to make accommodations to your personal financial situation.
How Much Does a Criminal Defense Lawyer Cost in Toronto?
As a starting, general rule, a Toronto Criminal Lawyer may charge more than an out of town Criminal Lawyer, as the cost of living in Toronto, including renting office space, is generally more expensive. Beyond that general rule, there is no hard and fast rule as to how much a Toronto Criminal Defense Lawyer may charge.
Their fees, however, must be reasonable in the circumstances, which is an ethical rule by which all practicing lawyers in Ontario must abide.
Lawyers may bill either by way of an hourly rate or block fee. Hourly rates will involve the lawyer specifying their hourly cost, whereby a block fee billing structure would involve the lawyer specifying a flat fee for a case, or particular aspects / steps in a case.
What if You Can’t Afford a Criminal Defense Lawyer in Toronto, Ontario
Not everyone who is charged with a crime has the financial capability of retaining a Toronto Criminal Defense Lawyer privately (by paying them), not even an Affordable Criminal Defense Lawyer in Toronto. If you have no access to funds whatsoever, the only two options would be the following:
(1) Make an application to Legal Aid Ontario for a criminal law Legal Aid Certificate. You would need to submit an application and Legal Aid will determine if you qualify. Typically, Legal Aid looks at your income and whether there is a risk of jail in your case. Currently, if you earn of $22,720 and do not have any family for whom you provide, you will not meet their financial eligibility. Additionally, if you cannot establish that the Crown will be seeking jail time in your case, you would not meet the “legal” criteria. Legal Aid may make exceptions to their “cut offs”, however, so an application may be worthwhile.
(2) Consider locating a pro bono criminal lawyer (ie a lawyer who would take on the case free of charge)
Don’t Qualify for Legal Aid but Have Access to Limited Funds
If you’ve applied for Legal Aid and did not qualify, but have access to some funds to retain a lawyer, you can attempt to locate an Affordable Criminal Defense Lawyer in Toronto through the Justice Net platform. This is a not for profit organization that attempts to connect lower income individuals to lawyers who offer reductions to their standard hourly rates.
Locating an Affordable Criminal Defense Lawyer Toronto
Now, to the real question, how to go about locating a Great but Affordable Criminal Defense Lawyer in Toronto? The following is a check-list of questions and search parameters you can use to narrow down a lawyer for you:
- Locate a Toronto Criminal Lawyer who offers interest-free payment plans
Filter your searches for Criminal Lawyers in Toronto who offer payment plans without interest. Lawyers who offer payment plans essentially collect what’s known as a “retainer” up front, followed by a payment plan of a set amount per month in order to pay down what the anticipated balance is. Ensure the payment plan is interest free so you don’t receive any surprise hidden costs down the road!
- Locate a Toronto Criminal Lawyer who is willing to offer a “reduced” rather than full retainer
Toronto Criminal Lawyers will often request a complete retainer up front before beginning work, and will deposit said funds into what’s known as a trust account. Once the lawyer completes work on the case, they must issue a bill for the work completed, and then they will transfer those funds to their business account. An Affordable Criminal Lawyer may be more likely to reduce that retainer payment.
- Locate a Toronto Criminal Lawyer who takes into account your personal and financial situation when assessing what their hourly rate or block fee is for your case
Lawyers have the ability to change their fees on a case by case basis. The only rule is that their fees must be reasonable in the circumstances. Accordingly, you may wish to locate a lawyer who is willing to speak to you about your personal and financial situation in determining what fees to bill you. Personal and financial situations that you may wish to share within this context include: whether you are the sole provider for your family; whether you have recently lost work; whether you have young children; whether you are on maternity or paternity leave, etc.
- Locate a Toronto Criminal Lawyer who may take your case on a limited scope basis
This tip is something you’ve probably never heard before, and are wondering what I mean when I write “limited scope basis”. This is truly an insider tip that could pay dividends to you and save you money. Lawyers can take on a case either entirely or on a limited (or partial) basis. A limited basis can be any step or steps that are short of completing a criminal case. The steps agreed on for the lawyer to take on are entirely in the discretion of the lawyer and client. For example, if you are facing a Domestic Assault charge and are looking only for assistance from a Toronto Criminal Lawyer to assist with a Crown pre-trial meeting, then you attempt to locate a Criminal Lawyer only for this step. If you are hiring a lawyer only for one step, the fees will be significantly less than for an entire case. Note that not all Toronto Criminal Lawyers will take on cases this way, so you may hit a dead end in your search.
About the Author
Andrew Captan is an experienced Criminal Defense Lawyer in Toronto who attempts to make accommodations for clients in the ways described above. For a free consultation, contact him at (647) 878 – 6355 or visit his website HERE.
