Ontario legal information · Ottawa and Eastern Ontario
The useful question is more specific than the page title.
Ontario contingency agreements cannot prevent a client from changing lawyers.2
Former-counsel fees or disbursements may need to be resolved from a later recovery; do not accept an unexplained number or leave the issue until settlement.
Keep responsibility, available coverage and actual loss in separate columns.
Legal route
The client gives instructions to end and begin retainers.
Insurance or benefit route
The file, trust property and deadline information must transfer securely.
Practical decision
Fee interests should be documented without disrupting the merits of the claim.
Build the record from material another person can verify.
Current retainer and account history.
Complete electronic and paper file.
Upcoming court, tribunal and insurer dates.
Transfer agreement and fee or disbursement positions.
Protect the next date without pretending every claim follows one clock.
Avoid a gap in representation around discoveries, motions, LAT dates or limitations.3
Confirm in writing who is responsible from the effective transfer date.
How a personal injury lawyer may use this information.
General information explains the framework. Legal advice should connect that framework to the event, the people and insurers involved, the available records and the deadlines in the individual claim.
- Assess the reason for change
- Protect immediate dates
- Secure the complete file
- Resolve fee interests transparently
Not every file requires every step or legal representation. The work should respond to the actual dispute, evidence gap or decision that is approaching.
Sources and legal references
These official sources provide the legal and procedural foundation for this page. Their current wording and the facts of the claim control.
View 3 sources
- Ontario — Contingency Fee Agreements Regulation
Required terms and limits for Ontario contingency fee agreements.
Back to footnote ↑ - Law Society of Ontario — Rules of Professional Conduct
Professional duties concerning competence, communication, fees and client instructions.
Back to footnote ↑ - Ontario — Solicitors Act
Ontario rules governing lawyer-client compensation agreements and bill assessment.
Back to footnote ↑