Canadian Lawyer

"There is only so much I can charge my clients. Even as my overheads continue to increase, I have to respect my clients' ability to pay." providing services related to simple wills is $352, down from last year's $396. For complex individual wills, fees have gone down to $797 from $937 and couples' wills are now $1,045 on average, compared with last year's $1,392. Uncontested divorces are at $884 this year, averaged across the 40 Ontario firms in the survey that said they carried them out, but were $1,462 in 2012. Separation agreements are $2,439, down from $2,797. The 22 firms offering two days of civil litigation up to trial were charging $16,645 on average, a substantial drop from 2012's $30,623. Year-onyear figures could be affected by the greater proportion of smaller firms in this year's survey, though a similar pattern is evident nationally among firms with between one and four lawyers offering family law services: Average fees for uncontested divorces have dipped to $1,018 from $1,500 and for separation agreements, $1,985 from $2,106. However, some wills and estates fees charged by the smallest firms have seen a slight rise to $337 from an average of $330 for simple individual wills and to $734 from $705 for a complex individual will. While a firm's size may affect the precise fees it charges, Headon believes the financial pressures, and the need to change pricing structures, are being felt by the whole profession. "The small firms are going to have to adapt as much as the big firms," he says. Smaller firms lacking economies of scale may find it difficult to invest in innovative systems that reduce overheads, but bigger firms will also be challenged by the need to "change the direction of the ship" and manage that change effectively, he explains. He points out there are external factors that, if tackled, would also help to bring down firms' costs. For example, increased government funding in systems aimed at increasing the efficiency of courts would mean litigators could access documents online instead of having to pick them up by hand, a time and cost saving that could be passed on to clients. Rising overheads, added to client pressure to reduce fees, are "putting a two-sided pressure on the lawyers," he says. "They're getting squeezed in the middle." Least profitable areas A sked whether there were certain areas that were no longer profitable, some respondents mentioned legal aid, small claims matters, family law, and criminal law. t yo ble to y u is and it's availa s a day. 24 hour Get fast and easy access to Canada's legal professionals! Canada's most comprehensive online directory of legal professionals gives you a direct route to the information you need. departments location and area of practice Visit www.CanadianLawList.com and find out how we're serving you better than ever. compiled by top Canadian legal researchers Untitled-4 1 www.CANADIAN L a w ye r m a g . c o m 13-01-14 4:15 PM June 2013 35

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