This came across my desk and was interesting enough that I wanted to pass it on. An Ontario court has authorized a lawsuit against a personal injury law firm. According to the story, 6,000 clients are able to “participate in a lawsuit alleging that the firm entered into improper fee agreements, took unauthorized fees, failed to obtain required court approval and charged illegal interest rates on disbursements.”
This is a quirk in Canadian law that is different than US laws. The way that fees and costs are calculated in Canada is slightly different. In California, the attorney can charge you for incurred costs and fees per the fee agreement. You should receive a breakdown of the costs. The fee can either be a net fee based on the settlement less the costs or a gross fee based solely on the settlement.
This is an interesting case. I am curious to see how it turns out. When you hire an attorney, make sure you understand how your fees will be calculated.