Barristers and Solicitors
214 Dominion Avenue · Bellwood, British Columbia
Our agreement with you
Entered into between Marlowe & Fenn LLP and you,
in the matter of blank.
1. Undertakings of the Firm
We answer the phone the day you call.
A lawyer calls you back, not a machine. Same day, before we go home.
You will know the cost before we begin.
A number, in writing, before any clock starts. Our fee schedule is public.
You will never leave a meeting confused.
Ask us to say it plainer. We will, as many times as it takes. That is the job.
Your file is handled by the lawyer you hired.
The person you meet is the person who does the work.
Choose your matter and the agreement redrafts itself. The oxblood marks say it plainer.
Every firm drafts this letter eventually. We draft it before you call.
2. Commencement
This agreement takes effect the day you call. The first fifteen minutes cost nothing.
Background
What is true before anything is signed.
The firm has practised from 214 Dominion Avenue, Bellwood, since 1987.
Second floor of the Aldous Block. The street is Plate I, just below.
The firm is four lawyers in one office: three partners and an associate.
Each one signs the parties' page below, with the year they were called to the bar.
The firm publishes its fees and puts yours in writing before any work begins.
See the fee schedule: Schedule B below, and every figure on the fees page.
The firm answers its phone the day you call, Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 5:00.
(250) 555-0184 rings at the front desk upstairs. A lawyer calls back before we close.
Schedule A
Scope of practice
Six areas of law, practised in person from one office. Whether the matter is the ConveyanceThe legal transfer of property from one owner to another. Conveyancing is all the work that makes it happen.Every term, defined of a house or the EstateEverything a person owns and owes when they die, which the executor gathers, settles and hands on.Every term, defined of a parent, each page sets out what happens next and what it costs.
- A.1Family LawSeparation, divorce, parenting arrangements, and support, handled with a written plan from the first meeting.
- A.2Real Estate & ConveyancingPurchases, sales, and refinances at a flat fee you see before you commit to anything.
- A.3Wills & EstatesWills, powers of attorney, probate, and estate administration, in documents your family can act on.
- A.4Small BusinessIncorporations, contracts, leases, and the paperwork that keeps a main-street business standing.
- A.5EmploymentSeverance reviews, wrongful dismissal, and workplace agreements, for employees and employers both.
- A.6Civil DisputesNeighbour disputes, contract claims, and small claims court, resolved as early and as cheaply as honesty allows.
Schedule B
Fees
The first thing callers ask us is usually the price, so we publish it. Flat fees where the work allows it, hourly rates in full where it does not. Registry fees and other DisbursementsOut-of-pocket costs a lawyer pays on your behalf and passes on at cost: registry fees, searches, courier.They are not the lawyer's fee. We list them before you sign anything and show each one on the bill.Every term, defined are listed before you sign and passed on at cost.
- B.1
Residential purchase $1,200 to $1,500
Plus disbursements and taxes. We list them before you sign anything.Plus disbursements and taxes. We list them before you sign anything. - B.2
Residential sale $950 to $1,250
Discharge of one mortgage included.Discharge of one mortgage included. - B.3
Refinance $900 to $1,150
One lender, one title.One lender, one title.
Your own figure, set out line by line: choose your matter and we set out our fee, each disbursement, the taxes, and anything the government collects through us, as a range you can print and bring to the first meeting.
Schedule C
Time limits
Every claim has a Limitation periodThe time limit for starting a legal claim. After it passes, the claim is usually gone for good.Most BC claims have two years from discovery. Our page on the clocks lists the common ones.Every term, defined, and some expire quietly, on a date nobody mentions. These are four of the time limits we see people miss.
Check your dates| Item | The clock | How long | |
|---|---|---|---|
| C.1 | Starting most lawsuits From the day you discovered the claimDiscovery can come later than the event itself, and a separate 15-year limit runs from the event no matter what. The exact start date is a legal question worth a phone call. | 2 years | The day you discovered the claim |
| C.2 | Employment Standards complaint From your last day of workThis covers minimum entitlements like final pay, vacation pay and statutory notice. Anything above the minimum is a court claim on the longer clock. | 6 months | Your last day of work |
| C.3 | Property and spousal support, unmarried From the day you separatedThe separation date is often disputed, and moving it by a month can decide whether a claim survives. Write yours down. | 2 years | The day you separated |
| C.4 | Challenging a will as unfair From the day the grant of probate or administration issuesOnly a spouse or a child can bring this claim, and the notice must also be served on the executor in time. Executors usually hold the estate until this window has passed. | 180 days | The day the grant of probate or administration issues |
General information about how BC counts these periods, not advice on your facts. Treat the date as the last possible day and act well before it.
The parties
Signed for the firm by its four lawyers, photographed where they work, upstairs on Dominion Avenue.
3. You will always know where your file stands
Every client gets their own file to read at any hour: where the matter stands, what we are waiting on from you, the money we hold for you in our Trust accountA separate bank account where a lawyer holds clients' money. It is not the firm's money, and the rules for it are strict.Every dollar in and out is recorded against your file, and you can ask to see the ledger at any time.Every term, defined, and every bill, itemized line by line.
- Sep 08Done: Accepted offer received, fee confirmed in writing
- Sep 10Done: Title searched: nothing on it that affects you
- Sep 17Done: Mortgage instructions received from your lender
- Sep 29Now: Signing appointment at the office, 10:30
- Oct 15Still to come: Completion: funds sent, keys released to you
4. What happens next
The whole path from this page to a resolved matter, numbered like everything else we put in writing.
You call, we answer. Tell us what happened in your own words. Fifteen minutes, no charge, and a straight answer on whether you need a lawyer at all.
Bring nothing to the first call. If papers matter, we tell you which ones to find.
A number, in writing. Before any work begins you receive the fee, flat or estimated, on one page you can keep. No clock starts until you say so.
The page lists our fee, each disbursement and the taxes. Decide not to go ahead and you owe nothing.
The work, explained. You hear from us at every step that matters, and the file ends with a written summary of what was done.
Each step is also dated in your file, which you can open at any hour.
In witness whereof
The firm has signed. The agreement takes effect the day you call, and we are at the office Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 5:00.
Per: Marlowe & Fenn LLP
Executed at Bellwood, BC
Accepted by you, the client
The day you call