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Practice area 3.6 · Civil Disputes

Civil disputes

A dispute has a way of getting into your head and staying there, and the wrong lawyer will happily bill it there for a year. We start by asking what a win is actually worth, and whether there is a faster, cheaper way to reach most of it.

1. This page is for you if

A split-rail fence line running into valley fog in the morning
Plate XIThe fence line

2. What the work includes

An honest read on the merits

Before anything else, a straight answer on whether you are likely right, what it would take to prove, and what it is realistically worth.

The letter that often ends it

A great many disputes settle once a lawyer sets the position out in writing. We send that first, because it is the cheapest thing that works.

Small claims and the Civil Resolution Tribunal

For a right-sized dispute we prepare and present it in the forum built for it, without the cost of a full courtroom.

Negotiated settlement

Most matters end in an agreement rather than a judgment. We push for a resolution you can live with and be done thinking about.

3. Clocks that may apply

Some rights in this area expire on a timetable, whether or not anyone mentions it. For starting a claim, the law calls that time a . These are the clocks we watch on files like yours.

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.

Every clock we track, with a date check

4. What it costs

Disputes are billed by the hour, from $295 to $385 depending on whether the file needs a partner or an associate. Because the cost can outrun the prize, we give you a written estimate and a candid view of whether the fight is worth the fee before you commit a dollar to it.

The estimate builder turns these figures into a range for your own file, with our fee, any and the taxes each on a line of their own.

Build your estimateThe full fee schedule, published

5. What happens next

The anxiety is almost never the law. It is not knowing what happens next. So here is what happens next.

  1. 5.1

    Bring us the whole story, warts and all

    The first meeting is about what really happened, including the parts that do not flatter you. We can only give honest odds if we have the honest facts.

  2. 5.2

    We weigh the prize against the cost

    A written estimate of what resolving it will take, set beside what winning is actually worth. Sometimes the best advice is that the dispute is not worth having.

  3. 5.3

    We try the cheap fix first

    A demand letter, a call to the other lawyer, an offer to settle. The tools that end a dispute in weeks come before the ones that take a year.

  4. 5.4

    We escalate only with your eyes open

    If it must go to a tribunal or a courtroom, we prepare it properly and tell you at each turn what the next step costs and what it buys.

6. Who does the work

Eleanor Marlowe, photographed at the officeEleanor MarlowePartner · Called 1989Eleanor drafts wills, settles estates, and untangles the disputes nobody planned for. She co-founded the firm in 1987 and still answers her own phone.

See Eleanor's diary

Kate Moreau, photographed at the officeKate MoreauAssociate · Called 2019Kate acts for people whose jobs ended badly and for neighbours who cannot agree. She reads severance packages the way other people read menus.

See Kate's diary

We would rather lose the fee than win you a judgment that costs more than it collects. The best outcome in a dispute is usually the one that ends it early.

7. What to bring to the first meeting

Whatever you can find is enough to start. If the file needs anything more, we tell you in writing.

If someone is on the other side, bring their names as well. We run a before we hear the details.

8. Reading, before you spend a dollar

9. Questions people actually ask

Will this cost me more than the dispute is worth?
It can, and that is exactly the question we make you ask before you spend anything. Civil work is hourly, from $295 to $385, and for small amounts a demand letter or the tribunal is far cheaper than a lawsuit. We give you a written estimate and will tell you when the honest move is to let it go.
How long will it take to resolve?
The cheap routes, a letter or a negotiated settlement, can wrap up in weeks. A contested claim through a tribunal or court runs on their schedule and can take many months. We aim for the fastest route that still protects you, and we tell you which one your matter needs.
Someone has threatened to sue me. Do I need a lawyer yet?
If you have been formally served, yes, because a response clock is already running and missing it can cost you the case by default. If it is still a threat over the fence, a single meeting can tell you whether it is serious and how to respond without pouring fuel on it. Either way, do not ignore it.

Begin with a conversation

Fifteen minutes on the phone, no charge, and an honest answer about whether you need a lawyer at all.

Book a consultationor call (250) 555-0184