Finding a lawyer you would pay (lawyer in private practice)

Most lawyers focus their practice on specific types of law. Even a lawyer who says they have a “general practice” will usually limit their scope of practice to certain areas.

Lawyers are not supposed to dabble in subjects they are not familiar with. So if you go to a lawyer with a case that is outside their scope of practice, expect them to turn it down. 

Here is a list of some of the most common areas of practice along with some myths and realities you may encounter:

Those are the most common areas of practice. They’re not the only ones. There are other areas of practice that are less common in a market the size of Nova Scotia. For example, things like human rights, health law, professional regulation, or privacy law. 

If you’re looking for a lawyer that focuses on a niche area of law, usually a good starting point is to check at a full-service law firm. 

If you visit websites for a few different law firms, you’ll notice they use lots of the same words. For example, there are words for the people who work at the law firm:

Other frequently used terms that are helpful to know are:

It’s also very helpful to know:

• the terms lawyers use for their areas of practice, so make sure you read Tip 1. 
• the terms lawyers use for billing, so read this page about how lawyers charge for their work.  

Finally, there are also lots of commonly used initials and acronyms:

The average lawyer or law firm will have a modern, mobile-friendly website. Now that you know what kind of lawyer you need (Tip 1) and some basic terminology (Tip 2), you’re in a good position to get the most out of the lawyer’s website. 

Most of lawyer’s websites are organized the same way. On their website you will usually find:

• A page or drop-down menu that lists the services offered by the firm
  • This list will usually be organized by area of law, which is why you should read Tip 1
• A profile page with information about the lawyers who work at the firm
  • This page will usually include information about the areas of law the lawyer focuses on and it will usually also use some of the standard legal industry terms we talked about in Tip 2. 
• Contact information
  • Some firms list contact information for each lawyer individually, but others just provide general information for contacting the firm. 

Some sites will also include blogs with posts written by lawyers at the firm, links to resources, or a brief history of the firm. 

Rarely, lawyers will include specific information about their fees. If a lawyer offers flat fees for services, de-bundles legal services, or has set fees for consultations you may see them listed on the website.

Take your time to review the information on the website. On a good website you should be able to figure out:

• Approximately how many lawyers work at the firm
• Whether those lawyers have support staff (paralegals, legal assistants)
• What areas of law the lawyers practice
• Approximately how long the lawyers have been practicing

Just like you would for any other business, you can check online for reviews of the lawyer or their law firm. However, there’s some other research you can do that’s specific to lawyers. 

Every lawyer in Nova Scotia must be registered with the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society. The Barristers’ Society also takes complaints about lawyers and disciplines them if they breach the Code of Professional Conduct. 

Check the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society directory to confirm the lawyer is registered. You can also see when they were called to the bar and whether there is any disciplinary information about the lawyer.

If the lawyer is a courtroom lawyer (for example, if they work as a litigator or a barrister), check if they are listed in any reported cases. 

When a case goes to a hearing or trial, sometimes the decision is reported and the lawyers names are recorded in the decision. 

You can search for reported cases for free on the Canadian Legal Information Institute's website (canlii.org). To search for cases that mention a specific lawyer, enter the lawyer's name in quotation marks (e.g. “Jane Doe”) in the search window entitled “Document text”.

Only a small percentage of decisions are reported, so not all courtroom lawyers will appear on a search like that. However, if you do find some results, it can give you a bit more insight into the lawyer’s practice. 

When you start contacting law firms, it’s important to be able to quickly state what your case is about and what you’re looking for.  

You don’t need to give a full case history right away. At first you just need to give enough information for the lawyer or their support staff to assess whether the case might fit within the lawyer's scope of practice. If the lawyer or their support staff need more information from you, they’ll ask for it. 

Even if your case is complicated, you should be able to summarize it in just two sentences:

• Sentence #1 - a brief description of what’s going on (for example, “I fell in a store’s parking lot and hurt myself.”) 
• Sentence #2 - a brief description of what you want (for example, “I want to know whether I’m entitled to any money.”)

If your case is very complicated, you can add one more sentence just to identify that it’s a complicated matter. For example, you could state your 2 line summary and then also say, “That’s just a general description, it’s a complicated situation and I have lots more to add.”

If you end up having to contact more than one law firm, you’ll save lots of time if you have a 2 sentence summary of your case. It will prevent you from having to tell your whole story over and over again. 

Keep in mind that you might not talk to a lawyer at first. You might start off by talking to a legal assistant or another member of the lawyer's support staff like a paralegal. 

The law firm must run a conflict check before speaking with you on your matter in depth. You can expect them to ask your full name and the names of the people or companies involved in your matter. They will check these names against any other client files they have to ensure that they are not in conflict with existing matters.

If you’re having trouble summarizing your case, doing a bit of research about the law might help. Researching can help you learn key terms and identify specific issues that are involved in your case. 

Once you find a lawyer or law firm that you’re interested in, contact the firm to ask some preliminary questions. For example, you might:

• Ask whether the lawyer is taking on new cases
• Confirm that the lawyer takes cases like yours - this is where it’s helpful to have a brief description of your case, so read Tip 5
• Ask how the lawyer does intake with potential new clients. For example:
  • Does the lawyer only offer in-person meetings or do they offer appointments by phone or video conference?
  • How long is the initial meeting?
  • How much does the initial meeting cost?
    • Don’t expect your first meeting to be free. Free consultations are only standard at personal injury firms. In other areas of law, lawyers usually expect their regular hourly rate for an initial consultation. 

You can also ask some general questions about fees and billing, but in many cases the answers depend on the lawyer's assessment of the case so don’t expect to get definite answers in a preliminary call or email. 

Don’t be surprised if you end up having to contact more than one lawyer or law firm during your search. The lawyer or law firm that you contact might be:

• At capacity and not taking on any new clients
• Unavailable due to a conflict of interest
• Unavailable due to a scheduling issue 
• Uninterested in your case because it’s outside their scope of practice
• Or uninterested in your case because they don’t think it’s a strong case

Once you’ve found a lawyer or law firm that is available to meet with you, you need to prepare for your initial interview with the lawyer. 

Don’t expect a lawyer to give you legal advice immediately. Lawyers need to understand all of the important facts before they give any advice about a case. If you’re looking for legal advice, expect to answer lots of questions before you get it. 

We suggest you review this guide to a successful interview with your lawyer. 

The only way to find out is to contact law firms and ask. Lawyers hourly rates can range from anywhere between $200 to $1,000 per hour. 

Fees for particular services vary depending mainly on:

• The nature and complexity of the work
• Whether the case involves dispute resolution or court time
• And the seniority of the lawyer doing the work.

There are some basic things that firms usually do for a flat rate (if they fall within the firm's scope of practice). Things like:

• Real estate transactions (property lawyers)
• Incorporating a small business (business lawyers)
• Basic estate planning documents - wills, powers of attorney, personal directives (wills and estates lawyers)
• Uncontested divorces (family lawyers)
• Permanent residence applications (immigration lawyers)

However, there are many legal issues that are open-ended so it’s not always possible for a lawyer to quote a flat rate or to precisely foresee what the total cost of a matter will be. 

If your case involves a dispute with another person (for example, a business partner, an ex-spouse, a neighbour, etc.), it may cost a lot to deal with, particularly if you end up in court.  

Go here for information about how lawyers usually charge for their work. 

If cost is a concern, you’re going to have to do some shopping around. Here are some things to ask about if you are looking for a lawyer in private practice and cost is an issue:

• do you offer pro bono (free) help?
• can you help me with just part of my case? Lawyers call this a "Limited Scope Retainer"
• do you offer coaching for people who are representing themselves? Coaching is basically out-of-court strategic support
• do you charge a flat fee for this type of work?
• will you consider a contingency fee agreement?
• what is your hourly rate?
• can the lawyer wait to get paid once you get the money you are seeking (for example, spousal support, matrimonial property division).

Go here for more information about how lawyers charge for their work.

It depends on what kind of case you have. 

A contingency fee arrangement is when a lawyer is paid at the end of the case. The contingency fee is a percentage of the money the lawyer gets for you if successful. If you win, the lawyer gets the percentage agreed on as the lawyer's fee. 

Contingency fees are mainly used by personal injury lawyers in cases where the claimant has a severe bodily injury. Contingency fees are much less common in other areas of law. In any case, it’s up to the lawyer to decide whether to offer a contingency fee arrangement. 

Go here for more information about how lawyers charge for their work.

No. Paralegals in Nova Scotia are not authorized to practice independently. That means you cannot hire a paralegal instead of hiring a lawyer. 

Not all lawyers work with paralegals, but they can be a real asset to those lawyers that do. When you’re deciding which law firm to contact, you should check the firm's website to see if they have paralegals on staff (see Tip 3). It’s an important factor because a firm with good paralegals may be able to handle your matter more efficiently and for less money. 

That’s an overgeneralization. Like we said, the cost of legal services is based mostly on: 

• The nature and complexity of the work
• Whether the case involves dispute resolution or court time
• And the seniority of the lawyer doing the work.

In some cases the size of the law firm can also be a factor, but it’s secondary to those more important factors. 

A conflict of interest is when the interests (goals, priorities, etc.) of two or more people are incompatible. 

When a lawyer says they have a conflict of interest it usually means that the lawyer (or someone else at the firm) has a professional or personal relationship with someone involved in the case. Lawyers have to avoid conflicts of interest. 

Lawyers must identify when they have a conflict of interest. However, that doesn’t mean the lawyer has to give you details about the conflict. In other words, they must tell you if there is a conflict of interest, but they do not have to say who or what is causing the conflict.

For lawyers, declining cases because of conflicts of interest is a standard part of doing business. Don’t jump to any conclusions if a lawyer or law firm says they have a conflict. 

With that said, if you contact lots of law firms and they all tell you that there is a conflict of interest, sometimes that’s an indication that there’s something unattractive about your case. 

It’s old-fashioned, but word-of-mouth is still a fine way to get started on searching for a lawyer.

You can ask for personal recommendations from:

• Other professionals that you’ve worked with (for example, accountants, mortgage brokers, realtors, etc.)
• Co-workers and other colleagues from your work or business
• Trusted service providers at community agencies that you have relationships with
• Trusted friends, family members or other people in your social network. 

Keep in mind the type of lawyer you are looking for.  For example, if you need a criminal lawyer, someone giving you a recommendation for a great property lawyer isn’t exactly what you need. However, it can be worth following up on a recommendation, even if the lawyer doesn’t practice the type of law you’re looking for. The lawyer may work at a firm with other lawyers that take cases like yours or they might have a suggestion for a different firm that you can contact. 

Most law firms have modern, mobile-friendly websites. Most of their websites are organized the same way. On their website you will usually find:

• A page or drop-down menu that lists the services offered by the firm
• A profile page with information about the lawyers who work at the firm
• Contact information

Make sure to review our tips for doing a lawyer search to ensure you get the most out of the lawyer’s website. 

Lawyers are listed in the telephone book, both online and in print, in alphabetical order as well as under location and the type of law they do. 

If you’re looking through a telephone book, make sure you know what type of lawyer you are looking for.

If you have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) in your workplace, contact your EAP to see whether they provide help in finding and/or paying for a lawyer in private practice, or cover the costs of a consultation with a lawyer.

Some insurance companies provide their customers with access to summary legal advice on certain legal matters related to their property or personal life. Not all insurance companies provide this type of service and where it is provided, terms and conditions apply. Check with your insurance provider to see whether they offer this kind of service. 

If you are a member of a union, you can ask your union whether they can offer any help in finding a lawyer, or help with covering the cost of a consultation with a lawyer or legal fees.

Pour obtenir de l’information en français ainsi qu’une liste des juristes d’expression française en Nouvelle Écosse, veuillez communiquer avec le centre Accès Justice Access, un project de l’Association des juristes d’expression française de la Nouvelle-Écosse (AJEFNE). L’AJEFNE est un organisme à but non lucratif fondé en 1994 pour promouvoir l’accès aux services juridiques pour la population acadienne et francophone de la Nouvelle-Écosse.

Contact:
www.ajefne.ns.ca
1741, rue Brunswick / 1741 Brunswick Street, Halifax, Nouvelle-Écosse B3J 3Z6
Téléphone: 902-433-2085 ou 1-844-250-8471

If you plan to hire a lawyer, the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia has a Lawyer Referral Service through which you might be referred to a lawyer for an initial consultation of up to 30 minutes for no more than $20 plus tax, if a referral is appropriate in your situation. 

Go here for more information about how the Lawyer Referral Service works.