Keeping our Fees Low

Clarke Immigration Law was founded in 2015 based on key Canadian principles. We are 100% open with our clients regarding pricing & fees. We are the only immigration law firm in Manitoba to publish comprehensive fees, with an FAQ page, online for anyone in the world. Why would you hire a lawyer who is not upfront with their fees? Staff at CIL have worked in other law firms where clients have been cheated. We have seen shady lawyers suddenly tell their clients after the file is open and they have started the work, “Oh, we have to charge you $XXXX extra.” Is that fair? No, it is not.

Why can’t all lawyers publish their fees?

I have asked this question many times: Why can’t all lawyers publish their fees? I have had this conversation with immigration lawyers in Winnipeg, Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa. One lawyer said, “Well, I will charge a Chinese client $15,000 for a spousal sponsorship and charge an American client only $10,000.” For the same application. How is that fair? How can clients trust their lawyers when they are being deceitful and they are not open themselves?

COVID & Inflation

From the start, we have been 100% transparent with our fees. During the pandemic, while we were all struggling with new PPE and new expenses, we did not raise our fees. When inflation has been rising and we have been dealing with additional costs, we have not raised our fees. When we have been doing significant pro bono work, helping Syrian refugees, helping Ukrainian refugees and providing free presentations to public libraries and to university students, we have not raised our fees.

Shop Around

We have seen other immigration law firms raise their fees. We have published posts comparing our fees with other fees to ensure our clients are well informed. I spoke with a Toronto immigration lawyer who charges among the highest fees in Canada. I asked him how he justifies his fees. He let me know, “if my clients don’t struggle to pay my fees, I’m not charging them enough.” In my view, that is wrong. That is not the statement of a lawyer who is focused on helping his clients.

I would encourage clients to negotiate with their lawyers, especially when the lawyer does not publish their fees. You can say to the lawyer, “I can see online that Clarke Immigration Law charges $5,500 for an SCLPC Class application ($7,000 with an OWP), how about you charge me only $5,000?” If you can get that deal and you trust that law firm to do a great job, we wish you all the best.

Administrative Fees

Law Society has published many documents regarding administrative fees. For example, a guide offers law firms different options on these types of fees:

Try one of the following solutions:

• Charge each client a one-time administrative fee to cover in-office charges, such as postage, in-office copying, long distance telephone charges, and other similar office fees. This will also save staff time by not having to input each charge into your computer billing system. Out-of-office disbursements may still be billed directly to the client.

• Raise your billing rates to cover the in-office charges. When you charge a client for copies, postage, and the like, you are passing along overhead. By adding it into your billing rate, the client still pays of the charges , but it is not singled out as a separate item each month on the client’s bill.

We have opted for that first option. I have seen invoices from law firms who bill their clients for each line item. Even though our applications are often submitted online and we exchange documents electronically, we also must print many documents to comply with Law Society Rules. I have seen law firms charge clients for printing at 25 cents per page (!!!) leading to Administrative Fees of +$1,000.00 CAD. In our view, that is not fair.

The Law Society has made sure that lawyers understand that all billing must be “fair and reasonable”. Here in Manitoba, the Senior General Counsel has published guidance in an article, “Who is Paying for the Tuna Sandwiches”. This is a must read for all lawyers.

Will CIL Raise Fees?

There is no guarantee that we will not raise our fees. As with all Canadians, we have rising costs and we want to make sure our staff are well paid and well compensated. To do that, we may raise our fees. Feel free to check back on our pricing and fees page to monitor any changes.