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Money, plainly
Free is a word that deserves an explanation.
Anyone who tells you a service is free without explaining who pays for it is asking you to not think about it. So here is the whole arrangement, in the order that matters to you.
Your side of it
What the lawyer will charge
Injury work in Canada is almost always done on contingency: the firm takes a percentage of what it recovers, and nothing if it recovers nothing. Rates commonly sit somewhere between roughly a quarter and forty percent depending on province, complexity and how far the file goes, and provincial rules govern how these agreements must be written.
The headline percentage is the part everyone compares and the least important part of the deal. Three other terms move more money:
- Gross or net. Whether the percentage is calculated on the full recovery or after disbursements come off. On a $300,000 settlement with $40,000 of costs, that choice is worth about $13,000 — to you.
- Interest on advanced costs. Some firms fund disbursements from their own capital. Others borrow and pass the interest to you, which over four years becomes a real line item.
- What happens if you lose. Canada is a loser-pays jurisdiction. Ask whether adverse-costs insurance is in place and who pays the premium.
Illustrative figures, before GST/HST on fees and any benefit repayment or health-care subrogation, which vary by province. The full arithmetic is in our fee guide.
The obvious question
"So doesn't being paid by firms bias you?"
It would — if firms paid per referral, or paid more to receive more. That is precisely the model most lead-generation businesses run, and it produces exactly what you would expect: your details sold to whoever bid highest, five firms calling you within an hour, and a match driven by budget.
A flat fee removes the lever. A firm cannot buy volume, cannot buy priority, cannot buy a claim category, and cannot buy its way back after being routed down.
There is also a professional-conduct reason it is built this way. Law society rules across Canada restrict lawyers from sharing fees with people who are not licensed, and restrict referral arrangements that depend on outcome. A flat participation fee for a marketing and matching service sits cleanly inside those rules. A percentage of your settlement would not, and any service offering a lawyer one should make you deeply uneasy.
Nothing to lose by asking.
Ten minutes, no cost, no obligation, and you will know where you stand.
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