Reporting misconduct
Contesting a lawyer’s account
Do the fees in an account your lawyer sent you seem out of line? Start by trying to talk to your lawyer about it. Ask him or her for details and try to come to an understanding. If that is not possible, you can ask for help from the Barreau du Quebec’s conciliation service.
Are you having trouble finding out how the money you gave a lawyer was used? You can ask the Office of the Syndic for help.
The conciliation service
The conciliation service is provided free of charge by lawyers at the Barreau du Quebec’s Office of the Syndic. They act as conciliators to help you find a solution.
To use the conciliation service, you must follow simple but very important rules. This is how it works:
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Apply for conciliation by the deadline
You have 45 days after receiving the most recent account (including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) to apply for conciliation. You must act quickly, otherwise you will not have access to this service.
If the lawyer paid the account out of the funds he or she is holding in trust (the amount of an advance you may have given the lawyer, for example), the 45-day period begins to run as of the moment you become aware of the payment.
If 45 days have passed, your application is inadmissible.
Once the 45-day period has elapsed, the lawyer can sue you in court for the payment of his or her invoice. If that happens, you should carefully read the documents you receive and act quickly.
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File an application for conciliation with the Office of the Syndic
To file an application for conciliation with the Office of the Syndic, you must provide the following information in writing:
- the reasons you are contesting lawyer’s account(s)
- the lawyer’s name and contact information
- your name and contact information (mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address)
You must attach a copy of the account(s) you are contesting to your application.
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Send in your application for conciliation
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You must send your application to the Office of the Syndic by one of the following means:
E-mail: syndic@barreau.qc.ca
Fax: 514 954-3478
Regular mail:
Office of the Syndic
445 Saint-Laurent Blvd.
5th Floor
Montreal Quebec H2Y 3T8
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Obtain a case file number
When the Office of the Syndic receives your application, it sends you an acknowledgement of receipt indicating your case file number. You must use that number in correspondence about your case. If you do not receive it within ten business days, get in touch with us using the contact information given above.
What happens next?
A conciliator takes over your file and notifies the lawyer in question that you have applied for conciliation.
Note that the comments, explanations and other information or documents you submit as part of the conciliation process may be sent to the lawyer in question for analysis, response or comments.
The conciliator will ask the lawyer covered by your application for an explanation and will help the parties try to find a solution acceptable to both of them.
Throughout the conciliation, the conciliator will try to help the parties reach an agreement about the amount to be paid for the professional services provided. However, each party is free to sign or refuse to sign such an agreement.
Arbitration of the contested account(s)
If an agreement is impossible despite help from the Barreau du Quebec’s conciliation service, the Barreau offers another option: arbitration. In that case, an arbitration council decides the matter and renders an award concerning the contested account(s). The arbitration council’s award decision is final and the parties must abide by it.
Important note
If you want to take advantage of the arbitration procedure, you must file your application within 30 days of the date the conciliation report is sent to the parties. The deadline to apply for arbitration will be indicated in the conciliation report sent to the parties.