About

Fee Docket is an independent information site about what legal help costs in Canada. It explains how lawyers and licensed paralegals charge, what drives a legal bill, how to estimate a matter with the arithmetic shown, and what to do when a bill looks wrong. It is written for individuals and small business owners who are about to hire a lawyer, have received an estimate or invoice they want to understand, or are deciding whether to sue, settle or represent themselves.

The guides cover fee arrangements, retainers, contingency fees, sales tax on legal services, costs awards, small claims limits, legal aid and low-cost options, bill assessment and law society complaints, with Quebec differences where the rules diverge. They do not cover the details of family law, wills and estates, immigration, debt or bankruptcy procedures, and they do not rank, recommend or review individual lawyers or firms.

All amounts in worked examples are illustrative. Rules are described as they stand in October 2026, with the official body to check named in each guide. Nothing on this site is legal advice; for advice on your own situation, speak to a lawyer, a licensed paralegal where permitted, a legal clinic or your provincial law society's referral service.

How this site is made

Fee Docket is an independent information project. Guides are drafted with the help of AI writing tools and checked against official and primary sources before publication; see our Editorial Policy. We are not affiliated with any provider mentioned on the site and do not sell products or services.