All information that is provided to our office either by phone, fax, email, mail, etc. is all kept strictly confidential and is never released to any person without your permission. Before we schedule the initial consultation, we request your full legal name and the full legal name of the other party so that we can run a Conflict Check within our firm to ensure there is no conflict of interest if one of our lawyers meets with you. You can be sure that your information is kept safe.

Hourly rates are calculated based on 6-minute intervals and every 6-minute interval is 0.1 of the applicable hourly rate. Every time we work on your matter, time is recorded and rounded down to the closest interval, with 0.1 being the minimum.

For example: You call your lawyer and have a 30-minute telephone call. Your lawyer charges $350 per hour. This will then be calculated as: 0.5 x $350 = $175.

Remember that the minimum interval charged is 0.1, so if you email your lawyer and it takes 3 minutes to read and respond to your email, the time recorded will still be 0.1. This is why it is important to not treat emails like text messaging.  There will be some limited circumstances when we will charge you a flat rate instead of an hourly rate. Our flat rates are typically reserved for an uncontested divorce, or for reviewing a cohabitation agreement with you, whereas all other matters will usually be charged to you at our hourly rates.

Nancy Chen, Lawyer – $415 per hour
Jennifer Lin, Lawyer – $415 per hour
Rena Chen, Lawyer – $375 per hour
Rachel Hermary, Designated Paralegal – $150 per hour
Carmen Hu, Legal Assistant - $100 per hour

All of our legal fees are subject to both GST (5%) and PST (7%) according to the Law Society of British Columbia standards.

After the initial consultation is completed and if you are retaining our firm to act on your behalf, it is our policy that an initial retainer be paid before we commence work on your file. The retainer amount requested will depend on the complexity and urgency of your situation. The lawyer will discuss the amount of the retainer required during your initial consultation.

The initial retainer funds will be placed in our trust account. We will use this retainer as a source of payment of part, or all of our future account or accounts when rendered (which is usually once a month, when you receive an invoice from our firm).If we apply the retainer against an account, we may require that you replenish the retainer from time to time. We will return to you any unused portion of the retainer on completion of our services, net of any outstanding fees or disbursements. The retainer does not constitute an estimate or a flat fee for completion of services and you will be responsible for payment of our account not covered by a retainer.

We charge $350 plus GST and PST for a one-hour consultation with one of our family law lawyers, totaling $392.00.

Unless specifically requested, our consultations will be conducted by videoconference. You will be asked to fill out an intake sheet prior to the consultation.

During the consultation, the lawyer will ask you additional questions to gain a greater understanding of your situation, then explain to you how the law applies, and will provide you with legal advice regarding your options going forward. The lawyer will also discuss potential fees and time estimates with you, should you choose to retain that lawyer. It is also our policy to advise people not to make a decision right away. We recommend that you take the time to think about the information and advice you receive at the consultation, and even consult with other family lawyers, before deciding your next steps.

In order to retain our firm, we need a signed Retainer Agreement and payment of the retainer fee. We will forward you our Retainer Agreement for your review and signature, along with instructions on how to make the initial retainer fee payment. We will then be in touch with you regarding the next steps and the work or documents we will need from you to proceed with your matter.

For retainers, consultations and for payment of legal fees, we accept Credit Card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), E-transfers, cheques and bank drafts. Please note that credit card charges are subject to a 2% processing fee.

Unlike the more common full representation arrangement where a lawyer acts on your behalf in all aspects of your family law case, unbundled legal services is where a lawyer works on and charges you for only specific tasks that you and the lawyer agree to in advance. For example, you can represent yourself in court and retain one of our lawyers on a limited basis for assist with drafting a court document or to help you prepare for a trial.

The advantage of this arrangement is that it can be significantly less expensive than having a lawyer represent you fully since you can choose the tasks you want assistance with according to your needs and budget.

We are located near Waterfront Station in Downtown Vancouver, within walking distance from both Skytrain lines. There are also multiple paid parkades in the area if you choose to drive to our office. We are located at the corner of West Hastings and Granville Street.