Law Times

TERANET VICTORIES LEGAL AID RUMOURS LAO counters talk of new restrictions Follow LAW TIMES on www.twitter.com/lawtimes $4.00 • Vol. 24, No. 3 P4 Company scores business, legal wins FOCUS ON P7 L aw TIMes Privacy Law CO V E R I N G O N TA R I O ' S L E G A L S C E N E • W W W. L AW T I M E S N E W S . CO M ntitled-4 1 P9 January 21, 2013 Class action targets law firm's fees 12-03-20 10:44 A Client claims she kept small portion of $150,000 settlement BY YAMRI TADDESE Law Times A Toronto personal injury lawyer is facing a class action spearheaded by a former client who won $150,000 as a settlement award but alleges she ended up keeping only $8,000 of it. Cassie Hodge of Brooklin, Ont., is taking Gary Neinstein and his firm, Neinstein & Associates LLP, to court with a claim that the lawyer unlawfully included costs in a contingency agreement and charged her fees she didn't understand. She's seeking $1 million in punitive damages. None of the allegations have been proven in court and Neinstein has yet to file a statement of defence. His lawyer, however, argues the matter is an inappropriate one for a class action. According to her notice of application, Hodge, a mother of two, was in a car accident in 2002 that left her with serious physical injuries. She retained Neinstein as a lawyer and signed an agreement that said she'd pay him 25 per cent of the damages recovered in addition to partial indemnity costs and disbursements. But she didn't receive a copy of the agreement, her counsel Peter Waldmann says. Nearly three years ago, Hodge won a $150,000 settlement award that included costs. Neinstein told Hodge that $100,000 of the amount was for the claim and the rest would go to "party and party costs" and disbursements, according to Hodge's pleading. "I received no explanations as to how the breakdown of $150,000 into $100,000 for the claim and $50,000 was arrived at," she wrote in her affidavit. 'We have a law in force which says that contingency agreements can't include costs,' says Peter Waldmann, counsel for the plaintiff. "I was not consulted about it and the minutes of settlement is silent on it." In the end, Hodge said she paid Neinstein & Associates $60,000 in fees. That amount included "legal fees" and Photo: Laura Pedersen "party and party costs." She also paid the firm nearly $50,000 in disbursements, according to the claim. At the same time, she says she paid about $32,000 for a third-party litigation See Case, page 5 'Sheer desperation' prompts law grad's ad for job A Law firms are looking for more experienced and specialized lawyers, says John Ohnjec of Robert Half Legal. law graduate who finished at the top of her class has found the job market for young lawyers so difficult that she resorted to posting an ad in Ontario Reports seeking employment. "I was speaking with some lawyers that I used to work for and they were saying that the market is just terrible right now," says the graduate, who requested to remain anonymous given her concern that "the reaction to the ad could either be negative or positive." "There are more senior associates or even junior partners that are willing to take on roles for more junior, mid-level associates, so it's making it more difficult for people with no experience or just articling experience to find a job," she says. In fact, a new survey suggests she may not be alone. The quest for an entry-level career has become more difficult for law graduates as law firms are seeking employees with more talent and experience, the report notes. According to the January report by Robert Half Legal, there has been an increase in top law firms seeking employees with five years of experience or more while prospects for entry-level lawyers remain the same. "What firms are generally asking for right now are individuals that are quite specialized and part of that specialization is having a certain number of years of experience," says John Ohnjec, division director for Robert Half Legal. "Firms see these people as very sought after because they can deliver both an experienced type of knowledge in that area plus, perhaps as a bonus, bring in clients or be able to develop more clients." Based on a survey of 150 Canadian lawyers, about 31 per cent of participants believed that the greatest number of job opportunities in 2013 will be in the corporate and business sector while 29 per cent suggested there will be future prospects in litigation. PM #40762529 BY BREANNE NICHOlSON For Law Times See Jobs, page 5 Recruiting? Post your position on Great rates. Great reach. Great results. Contact Sandy Shutt at sandra.shutt@thomsonreuters.com for details. JobsInLaw 1-8 pg 5X.indd 1 2/15/11 4:12:27 PM

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