Law Times

Law Times • January 21, 2013 Page 5 NEWS Case inappropriate for class action: defence Continued from page 1 loan after borrowing $19,500 at an interest rate of 26 per cent in addition to other costs. "The listed disbursements included $4,008.27 in photocopies, $2,791.2 in laser copies, and $1,280.7 for scanned documents, being a total for copies of $8,080.17," her application states.   The disbursements also included "interest recovery charges," Waldmann tells Law Times. It's unclear what this fee means as lawyers can only charge interest once they've rendered a bill, he says. For the purpose of her lawsuit, Hodge was able to obtain an unsigned copy of the retainer Jobs scarce for grads Continued from page 1 But for junior lawyers, the industry continues to show little improvement with few jobs available. "We are hoping and I know they are hoping that it will change soon enough," says Ohnjec, who notes that despite the disappointing market, there has been an improvement in job openings for junior lawyers since 2009 and 2010. "We're not quite at the point where there is a lot of hiring for junior associates but equally we're not at the point where two or three years ago the doors were almost virtually shut." In her ad in Ontario Reports, the graduate markets herself as a highly qualified entry-level employee looking for a full-time position. The ad, which asks, "Do you need a junior?" notes the graduate is a qualified second-generation lawyer who has worked in business law. After articling at a major downtown firm, her search for a position has been a difficult one. According to the student's mother, finding a job has been difficult for the graduate despite the fact she was in the top three per cent of her graduating class. Although her specialty is corporate law, an area the survey predicted would spur the most opportunities, the graduate has been searching for a full-time position since May 2012. According to the graduate, it was "sheer desperation" that prompted the advertisement. "Everyone that I talk to and even the people that respond to the ad that I put out respond by saying, 'The market is terrible right now. I understand why you did this.'" The job seeker says her friends who have articled at big downtown Toronto law firms are in a similar predicament. "I don't know of a single person who has found a job yet." The idea to place an advertisement initially came from the graduate's mother who took a similar approach 30 years ago when searching for a legal career. "I was pretty skeptical and that's also why my name is not on it," says the graduate. The phone number on the ad is for the mothers office. Despite the graduate's bold advertisement, recruitment officers say they're skeptical about hiring new employees when they have parents involved in the process. "I think it goes without saying that these people are adults and they should be doing their own work around finding a job in this stage of their careers," says Deborah Dalfen, director of legal recruitment and student development at Torys LLP. But many top firms hire their summer and articling students as permanent staff after finishing their placements, a fact that limits the pool of entry-level positions. "We typically hire back most of our articling students and that fills all of our needs," says Dalfen, who suggests Torys has one of the highest hire-back rates for articling students. "Until people start to depart and we recognize specific needs and specific practice areas do we then pick up lateral hires who have more experience in those areas." But for Mya Bulwa, assistant dean for students at Osgoode Hall Law School, one of the best ways students can make themselves marketable for future employers is to "network, network, network." "Some students think that networking is cold calling and saying, 'Do you have any jobs?' and that's not what we mean at all," says Bulwa. "Networking is building relationships and contacts with people who will be in your corner, who will look out for opportunities for you, and who will talk to their friends and their colleagues and will keep you in mind when they hear of opportunities." According to Bulwa, Osgoode encourages students from Day 1 to establish a network of "individuals that they can connect with" and be on their "career team." "I think it's just a question of being diligent and bringing more of a networking approach to your job search," says Ari Blicker, director of student and associate programs at Aird & Berlis LLP. Blicker notes he routinely sees young lawyers "applying broadly without really networking, so they often come up empty." "The key is to stop applying and start networking," he adds. Ohnjec also believes graduates need to be flexible in the current environment by looking at other positions that may be available at firms besides jobs as lawyers. LT agreement, according to Waldmann. When Hodge requested backup invoices and receipts for the disbursements Neinstein allegedly claimed, she was asked to pay a $500 retainer in advance to prepare the materials, Waldmann wrote in the notice of application. The agreement Hodge signed "does not contain a statement that the client and the solicitor have discussed options for retaining the solicitor other than by way of contingency-fee agreement, including retaining the solicitor by way of an hourly rate retainer," the notice of application states. This is contrary to s. 2(3)(i) of the regulation, Hodge alleges. Including costs in a contingency-fee agreement without approval of the Superior Court is illegal, Waldmann claims. "We have a law in force which says that contingency agreements can't include costs," he says. "A lawyer can't take any part of the costs unless a judge approves it and if you look at s. 28 [of the Solicitors Act], a judge is only to approve it if there are extraordinary circumstances." The agreement Hodge signed also doesn't contain a statement that lets the client know of her right to ask the Superior Court of Justice to review and approve the lawyer's bill, Waldmann wrote in the notice of application. Ensuring clients are aware of the meaning of the fees a lawyer asks them to pay is at the heart of the regulation, says Waldmann. "Most people don't understand the concept of costs. So when they're signing an agreement, they're told fees are going to be 25 per cent of whatever the recovery is plus the costs. They don't necessarily appreciate what the cost part means." Although there are no statistics showing how often these situations occur, "if this is a general practice — and it appears to be — there are possibly thousands" of litigants who have unlawfully paid costs to their lawyers, Waldmann charges. For its part, Neinstein & Associates is preparing its response, says counsel Chris Paliare of Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP. "We've told [Waldmann] from the very outset, before the court, that this is a class proceeding without merit." The complainants may pursue other remedies for their claims, but they don't include a class action, says Paliare. "That's the position we've had since the outset. That's not to say that [Waldmann's] client or clients, if they have more, don't have an alternative remedy." Waldmann says two other plaintiffs, also former clients of Neinstein's, are involved in the case. There were no provisions for contingency fees prior to 2004, according to Waldmann, who notes they had been considered illegal up until then. But there were a few cases before 2004 that found otherwise and those rulings led to their legalization, he adds. "When they were legalized, there were provisions put into the Solicitors Act, s. 28, and regulations were passed which concerned being fair to the public. The purpose of the statute is that the client understands and is treated fairly." In December, meanwhile, a Superior Court judge awarded $7,000 in costs to Neinstein & Associates after Hodge brought a motion for a third-party funding agreement and abandoned it after the funder withdrew its commitment to finance her litigation. LT COMING TO www.canadianlawyermag.com/ Canadian-Lawyer-TV/InHouse-videos.html Canada's leading CLOs explore their challenges for the year ahead Alaine Grand, AstraZeneca January 28 Mirko Bibic, BCE February 18 Daniel Marion, Anna Fung, Thales Canada Inc. February 4 TimberWest Forest Corp. February 25 Geoff Creighton, Jane Fedoretz, IGM Financial Inc. February 11 VIEW 2013 www.lawtimesnews.com BlakesView_LT_Jan21_13.indd 1 CEDA International March 4 BROUGHT TO YOU BY 13-01-18 10:49 AM

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