Negotiation
Talk to Your Lawyer
The most affordable way to dispute a lawyer's bill is to discuss with your lawyer how they arrived at the number and explain if you think you were over-billed.
Assessment/Taxation
Disputing a Lawyer's Bill
In Saskatchewan, there are a few ways to dispute a lawyer’s bill with two main ways being outlined in The Legal Profession Act, 1990, SS 1990-91, c L-10.1..
Court of King's Bench
Assessment/Taxation
The primary way to dispute a lawyer’s bill/invoice is to apply for “taxation” before the Registrar of the Court of the King’s Bench. The application will be referred to the Court closest to where the lawyer practices. If a person has been invoiced and wants to dispute the bill they must, generally, apply within 30 days of the invoice being received. The Court may also assess a lawyer’s bill within 30 days of it being paid. If the individual can establish that it is in the interest of justice to do so, then an assessment may be accepted outside of the 30-day window.
Provincial Court
The Small Claims Act
The final way to dispute a lawyer’s bill is through the Provincial Court under The Small Claims Act, 2016, SS 2016, c S-50.12. Under the small claims route claims must, generally, be filed within 2 years of them becoming discoverable and no more than 15 years from them taking place.