Saskatchewan Court Disallows Legal Fees Charged Under Contingency Fee Retainer Agreements – First Peoples Law LLP
July 10, 2025
A recent decision from Saskatchewan provides guidance to both law firms and their clients regarding legal fee arrangements, especially where those arrangements include fees calculated as a proportion of any final settlement or court award (“contingency fees”).1
In One Arrow First Nation v. Maurice LawandBeardy’s & Okemasis Cree Nation v. Ron S. Maurice and Maurice Law, the court applied the legal rules in Saskatchewan and confirmed the basic requirement that legal fee arrangements must be fair and reasonable. The decision also confirms that where legal fees are challenged, it is up to lawyers to prove that their fee arrangements meet this standard.
