Our client first contacted us in February 2025 after being charged $312,326.77 in legal fees for their family law matter. By that stage, they had already paid $250,628.34 toward the bill.
We didn’t hear from the client again until January 2026, when they decided they wanted to move forward with challenging the fees. However, because their last invoice had been issued in February 2025, the usual 12-month deadline to apply for a costs assessment had already passed.
After reviewing the law firm’s costs disclosures and agreements, we identified several serious issues. The firm had failed to properly disclose counsel’s fees and had also not provided an updated and reasonable costs agreement when required. These breaches meant their costs documents were likely invalid.
Because the time limit had expired, our advice was to try negotiating with the lawyer first, which our client agreed to. We prepared a detailed Calderbank offer, proposing to settle the matter for $250,000 in full and final settlement. Since our client had already paid $250,628.34, this would have required the law firm to refund $628.34.
The law firm did not accept this offer but made a counter-proposal. They agreed to apply the remaining $4,094 held in trust toward the bill and waive the outstanding balance of $61,698.43.
Our client accepted the offer, resulting in an overall 20% reduction in legal fees.
Our client was ecstatic with the outcome and relieved to bring the matter to a close.