Lawyers have different ways of talking about it: "access to justice" or "work/life balance". But they have been talking about it: the Canadian legal system is widely seen as too expensive and too complicated, and lawyers and law firms are seen as too obsessed with collecting fees that most people cannot afford.

We believe that the Canadian legal systen is actually in good shape, though not perfect, and we believe that justice is an essential tool of our society and a fundamental human right.

Traditionally, talk of "rights" is associated with criminal and humans rights cases. People do not usually talk about the rules that govern our everyday interactions as our rights. But without mechanisms to hold others to their obligations and hold ourselves to our own obligations (contract law) and to protect ourselves against injuries that are the fault of others (tort law), our social and economic systems would not function as smoothly as they do. And while not perfect, the Canadian business and social environment does give us one of the world's very best standards of living.

This is the rosy part of the picture. The darker side is that a great many people simply do not think of seeing a lawyer or just cannot afford the rates being charged by many lawyers and law firms, and wind up taking unneccessary risks with their rights.

Therefore, we are committed to serving our clients by making our services as affordable as possible so that individuals and businesses will seek our advice often and early so that they can protect their rights, and so that when a problem does arise, our clients will be able to obtain a just result.

Canadian legal practice is founded on honourable traditions, and while these traditions are alive and well, the current business environment has "put the squeeze" on them. Lawyers are often very busy people often managing some part of the most difficult aspect or time of their clients' lives or are the bearers of bad news. Lawyers also know that their clients want to keep costs down. All this pressure, and the resulting "clipped" relationship, leaves some people frustrated with the experience.

Our goal is to serve you in the best traditions of candour, fairness and transparency that are at the heart of a healthy solicitor-client relationship. We will explain the processes and your results so that even if your experience with us is during a very difficult time, we hope that you will feel that you were well served. Judges love saying that "It is important not only that justice be done, but that it be seen to be done".

We promise to implement a "sustainable" business model: just like you cannot have a farming industry that does not take care of the soil, we cannot have a legal industry that does not take care of its social responsibilities. This means making services available to the people who need them, and serving them so that not only have they been taken care of, but they feel like they have been taken care of. Please see our section on information for clients for more information on how we will do this.

It is very important to note that our position on social responsibility is not your position on social responsibility. You may be completely indifferent as to the role of law in society, and only care about how well we look after you. This is fine: a lawyer works for and represents the interests of his or her clients, and that means that we must do the best job that we possibly can based on your instructions.

While we think that it is important to let potential clients know our position on the proper role for a legal system, our approach to working for you is very traditional. For more information on the lawyer/client relationship, see our articles page.

However, when advising or representing you, expect that unless you request otherwise, we will ordinarily: