Business Legal Solutions

Emile owns and runs an IT consulting firm, and recently he hired an individual who claimed to be technical expert. However, within two months on the job, it became clear this new hire had grossly exaggerated their technical skills and suitability to engage with clients. Emile decided to terminate this person on a without cause basis. Nonetheless, soon afterwards Emile was notified the now ex-employee filed a Human Rights Tribunal application alleging discrimination on numerous grounds and a demand for $45,000 in compensation.

Emile was naturally upset, so he called the Legal Helpline and explained the situation. His details were then passed to our Claims Team and an employment lawyer from our panel of law firms was assigned.

The employment lawyer successfully built a file and challenged the discrimination allegations during negotiations with the ex-employee’s lawyer. In the end, the Human Rights Tribunal application was dropped, Emile’s firm paid an extra $1,000 in severance above the statutory payout at the time the employee was let go, and he saved over $4,500 in legal fees.

Dan is the owner of a commercial heating, ventilation and air conditioning repair company, with 15 employees spread across the city on various jobs. One day, Dan was notified that he was being charged by the provincial workers occupational health and safety authority for failing to report an on-site injury to them. Dan was shocked as he had no idea that any of his employees were recently hurt on the job.

Dan immediately called the Legal Helpline, where his issue was forwarded to the Claims Team and a defence lawyer was assigned. Based on the charges, the lawyer questioned the employee and foreman identified as to why they did not report the incident. In a nutshell - they were worried they would be fired! The lawyer then defended Dan and his company in dealing with the provincial workers safety authority.

As this was a first time offence, the lawyer was able to negotiate a deal whereby 3 charges were dropped and only one charge was plead guilty too, which carried a small fine. Dan was relieved and thanked the lawyer for getting him out of this situation, plus his policy just saved his company over $8,000 in legal fees.

Alex owns and operates a used car dealership, when she received notice from the provincial auto dealership regulator about customer complaints. The complaints could result in her dealership license being suspended.

Alex was upset, as she ran an honest business and felt it was unfair a couple of customer complaints could result in a license suspension, closing her dealership and laying off staff for a period of time. So she called the Legal Helpline, explained the situation and a lawyer was assigned to respond to the regulator.

The assigned lawyer first demonstrated to the regulator with documentation and training records that Alex’s dealership train staff to adhere to all regulated best practices, standards and code of ethics when they sell a vehicle. The lawyer also handled mediation between the regulator, Alex’s dealership and complaining customers. The end result was Alex’s dealership license was not suspended, the customer complaints were resolved and she saved $50,000 in legal fees.

Tina owns a small fashion design house, which operates out of a building she also owns. One day Tina showed up to her office to find a strip of her fence and driveway were severely damaged by contractors hired by the business next door. Tina was unaware work was being done, and she did not give permission for her business neighbour and their contractor to cross onto her property. When she spoke to the business owner next door, they acknowledged it was unfortunate some damage was done, but there was nothing they or the contractor could do other than ‘patch it up’ when the job was complete.

Tina was upset, as she just had a new fence and driveway installed last year! Plus - it was not a great experience for her clients when they visited. So she called the Legal Helpline and legal counsel was assigned. The lawyer began negotiations with the contractor’s lawyer to ensure repairs would occur and be to the same standard as before.

The assigned lawyer negotiated a settlement of $15,000, which Tina would use to completely redo the entire driveway and fence so it was like new again. Tina thanked her lawyer for taking this annoying issue off her hands, so she could save time and focus on running her shop, while also saving $10,000 in legal fees.

George was visiting a prospective client’s property to discuss a quote and hopefully close some new business for his firm. While there, he had a significant fall and suffered a concussion due to a faulty stair railing on the premises. George was concerned about the settlement process with the client’s insurance company, as he wanted to ensure he would be compensated for out of pocket expenses and the lost time off work.

George called the Legal Helpline and a personal injury lawyer was assigned who would assist in settling a claim with the prospective client’s insurer.

With the assigned lawyer handling this on his behalf, George was able to focus on getting better and managing his business. He received what he believed was a fair settlement and he saved $12,000 in legal fees.

The Canadian Revenue Agency notified Jose’s business, her taxes were to be audited with the goal to collect $5,000 in unpaid taxes.

Dealing with the CRA was not something Jose wanted to take time out of her busy schedule to do. So she called the Legal Helpline, and a tax accountant was assigned to respond to the CRA’s audit request.

The accountant was able to demonstrate to the CRA Jose’s tax filing’s were correct and valid, resulting in the CRA withdrawing their initial assessment. José did not have to pay the CRA an additional $5,000 and she saved $2,000 in accountancy fees as well.

Andrea is the owner of a small architecture and civil engineering firm. A client of hers owed her firm $23,000 for design services rendered and her attempts to collect the money owed, were just met with a ‘the cheque is in the mail’ response.

$23,000 was a significant amount of money for her firm and Andrea was determined to get paid what she was owed. She called the Legal Helpline and a claim was opened. The Claims Analyst sent a demand letter to the delinquent client, requesting full payment or face the prospect of litigation. The client then quickly responded and offered to pay $7,600 immediately and the remaining balance within 30 days. This counter-offer was accepted by Andrea.

Thanks to her legal expense insurance policy, Andrea received the full $23,000 owed to her and she saved $1,000 in legal fees.