Lawyer out $44K in dispute over pro bono retainer (Lucas Lung quoted)

To anyone who may have had doubts, a Superior Court judge has issued a clear statement on the difference between pro bono and contingency-fee arrangements in a case that underlines the need for written retainer agreements. In a decision earlier this month, Justice Mario Faieta ruled in favour of a man who took his former lawyer to court after he presented him with numerous invoices for what the client said he thought was pro bono work. The lawyer, Andrew MacDonald of the Barristers Group, will have to pay $43,991.19 to the man plus costs of $1,684.57.