Lawyers say Bill 103 will hurt accident victims
Diamond & Diamond believes low legal fees will limit client representation
Diamond & Diamond personal injury lawyers say a proposed law to control legal fees will leave “thousands” of accident victims without a lawyer.
A statement posted Monday evening on the firm’s website said that lowering such fees to the level suggested by a recent private member’s bill would mean that lawyers would only be able to represent a “small fraction of claims.”
“This would leave thousands of unrepresented accident victims unable to find a lawyer and forced to rely on OHIP or scarce safety nets to protect them,” the statement said. “It diminishes injuries and has the potential to leave many financially destitute. We believe that those who could be considered not ‘injured enough’ will be left with no legal representation.”
The statement was posted in response to the Star’s most recent story in its ongoing investigation into Ontario’s personal injury lawyers, including Diamond & Diamond.
On Monday, the Star reported that the firm hired Toronto-based lobbyist the CCS Group to persuade politicians to quash the Personal Injury and Accident Victims Protection Act, a bill introduced in mid-March by Liberal MPP Mike Colle.
Aimed at fixing a system Colle calls a “black hole” for accident victims, Bill 103 calls for major restructuring of Ontario’s contingency fee system — “you don’t pay unless we win” — including a dramatic curb on how much lawyers can charge for their services.
The CCS Group’s public filings with the provincial lobbyist registry show the firm is targeting numerous MPPs, including those in Barrie, London, Hamilton and Mississauga, where Diamond & Diamond has offices. Also targeted are the offices of Ontario’s attorney general and minister of finance.
Critics say hiring a lobbyist in an attempt to quash a private member’s bill is an unusual move considering such proposed acts rarely become law. Neither the CCS Group nor Diamond & Diamond has responded to the Star’s requests for comment.
In its Monday statement, Diamond & Diamond made direct reference to the Star’s most recent story, noting that “the latest Toronto Star headline attempts to paint our firm as one fighting against accident victims, which is both patently false and in- sulting to our staff across Ontario.”
The statement said the firm has for years been working with members of the provincial government and advocating on behalf of its thousands of clients. Unlike lawyers in other areas of law that charge by the hour, Diamond & Diamond funds the cost of its litigation for its clients on its own, the statement said.
The Star found that for years many personal injury lawyers working on contingency for accident victims have been “double dipping” — taking more money from their clients than the law allows. As a result, many Ontario residents have been overcharged thousands of dollars and probably do not know it. In simple terms, lawyers working on contingency cannot take a sum of money called “costs” in addition to a percentage of the settlement, according to the Solicitors Act, legislation governing how lawyers behave.
Colle’s proposed private member’s bill calls for contingency fees to be capped at 15 per cent of the settlements awarded to accident victims. The Star’s ongoing investigation has shown that lawyers often take 30 per cent or more of a victim’s settlement.
Calling the proposed bill “well intentioned,” Diamond & Diamond’s statement said it is also “a win for big insurance companies and a loss for access to justice.”
The statement said that cap percentage was “misguided” and lowering contingency fees to the level it suggests “would result in a situation in which personal injury lawyers would only be able to represent a small fraction of claims, namely the most injured. This would leave thousands of unrepresented accident victims unable to find a lawyer and forced to rely on OHIP or scarce safety nets to protect them. It diminishes injuries and has the potential to leave many financially destitute.”
At such a cap, lawyers “would not be able to operate and would switch to hourly billing,” the Diamond & Diamond statement said. Lawyers who bill hourly often require money upfront to take the case.
“If injured individuals were forced to provide costly retainers upfront (often in the range of thousands of dollars), how many would be able to proceed with a claim?” the statement said.
“Are those of lower income brackets less entitled to justice in the face of their immense personal suffering? As a market leader, we have a responsibility to protect accident victims and we will make no apologies about that.”
Colle’s proposed private member’s bill, inspired in part by the Star’s investigation, was tabled a month after Ontario’s legal regulator decided to crack down on referral fees and advertising.
On Feb. 23, the Law Society of Upper Canada voted to cap the fees lawyers take when they refer clients to other lawyers and accepted recommendations to prohibit lawyers from advertising for services they don’t intend to provide.
Late last year, the Star looked at Diamond & Diamond and found that for many years it has been attracting thousands of would-be clients and then referring cases out to other lawyers in return for sometimes hefty referral fees. Diamond & Diamond has told the Star it has a growing number of lawyers working cases at the firm, but would not say how many cases are referred out.