Bill 103 won’t help accident victims

Re Law firm fighting bill that would shield consumers, March 27 With a few exceptions, we share many of the concerns that appear to have motivated MPP Mike Colle to introduce Bill 103.

We agree that referral fees had gotten out of hand and we called for modest, reasonable limits on referral fees. We called for restrictions on legal ads to ensure that the public is not misled.

We are heartened that the Law Society, which started reviewing these practices nearly two years ago (not just last month, as the article suggests), recently tightened the rules to address many of these issues, before Bill 103 was introduced.

As we have stressed, strict enforcement of the Law Society rules will go a long way toward ensuring compliance.

However, we take serious issue with a 15-per-cent cap on contingency fees. To put that in perspective, the B.C. government set its cap at 331/3 per cent!

Simply put, many people in Ontario won’t be able to find a lawyer to help them under the proposed bill.

This is not in anyone’s best interest, other than insurance companies who won’t have to worry about victims being able to retain a lawyer to fight for justice.

That part of the bill, as it’s written, is not about helping accident victims. It’s about helping the insurance companies who deny their claims and benefits in increasing numbers every day.

We do agree that transparency is absolutely necessary in contingency-fee agreements, and we are working to develop a standard retainer agreement that will be more accessible and consumer-friendly.

We look forward to working with Colle and any other MPP in helping to reshape our system in a way that will benefit those victims in Ontario who really need our help. Adam Wagman, president, Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, Toronto