ARBITRATION, MEDIATION & PARENTING COORDINATION

The general rate for arbitration, mediation and mediation-arbitration services, and most other services provided by John-Paul Boyd Arbitration Chambers, is $450 per hour, plus GST, for all work performed. This includes time spent at meetings and hearings, on telephone calls and videoconferences, reading and writing correspondence, reviewing documents, as well as writing memoranda, agreements and awards. Because of arbitration’s speed and expedited processes, it will almost always be cheaper to resolve a dispute through arbitration than litigation, even when you include the arbitrator’s fees. The same is true of mediation when a settlement is reached.

The rate for standard parenting coordination services provided by John-Paul Boyd Arbitration Chambers is $350 per hour, plus GST, for all work performed, including conferences, hearings, telephone calls, videoconferences, correspondence, reviewing documents, and writing memoranda, agreements and awards. The rate for expedited parenting coordination services is $450 per hour.

Clients are also responsible for the expenses incurred by John-Paul Boyd Arbitration Chambers in connection with services provided. Typical expenses, called disbursements, include costs such as experts’ fees, boardroom booking fees, equipment rentals and photocopying when commercial printing services are used. When John-Paul is required to travel outside Calgary, we charge a flat per diem rate of $500; clients are not otherwise responsible for John-Paul’s travel costs or travel time, and will not be asked to pay for common disbursements such as accommodation, airfare or mileage.

In many but not all cases, the parties to an arbitration, mediation, mediation-arbitration or parenting coordination process agree to split the fees and disbursements charged by John-Paul Boyd Arbitration Chambers, either equally or in proportion to their incomes.

INDEPENDENT LEGAL ADVICE SERVICES

The general rate for independent legal advice is $450 per hour, plus GST (and PST in British Columbia), for all work performed by John-Paul. This includes time spent at meetings and hearings, on telephone calls and videoconferences, reading and writing correspondence, reviewing documents, as as well as writing memoranda and opinions.

Note that practice standards vary between Alberta and British Columbia. In British Columbia, independent legal advice on family law agreements, including cohabitation, marriage and separation agreements, will generally require only one to two hours of John-Paul’s time. In Alberta, independent legal advice on family law agreements involves a more complete review of financial and other information, and will generally require much more of John-Paul’s time.

Independent legal advice on participation agreements, agreements that are usually required for arbitration, mediation, collaborative negotiation and parenting coordination processes, will generally require less than one hour of John-Paul’s time.

Expert services

The general rate for expert services provided by John-Paul Boyd Arbitration Chambers is $450 per hour, plus GST (and PST in British Columbia), for all work performed by John-Paul, although flat rates may be arranged. This includes attending meetings, telephone calls and videoconferences, attending court, reading and writing correspondence, reviewing documents, as well as writing memoranda and opinions.

Clients are also responsible for any expenses incurred by John-Paul Boyd Arbitration Chambers to provide expert services. When John-Paul is required to travel outside Calgary, we charge a flat per diem rate of $500; clients are not otherwise responsible for John-Paul’s travel costs or travel time, and will not be asked to pay for common disbursements such as accommodation, airfare or mileage.

CHILDREN’S LEGAL SERVICES

Our general rate for preparing views of the child reports, drafting children’s affidavits and providing legal advice to children is $400 per hour, plus GST (and PST in British Columbia), although flat rates may be arranged.

In most circumstances, clients are also responsible for any expenses incurred by John-Paul Boyd Arbitration Chambers to interview children, including accommodation where overnight travel outside of Calgary is required, boardroom booking fees, equipment rentals and photocopying when commercial printing services are used. When John-Paul is required to travel outside Calgary, we charge a flat per diem rate of $500; clients are not otherwise responsible for John-Paul’s travel costs or travel time, and will not be asked to pay for common disbursements such as accommodation, airfare or mileage.