You are "bang on the money". By far, the majority of lawyers require a retainer BEFORE they offer or perform any legal services. Unless a lawyer is operating a "flat fee" for services rendered, when a service has been rendered or performed, funds are withdrawn from their retainer ( trust ) account and placed in their income account. When additional services are required to be performed and the balance in their trust account is low, the lawyer will ask for another retainer before these services are rendered.
If a legal consultation, including a legal opinion is requested, the lawyer will request payment BEFORE the client leaves the office. If the client is one who has established a business relationship with the lawyer, the lawyer will normally send the client a bill which is generally paid.
In those rare instances when a lawyer sends a client a bill which goes unpaid, sometimes the lawyer will assign the bill to a collection agency to collect. If the collection agency is unsuccessful in collecting this outstanding account, the lawyer will simply "write off" the account as a "bad debt" as a cost of operating a law practice.
If legal aid services are performed, Legal Aid Ontario will contact the lawyer to determine from the lawyer the approximate cost of the services to be performed. For example, if the lawyer estimates that $5,000 of legal services will be performed and Legal Aid Ontario agrees with this estimate, then Legal Aid Ontario will issue to the lawyer a certificate for $5,000 which is the lawyer's authority to bill Legal Aid Ontario up to but not exceeding $5,000. Once the services are performed, the client must now reimburse Legal Aid Ontario for these fees.
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