Referral Fees
Convocation approved amendments to the
Rules of Professional Conduct (“
Rules”), the
Paralegal Rules of Conduct (“
Paralegal Rules”), and
By-Law 9 with respect to referral fees on April 27, 2017. These amendments included:
The following transparency measures were also approved:
The above requirements and transparency measures do not apply to enforceable referral agreements entered into before or on April 27, 2017.
On February 28, 2019, further amendments were made to the Rules, Paralegal Rules, and By-Law 7 to prohibit the acceptance or payment of referral fees to lawyers or paralegals who provide legal services through civil society organizations (CSOs), such as charities or not-for-profit corporations.
For more information about the referral fee requirements, lawyers and paralegals should review Rules 3.6-6.0 to 3.6-6.7 of the Rules, and Rules 5.01(14) to (20) of the Paralegal Rules, respectively.
Supports and Resources
For questions relating to a lawyer or paralegal’s obligations regarding the acceptance or payment of referral fees please contact the Law Society’s Practice Management Helpline.
The Law Society has developed the following resources for lawyers and paralegals:
See also: