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Legal Line® provides Free legal information to Canadians through its website, telephone and fax-on-demand systems.
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Ontario|Criminal LawTrial Process: Defending a Charge 754 Finding and paying for a Lawyer
- Hiring a lawyer
Although you are not required to hire a lawyer to defend yourself against a criminal charge, a lawyer will help you to better prepare your defence. Certainly for all serious and technical offences, you will not be able to defend yourself properly without a lawyer. It is best to contact a lawyer as soon as possible after being arrested. If you do not know a criminal lawyer, you can find one on the Legal Line Guide or website, at a local legal aid clinic, in the Yellow pages, or through the Lawyer Referral Service. You can obtain more information about finding and paying for a lawyer in the Lawyers and Legal Assistance section of Legal Line .
- Lawyers' fees
There are a few different ways that lawyers can bill you for their services. They may charge you one flat rate for your case, or a fee for each time they appear in court for you, or an hourly rate. The amount they charge you will depend on how experienced they are, and on how complicated your case is. If you cannot afford a lawyer, you can apply for legal aid which will cover the costs of the lawyer's work. You can call the legal aid clinic in your area for more information.
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