Section 4 lists what is not included. One line there deserves particular attention:
one assessment covers one opposing party and one procedural track.
Section 6 sets out the basis and limits of the assessment: it lays out the courses open to you
and what each one entails; whether to act, and which course to take, is your decision.
Section 7 is the delivery time and when the clock starts. These three are worth reading closely.
CASE ASSESSMENT AGREEMENT
Written Case Assessment — Paralegal Services
1. PARTIES
Licensee:
Yueheng Gao (Steven Gao)
Licensed Paralegal, Law Society of Ontario, Licence No. P21984
Operating as: Nova Stage Paralegal Services
1368 Ouellette Avenue, Suite 402, Windsor, Ontario N8X 1J9, Canada · steven@nova-stage.ca
Client: as identified in the signature block below and in the contact details submitted
with this form.
2. PURPOSE
The Client has engaged the Licensee to prepare one written case assessment of one matter.
This service is not a consultation. It does not include a meeting, a telephone call, or a video call.
The Licensee reviews the materials the Client submits and delivers a written assessment.
3. SCOPE — WHAT IS INCLUDED
One written assessment addressing:
- which forum or tribunal has jurisdiction, which procedure applies, and which form or application starts it;
- what the Client may claim or assert, how the range of amounts is arrived at, and which factors move that
range up or down;
- the positions the opposing party is most likely to take, which of the Client's materials answer them,
and where the record is empty;
- the limitation periods and procedural deadlines that apply, and what must be done by which date;
- the courses of action open to the Client, what each one requires, and what each one turns on;
- where the Client proceeds without representation, the steps that follow.
4. SCOPE — WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED
This Agreement does not include representation of the Client. The Licensee will not file or serve
documents, will not appear before any court or tribunal, and will not correspond or negotiate with the
opposing party or the opposing party's representative.
The assessment is delivered once. Revisions, updates after new facts emerge, and answers to follow-up
questions requiring further analysis are separate services.
One assessment covers one opposing party and one procedural track. Where the Client's
situation involves more than one — for example a claim against a tenant before the Landlord and Tenant
Board together with a contract claim against a property manager in court — each requires its own
assessment under a separate agreement.
5. FEE
| Written case assessment | CAD $600.00 |
Payable in advance. No HST applies to this service.
The fee covers the single written assessment described in section 3. This fee is not credited or applied
against the fees for any other service, including any future representation agreement.
6. BASIS AND LIMITS OF THE ASSESSMENT
The assessment rests on the materials and intake responses the Client supplies. The Licensee has no means
of verifying either. The assessment states the Licensee's view on the information given; it is not a
determination, and it does not bind any court, tribunal, administrative decision-maker, or opposing party.
The assessment sets out the courses of action open to the Client and what each one entails.
Whether to act, and which course to take, remains the Client's decision.
Where the Client later obtains materials or information not before the Licensee at the time of the
assessment, the conclusions may no longer hold.
7. DELIVERY
The written assessment is delivered within three business days of receipt of complete materials.
Where the materials submitted are incomplete, the Licensee will identify what is missing in a single
communication within one business day of receipt. The three business days then run from the date the
missing materials are received.
8. ACCURACY OF INFORMATION
The Client confirms that the information and materials provided are true, complete, and accurate. An
assessment built on an incomplete record can be wrong in ways neither party can see.
Where the Licensee identifies information that appears false or materially incomplete, the Licensee will
bring it to the Client's attention and may decline to continue. Where the assessment is discontinued for
this reason, section 11 applies.
9. ADDITIONAL SERVICES
Representation, filing, appearance before a court or tribunal, correspondence with the opposing party,
and any assessment of a further matter each require a separate agreement.
10. CONFIDENTIALITY
The Licensee will hold all information and materials received from the Client in confidence and will not
disclose them to any third party except with the Client's consent or as required by law or by the Law
Society of Ontario.
11. CANCELLATION AND REFUND
Before the Licensee has begun reviewing the materials: full refund on written request.
After the written assessment has been delivered: no refund.
Where the Licensee declines to complete the assessment under section 8: the fee is refunded in full less
time already spent, billed at CAD $150 per hour in 15-minute increments.
12. COMMUNICATION
All communication under this Agreement is by email only. This service is not conducted by telephone,
video call, or messaging application.
13. REGULATORY INFORMATION
The Licensee is a paralegal licensed by the Law Society of Ontario and provides these
services within the scope of practice authorized for paralegal licensees:
Law Society of Ontario, Osgoode Hall, 130 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2N6
Toll-free: 1-800-668-7380 · lso.ca
The Client may contact the Law Society with any concern or complaint regarding the Licensee's conduct.
This is a paralegal service regulated by the Law Society of Ontario. It is not an immigration service and
does not include immigration advice or representation.
14. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND SIGNATURES
The Client acknowledges having read and understood this Agreement, in particular sections 4, 6, and 7,
and confirms that the scope of the service has been explained.
Signed for the Licensee: Yueheng Gao, Licensed Paralegal, Law Society of Ontario, Licence No. P21984.
A countersigned copy of this Agreement will be emailed to the Client, and the Licensee will retain a copy
of both the Agreement and the sending confirmation.