ENCINO LAW CORPORATION

Terms of Service 

Effective September 1, 2026, Version 1.0

We're honoured that you chose to work with us. Thank you for placing your trust in Encino Law Corporation (“Encino Law”), we're delighted to have you on board, and we want these Terms of Service to set out clearly how we'll work together.

Encino Law is a law corporation that holds a permit from the Law Society of British Columbia. We're proud to provide legal services on business and corporate matters.

1. How These Terms Work

These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) set out the general terms on which we provide legal services. They apply to every matter we take on for you, now and in the future, so you won't need to sign a new engagement agreement each time you bring us a new project.

Your Proposal. Before we start any matter, we'll send you a proposal (a “Proposal”) describing the specific legal services we'll provide (the “Services”), who we are acting for, our pricing and estimated fees, anticipated disbursements, and, if needed, the amount of any deposit. Each Proposal, together with these Terms, forms our agreement for that matter (an “Engagement”). If a Proposal and these Terms conflict, the Proposal governs for that matter.

Accepting a Proposal. You accept a Proposal, and these Terms, when you confirm your acceptance in writing (including by email or e-signature), pay any deposit requested, or provide instructions for us to proceed, whichever happens first. We aren't required to begin work until any requested deposit is received and our client identification and conflict checks are complete.

Scope. Each Engagement is limited to the Services described in the Proposal. Unless the Proposal says otherwise, we are not advising on other matters. If the scope changes or you ask for additional work, we'll confirm the change and any fee impact in writing before proceeding, or send you a new Proposal.

Completion. An Engagement ends when we have completed the Services and delivered our final invoice, or when it is terminated under Section 11. After that, we have no continuing obligation to advise you about changes in the law, or about future deadlines, filings, or renewals related to that matter, unless we agree otherwise in writing. Unless we are working on another Engagement for you at the time, you will then be a former client of the firm, though our duty of confidentiality to you continues. Accepting one matter does not oblige us to accept future matters.

Changes to these Terms. We may update these Terms from time to time. The version in effect on the date of your Proposal applies to that Engagement, and we'll include or link to the current version with each Proposal. Any other change to an Engagement needs to be agreed in writing. These Terms are governed by the laws of British Columbia and the federal laws of Canada that apply there. If anything ever needs clarification, please don't hesitate to reach out, we're happy to talk it through.

Throughout our work together, you're welcome to share your preferred outcome, and we'll always keep it in mind. That said, legal matters involve many variables beyond our control, so while we bring our full effort and expertise to every matter, we can't guarantee a particular result. We will, however, walk you through the benefits and risks we identify along the way, so you can make informed decisions.

2. Client Identification and Verification

In accordance with the rules of the Law Society of British Columbia, lawyers are required to follow client identification and verification procedures when retained to provide legal services. Before we begin work on your behalf, we will require information from you concerning your identity, business records, or authority to act. We may ask you to confirm or update this information when you bring us a new matter.

3. Joint Representation (if applicable)

We're only able to act jointly for clients whose interests aren't in conflict, and we'll only propose a joint retainer where we don't believe yours are. That said, interests can shift over time, so before we begin a joint retainer, the Law Society of British Columbia requires us to walk you through a few things and get your consent on how we'd handle it if a conflict were ever to arise.

Here's what joint representation means in practice:

(a) we are acting jointly for each of you (and, where applicable, for the company or partnership being formed), and owe each of you the same duty of loyalty, so we'll always act in both of your best interests and won't favour one of you over another;

(b) we can't treat anything you share with us as confidential from one another, relevant information from one of you will be shared with the other for as long as the joint retainer continues;

(c) if we ever receive information that puts us in a conflict, or a real disagreement comes up between you, we'll need to pause and work through it before continuing;

(d) if we're representing one of you separately on an unrelated matter and that creates a conflict here, we may need to step back from this matter unless we get consent to share the relevant information;

(e) if a disagreement arises and it gets resolved, we're happy to keep representing both of you as before; and

(f) if it can't be resolved, we'll need to stop acting for both of you jointly on this matter.

Joint representation has real advantages, mainly cost savings and consistency, but it comes with the trade-offs above. Because of that, we ask that each of you read this section carefully and consent to it before we get started, we'd also recommend each of you get independent legal advice, just so you're comfortable with what joint representation means for you.

By accepting the Proposal for a joint retainer, each of you confirms you understand and agree to proceed on this basis.

4. Working Together

To help us do our best work for you, please share anything relevant to your matter as early as possible, and keep us posted as things change.

We'll stay in touch by email and online communication portals. Please tell us right away if your contact information ever changes. Once you accept a Proposal, we'll send over a list of the documents we need, along with a secure link for uploading them.

5. Confidentiality & Cloud-Based Storage

Our emails and communications may contain confidential or privileged information, so forwarding or copying others on our correspondence could waive that privilege. We may also store your file using secure cloud-based systems (including Microsoft 365/SharePoint), which may be hosted outside Canada and subject to foreign disclosure laws. We take reasonable steps to protect your information, though we cannot guarantee against every possible breach.

6. Electronic Transcription and/or Recording of Meetings

You consent to Encino Law's use of internet-based audio, video, and transcription applications to record meetings for internal purposes, including quality assurance and accurate record-keeping. Recordings will be stored in your file and will not be shared outside the firm without your prior written consent, except as required by law or our professional obligations. You may opt out of recordings at any time by written notice to us; if you do, we will confirm in writing and ensure no further recordings are made. Recordings are for internal use only and do not replace formal written communications or legal advice.

7. Conflicts of Interest

Encino Law represents, and may in the future represent, clients across a diverse range of industries and businesses, including the industry in which you operate. Before accepting an engagement, we conduct an internal conflict check to identify any potential conflicting interest with existing or former clients. We generally do not consider ourselves to have a conflicting interest merely because we represent another client who is a business competitor, customer, or supplier of yours. If our conflict check identifies an existing conflicting interest, we may be unable to accept the engagement, or may only be able to accept it upon obtaining consent from you and the other affected client. If a conflicting interest arises after we have begun providing services, we may be unable to continue and will notify all affected clients, withdrawing in a manner consistent with applicable professional rules. We will help you retain other counsel and facilitate a smooth transfer of appropriate file materials, subject to payment of our accounts.

We run a conflict check before each new Engagement and will confirm in your Proposal that no conflicting interest has been identified. Unless you ask us to search against particular persons or entities, our conflict search will not identify issues arising from our representation of them.

8. Confidentiality Between Clients

We maintain the confidentiality of all information provided by our clients. Accordingly, our representation of you does not require us to disclose to you any confidential information of other clients, and we will not undertake representation of another client if doing so would require us to disclose your confidential information.

9. Use of Artificial Intelligence

You agree not to input, upload, share, or otherwise disclose any documents, communications, drafts, advice, or other work product prepared by Encino Law into any third-party artificial intelligence or generative AI platform or tool, for summarization, analysis, or any other purpose. Our work product may contain confidential or privileged information, and disclosing it to such platforms may waive privilege, compromise confidentiality, or breach applicable professional obligations.

10. Fees & Payment Schedule

We like to keep fees simple and transparent. They reflect the reasonable value of the work involved, based on time, complexity, and results. The fee arrangement for each matter (for example, a flat fee, hourly rates, or a combination) will be set out in your Proposal.

All fees are subject to applicable taxes (currently GST 5% + BC PST 7% = 12%), added to each invoice. Disbursements (e.g., courier, filing, or government fees) are billed separately from legal fees. Payment can be made by e-transfer or by credit card.

Estimates. Any fee estimate in a Proposal is our good-faith assessment based on the information available at the time. It is not a cap or a fixed price unless the Proposal expressly says it is a flat fee. If it looks like fees will exceed the estimate, we'll let you know as soon as reasonably possible, before incurring significant additional fees, so we can discuss options.

Deposits. If your Proposal calls for a deposit, we'll hold it in our trust account in accordance with the rules of the Law Society of British Columbia. You authorize us to apply the deposit to our invoices once they have been delivered to you. We may ask you to top up the deposit as the matter progresses, and any unused balance will be refunded to you at the end of the Engagement.

Fees are not conditional on outcome, and amounts paid for completed work are non-refundable. Please note invoices are due upon receipt; accounts unpaid after 10 days will accrue interest.

One-Time File Opening Fee. The first time you work with us, we charge a one-time file opening fee of $150 (plus applicable taxes). It covers the administrative work of bringing you on as a client, including client identification and verification, conflict checks, and setting up your secure client file and portal. The fee will be shown in your first Proposal and is due as soon as we open your file and begin work; we'll send you an invoice for it at that time. You won't be charged it again for future matters.

11. Termination of Legal Services

You may terminate our representation at any time, with or without cause, by notifying us in writing. You will be responsible for payment of all fees, expenses, and disbursements for work performed to the date of termination and in connection with any orderly transition of the matter. If our accounts are not paid in full at termination, we reserve the right to assert a solicitor's lien over the contents of your file, subject to applicable rules of professional conduct.

Subject to our obligations to maintain proper standards of professional conduct, we reserve the right to terminate our services to you for good reason, including but not limited to:

(a) if you fail to cooperate with us in any reasonable request;

(b) if there is a serious loss of confidence between you and us;

(c) if our continuing to act would be unethical or impractical;

(d) if our fees or deposit have not been paid;

(e) if you fail to pay our invoices when rendered; or

(f) a conflict of interest arises.

If, upon termination or completion of an Engagement, you wish to have any documentation returned to you, please advise us. Otherwise, documentation you have provided and work product completed for you will be handled in accordance with our records retention policies and practices.

12. Privacy and Commercial Electronic Messages

In the course of acting for you, you may provide us with personal information that is subject to applicable privacy protection laws. We will collect, use, or disclose on your behalf that personal information solely for the purpose of providing services to you.

From time to time, and where permitted by law, we may send you newsletters, legal updates, seminar invitations, and other commercial electronic messages to keep you informed of legal developments. Please let us know in writing if you'd prefer not to receive these communications.

13. Getting Started

Once again, thank you for the opportunity to work with you.  We're always happy to answer any questions about our services, fees, or billing along the way, so please don't hesitate to ask. To get started on a new matter, simply accept your Proposal and pay any deposit it calls for.

Mariela Gutierrez
Principal Lawyer & Founder
Encino Law Corporation