Terms and Conditions of Appointment for Domestic Legal Agents

These Terms and Conditions apply to appointments made on or after February 18, 2026. See the Terms and Conditions applicable for appointments made from May 27, 2021 to February 18, 2026, appointments made from May 17, 2016 to May 27, 2021 and appointments made before May 17, 2016.

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Table of Contents

• 1. Mandate of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
• 2. Legal Agent
  • 2.1 Authority to Act as a Legal Agent
  • 2.2 Public Interest
  • 2.3 Status as a Legal Agent
  • 2.4 Conduct of Legal Agent
  • 2.5 Subcontracting Legal Services
• 3. Appointment
  • 3.1 Letter of Appointment
  • 3.2 Date and Tenure of Appointment
  • 3.3 Certifications and Acceptance of Appointment
  • 3.4 Amendments and Waivers
  • 3.5 Priority of Documents
  • 3.6 Compliance with Applicable Laws
  • 3.7 The Attorney General of Canada’s Directive on Civil Litigation Involving Indigenous Peoples
• 4. Professional Responsibilities
  • 4.1 Duty of Loyalty
    • 4.1.1 Duty to Avoid Conflicts of Interest
  • 4.2 Deemed Conflict of Interest
  • 4.3 Obligation to Disclose
    • 4.3.1 Disclosure in Relation to Conflicts of Interest
    • 4.3.2 Disclosure in Relation to Public Sector Obligations
    • 4.3.3 Disclosure in Relation to Third Party Allegations
  • 4.4 Assessment of Conflicts of Interest
  • 4.5 Duty of Commitment
  • 4.6 Duty of Candour
  • 4.7 Duty of Confidentiality
  • 4.8 Advance Waivers
  • 4.9 Political Activity
• 5. Roles and Responsibilities
  • 5.1 Legal Agent Firm Principal Contacts
  • 5.2 Instructing Counsel
  • 5.3 Authorized Counsel and Paralegals
• 6. Security Requirements
  • 6.1 General
  • 6.2 Inspections, Breaches and Compromises
• 7. Reporting
  • 7.1 Specific Reporting Requirements
  • 7.2 Communications with the Department
• 8. Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • 8.1 Indigenous Business Directory
• 9. Official Languages
• 10. Information Management
  • 10.1 Retaining, Archiving and Returning Records
  • 10.2 Parliamentary, Media and Other Inquiries
  • 10.3 Access to Information Requests
• 11. Proactive Disclosure
• 12. Ownership of File Records
• 13. Remuneration and Billing
  • 13.1 Remuneration Arrangement
  • 13.2 Billable Services
  • 13.3 Non-Billable Services
  • 13.4 Internal Printing and Photocopy Costs
  • 13.5 Daily Limit on Billable Hours
  • 13.6 Work Performed by Articling Students and Paralegals
  • 13.7 Disbursements
    • 13.7.1 Third-Party Services
    • 13.7.2 Conditions for Reimbursement
    • 13.7.3 Court Filing Fees
    • 13.7.4 Travel and Living
    • 13.7.5 Travel Time
    • 13.7.6 Transportation
    • 13.7.7 Mileage
    • 13.7.8 Regular Mail and Courier Charges
    • 13.7.9 Non-Billable Expenses
• 14. Submission of Accounts
  • 14.1 Billing Period
  • 14.2 Claiming Fees
  • 14.3 Claiming Disbursements
  • 14.4 Case and Billing Numbers
  • 14.5 Taxes
• 15. Review of Agent Accounts
• 16. Payment
  • 16.1 Thirty Day Payment Period
  • 16.2 Interest on Overdue Accounts
  • 16.3 Overdue Accounts
• 17. Legal Agent Performance
  • 17.1 Performance Assessment
• 18. Terminating the Appointment
• 19. Audits
  • 19.1 Audit of Compliance
  • 19.2 Financial Audits
• 20. Dispute Resolution
• 21. Notice
• 22. Survival
• Annex A: Definitions

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