Fees & Disbursements

General Mediation Rates

Deryck’s rate for mediation services is $400.00 per hour, plus GST, for all work performed. This includes time spent on telephone calls, videoconferences, meetings, mediation, reading and writing correspondence, reviewing documents, and drafting agreements.

Retainers — a sum of money provided as security for a lawyer’s future fees — are required for people participating in these processes without lawyers. The amount we will ask for depends on the nature of the dispute resolution process and the number of days the meeting or hearing is expected to take.

Retainers are not usually required for people represented by lawyers, as our participation agreements make the lawyers responsible for paying our fees. (The lawyers then usually charge our fees to their clients as a disbursement.)

In most cases, the parties to a mediation process agree to split the fees and disbursements charged by Deryck, either equally or in proportion to their incomes.

The cost of most mediations range between $3,000.00 and $5,000.00, which represents significant savings compared to litigation where initial retainers range between $7,000.00 and $10,000.00.

Online Mediation

Deryck does not charge any additional fees for online mediation.

Travel

Deryck charges a flat per diem rate of $500.00 when Deryck is required to travel outside Victoria; clients are not otherwise responsible for Deryck’s travel costs or travel time, and will not be asked to pay for disbursements such as accommodation, airfare or mileage.

Disbursements

Clients are responsible for the expenses incurred by Deryck in connection with services provided. Typical expenses, called disbursements, include costs such as experts’ fees, boardroom booking fees, equipment rentals and photocopying when commercial printing services are used.

In most cases, the parties to a mediation process agree to split the fees and disbursements charged by Deryck, either equally or in proportion to their incomes.

Cancellations

When a meeting or mediation is cancelled more than 10 business days ahead of the scheduled start time, clients will be charged for Deryck’s time spent preparing for the meeting or mediation to the point when notice of the cancellation is received, as well as for any nonrefundable expenses incurred by Deryck for the purposes of the meeting or mediation. (Nonrefundable expenses usually relate to things like booking fees, hotel reservations, and airfare.)

When a mediation is cancelled 10 or fewer business days ahead of the scheduled start time, clients are responsible for: Deryck’s time spent preparing for the mediation, to the point when notice of the cancellation is received; half of the total time reserved for the mediation, at Deryck’s ordinary rate; and, any nonrefundable expenses incurred by Deryck for the purposes of the meeting or mediation.