text: lawyer costs - cap-off regulations? i live in ontario and have hired a lawyer for several months.  his fees seem quite outrageous which has led me to ask if there's some kind of cap-off regulation on how much lawyers can charge.  for each snail-mail he has sent me i've been charged $20 each (most letters are simple 1 to 2 paragraph updates on a case).  a single email reply cost me over $1400.  a 10 minute in-person session cost me over $200.  are these prices too high or standard for ontario lawyers?  is there any kind of pricing regulation imposed on ontario lawyers i should be aware of?  thank you. there probably is not a price cap on lawyers in ontario. in the us, anyway, rates are entirely contractual.  $20 for a brief letter is pretty standard -- cheaper than the rates in big us city, actually.  but you could ask for fewer updates, and shop for a cheaper lawyer.