When to hire a good lawyer
In Canada we have a love hate relationship with lawyers. We love them when the bail us out of serious trouble and we hate getting a large bill. Sometimes we just love to make lawyer jokes.
All that aside. Lawyers provide a very valuable service to those of us who use their services. The trick is to know who to hire and when to hire them.
There are two types of tax lawyers, one who establishes the legal position and the one who litigates the case. This could be the one in the same. A skilled litigator is worth their weight in gold because the Department of Justice lawyers have lots of litigation practice. You need to level the playing field in serious cases.
Our main focus is on solving tax problems, so the big question is when do you need a taxation lawyer? The simple answer is that if you have a high end legal issue on a large amount of money or you have received a criminal charge against you, then it is time to find a good litigation lawyer. At Tax Audit Solutions we often refer clients to lawyers. We often work with the said lawyer to enhance the package.
Also understand that tax planning for tax savings is quite different from tax planning to stay out of trouble.
Don’t pick a lawyer based on a slick advertising campaign. Instead get a referral from a trusted source. Please be very aware that building a big brand image is not the same thing as earning a solid reputation from a track record of success.
When picking a lawyer, understand that solicitor client privilege is only based on your discussion to see if you need a lawyer, so it may not be a relevant factor in your case. All your documents can successfully be demanded from your lawyer. Being that the devil is in the details, the truth comes out in court. If you are going to court over tax evasion, you really need a good lawyer. If it is just getting your records together and fighting CRA. There are other factors to consider and you may or may not need a lawyer. Get a second opinion.
If the lawyer leans too much on fear, be cautious. Such statements, as CRA watches Google searches, are without any merit and should just be your warning as to the credibility of the statements of that lawyer.
We refer clients to lawyers on a regular basis, so you should consider asking us for a referral.
We will refer someone who has a track record of success in your area of concern.
One thing you need to keep very clear in your mind. If you don’t have your records in an audit and court ready format, then even a good lawyer will have problems defending you. Not to mention it will cost you a lot more money for your lawyer to deal with poor record keeping.
Lawyers love our highly factual and reliability of content … “Audit Ready Bookkeeping.” They can use that quality of accounting to win their cases. Lawyers can actually reduce their costs of accounting by farming it out to us. We do it only once because we do it right the first time.
Whether you come to our company for help with your records before you go to a lawyer or after, we are the best company in Canada to prepare court ready documentation.
Sometimes coming to us before going to see a lawyer is very cost effective because we prepare everything for you to take to your lawyer. That allows the lawyer to quickly understand your case and will not need to consume time getting to the nuts and bolts of the matter.
We also receive assignments from lawyers to put their client’s records in order.
We are also a good source to find out if you need a lawyer or not. If you do need one we will be the first to say so.
Also remember “Good lawyers won’t try to sell you on services you don’t need.” So make sure you heed sage wisdom that says to get a referral to a tax lawyer with a great track record. I think there are more good lawyers then bad ones, so you won’t have trouble being professionally looked after.