Types of Law Firms in Canada

The definition of a boutique law firm varies, but it is generally considered a small law firm of fewer than 20 lawyers with two to five partners.

Boutique firms tend to have a more hands-on client experience than larger big name law firms. Boutiques usually offer legal services in select practice areas and typically specialize in just one area of law, like criminal defence. That ensures that their small team of lawyers are well informed about any new precedents or judgments that could affect how they craft your defence.

Boutique law firms can exercise discretion about who they take on as clients. If a potential client's case does not fall within their team's expertise, that person could be referred to another firm that most closely offers what they are looking for. Like a sole practitioner, boutique firms offer a more personalized level of service. Unlike large law firms, boutique firms lack administrative teams, and lawyers generally have a closer connection to each case. A boutique criminal law firm may have separate lawyers specializing in weapons, white collar, impaired driving, and other areas within the criminal law. This way, the boutique firm can offer specialist services.

Large full-service law firms offer a range of legal services to their clients. They could employ hundreds, or even thousands, of lawyers in offices across Canada and worldwide and come with layers of infrastructure and processes.

But a full-service law firm could also represent sole practitioners in rural areas where they may be the only lawyer for hundreds of kilometres.

Large full-service law firms can assist with a comprehensive variety of needs and should be well-equipped to handle the specificities of almost any case. They handle transactions of all sizes and levels of complexity, whether an issue is local or multi-jurisdictional, practice-area specific or interdisciplinary. On the other hand, the small-town lawyers provide general legal services in every specialty their community needs.

If your legal issue involves numerous areas of law, a larger, more prominent full-service firm can draw from the expertise of various lawyers to help build your defence. Since multiple people may work on different aspects of your case, you will benefit from their collective legal knowledge. A large full-service law firm can have resources that smaller boutique firms may lack. That could include an in-house law library, allowing lawyers to research information for your case efficiently.

A rural community full-service lawyer may function as a sole practitioner offering a gamut of legal services. They tend to focus more on problem-solving for their clients and are not involved in the inter-competition found between lawyers in larger firms. One area of caution is that full-service rural lawyers may lack some of the resources needed to manage a case they have never dealt with before. There is also a risk of being overworked.

With criminal law, it is tough to say what is a fair price for legal representation. Everyone's situation is different, and you should understand legal fees before you hire a lawyer. Your freedom and reputation in the community are priceless, and picking a lawyer based solely on their retainer and fees for service may not be prudent. It can be assumed that sole practitioners can offer the lowest charges since they are not paying the staffing charges and office expenses that large firms typically incur. In the same way, boutique law firms often are limited to a single office and a skeleton staff, which will reduce their fees. Full-service firms can offer clients a reduced cost structure if they agree to rely on more junior staff members for the legal work.