Our Practice Areas

If asked to describe a law firm one might say it’s a group of Lawyers and support staff working in an office. That is certainly true. But a law firm is bigger than the sum of its parts...

‍Take Allan Snelling LLP. We are a community law firm. That means we provide a full range of legal services to meet the needs of the people and businesses of West Ottawa. We have eight Lawyers with diverse practices who team up with a dedicated staff of paralegals and law clerks. Our clients unite the firm and provide our identity. Many come to us for assistance with the purchase of a home or to obtain a will (which every adult need’s, more so when you have kids…but that is for another day). Later they may retain us to assert their rights in a dispute. Perhaps they have been injured, are having difficulty with an insurer or with their employer. Still other clients seek our assistance to help their business thrive, through incorporation, financing or negotiation and drafting of agreements. All of these services are available at Allan Snelling LLP.

Hand in hand with our dedication to providing quality legal work is our commitment to knowing our clients. After an engagement is concluded we do not simply close the file and move on. We retain our knowledge of the client and their circumstances. So if in the future they are confronted with a personal or business situation, we are able to direct them to the Lawyer most suited to advise of their options and provide for their needs. It is a measure of our firm’s success that we have been trusted to provide legal services to many of our clients on an ongoing basis.

So, why work with a law firm?

‍Because a good law firm will ensure the collective experience and skills of its people are leveraged to the advantage of its clients. As a client you should accept no less.

You should expect quite a lot. A Lawyer is both a professional, licensed in Ontario by the Law Society of Upper Canada, and a business person. As a professional, a Lawyer has a number of duties and obligations to you. Some of those duties include:‍

Quality Work

‍Your Lawyer should be knowledgeable and professional and provide a quality service. Talk to your friends, neighbors and associates about their experiences with their Lawyer. Many Lawyers will meet for an initial consultation at no-charge. Meet and make an assessment before you retain your Lawyer.

‍Confidentiality and Privilege

‍You should expect that confidential information that you disclose to your Lawyer remains confidential. Almost everything that you tell your Lawyer is protected by Lawyer-client privilege, which means that nobody can force disclosure of the contents of any communications between you and your Lawyer, subject to very limited exceptions.

‍Communication

‍You should expect your Lawyer to be responsive to your communications. Your Lawyer should promptly return phone calls and emails, or arrange for a time to meet where appropriate.

‍Your Lawyer also Runs a Business

‍This means that fees are charged to you cover the costs of operating the business, paying rent and assistants and providing a fair return for the Lawyer. Your Lawyer should have an open and frank discussion with you regarding fees and disbursements at the time of engagement. While it is not always possible to provide certainty regarding the fees that will be charged, your Lawyer should be able to provide to you an estimate or range based upon that Lawyer’s experience in similar matters. A signal characteristic of the relationship between a client and Lawyer is that of trust. A Lawyer is obliged to act on your behalf with complete fairness, honor, honesty, loyalty, and fidelity. Above all other qualities, you should expect, and obtain, full and complete trust in your Lawyer.‍