FAQ

AJS Law provides representation in all criminal law – including drug offences, regulatory and summary conviction matters – as well as representation in child protection matters including acting for parents, children, extended family members and guardianship applicants.

We offer services on a ‘flat fee’ basis on all matters. These fees are ‘all inclusive’, meaning that they include our overhead, fees, day to day office disbursements, and taxes. There may be additional fees and disbursements over the course of your matter which may affect the overall cost; any of these costs will be discussed with you prior to incurring same.

We are also prepared to discuss rates based on household income and ability to pay similar to the legal aid system. These situations are individual specific and we invite you contact us to discuss it further.

In Manitoba the protection of children is governed by the Child and Family Services Act which grants child welfare agencies the authority to engage with families as well as apprehend children if needed. We provide representation to parents, children and family members who are involved with agencies and work with our clients to resolve any issues that may arise.

While primarily related to offences under the Criminal Code – including offences against the person such as assault, sexual assault, and murder, offences against property such as theft, mischief and break & enter – to drug offences under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act, regulatory offences under the Highway Traffic Act, criminal defence involves representing our clients to ensure their rights are protected and that they receive a fair and just hearing. While most may believe that criminal defence lawyers are only interested in “getting our clients off”, our role is much more – providing guidance, information, advice, as well as ensuring that the principles of our justice system and the Charter are upheld, including the presumption of innocence, right to silence, and the burden of the Crown to prove an offence beyond a reasonable doubt.

A ‘retainer’ is the payment of funds by a client to a lawyer to confirm that lawyer’s representation of the client. When speaking about ‘being retained’ or ‘our retainer’, we mean the relationship or contract between the lawyer and client for the provision of services which usually includes the payment of the retainer by the client.

In most cases, the initial retainer will confirm our clients’ fees – you do not have to pay our fees on top of the retainer. In some cases the initial retainer will be used and an additional retainer will be required.

Legal Aid is an arms-length organization which is funded by the Province of Manitoba, the Government of Canada and the Manitoba Law Foundation which provides free or low cost to individuals who qualify. We provide services to clients who are approved for Legal Aid on a ‘certificate basis’ which means that our fees are paid by Legal Aid.

In order to receive Legal Aid an individual must qualify financially and be dealing with eligible matters (criminal offences with the jeopardy of custody, apprehension of a child, or a guardianship applications).

You can find more information on the Legal Aid website:

• Who Qualifies Financially
• Types of Cases Covered
• How to Apply

Our office hours are 9:00am-4:30pm, closed 12-1, Monday to Friday

We can be reached by phone, email and fax

We keep in touch with our clients by phone, email, letter, text message and social media depending on the needs of our clients

As our representation of our clients involves mainly court work, counsel may not always be available for impromptu calls or meetings. As such, for best response we suggest sending an email, or scheduling a meeting or phone call.

We do offer ‘after hours’ service for emergencies or if you are taken into custody outside of regular business hours. This service is only for emergencies and is not always available.

In most cases lawyers will only represent one client in a matter as we owe a duty to each client to represent their interests – as co-accused may have divergent interests it may prove to be a conflict of interest to act for both people.

In some cases, specifically child protection matters, it might be appropriate to represent both parents or guardianship applicants in certain circumstances

We would suggest contacting our office to discuss your specific circumstances further.

We take all major forms of payment- cash, cheque, bank draft, debit or credit card.

In addition, we are also prepared to make arrangements for payment plans in certain situations. We would suggest contacting our office to discuss your specific circumstances further.

AJS Law serves Brandon and all of the Westman Area including a number of circuit court locations. We also travel to Dauphin and the Parklands and other areas in certain circumstances we may be able to travel to other locations as well.

Unfortunately while we can provide general information about criminal and child protection proceedings, we cannot give case specific advice without reviewing the materials relating to your matter. We would suggest contacting our office to schedule an initial meeting to discuss your specific circumstances further