The NEO fee share, in plain numbers
How licensed paralegals who provide legal services on NEO matters as independent contractors share the fees NEO collects, what the monthly desk fee is and when it is waived, and when you are paid. These are NEO’s standard terms; the final terms are the ones in your written Independent Contractor Agreement.
Why the terms look like this
Each part of the fee share follows a Law Society rule that applies to NEO and to you:
- Every matter is a NEO matter, so the retainer, the conflict check, the trust account and the invoices sit with NEO. NEO checks every new matter for conflicts across the whole firm (conflicts of interest: Paralegal Rules of Conduct, rule 3.04), and money held for clients follows By-Law 9.
- Fees are divided only between licensees (rule 5.01). No one who is not a licensee shares in them.
- Each paralegal keeps their own professional responsibility for their files (rule 8.01), whichever firm they practise through.
NEO’s principal is Mo. Farooqui, Licensed Paralegal (Law Society licence P21785). This is how we apply those rules, not a legal opinion: the rules behind the model sets each one out with a link to the Law Society’s own text.
The standard terms
Every matter is a NEO matter: NEO’s retainer, NEO’s name, NEO’s conflict check, NEO’s trust account and NEO’s invoices. NEO bills and collects all fees, and you never take client money personally.
| Your share: firm-sourced matters | 50% of the net fees collected, and 50% to NEO. These are matters that come to NEO and that you accept; your statements call them Firm Leads. |
|---|---|
| Your share: clients you bring to NEO | 90% of the net fees collected, and 10% to NEO. The client signs NEO’s retainer after NEO’s conflict check, like any other NEO client. |
| Excluded work | Work that you and NEO agree, in your agreement or when the matter is opened, is excluded from the fee share: 100% of the net fees collected is yours, and nothing goes to NEO. |
| What is shared | Net legal fees NEO actually collects in the month, by payment date. Each client payment is applied to HST first, then to disbursements, then to fees, and only the fee part is shared. HST, disbursements, refunds, write-offs and money still held in trust are never shared. |
| HST on your share | If you are HST-registered, NEO adds 13% HST to your share and you invoice NEO for it. If you are not registered, no HST is added. |
| Monthly desk fee | $250 plus 13% HST ($32.50): $282.50 a month, a fixed charge for your workspace, the firm’s systems and support. |
| When the desk fee is waived | NEO waives it in full ($0) for any month with fewer than 5 qualifying firm-sourced matters; it is never charged in part. There is no desk fee for your partial first month: the first one that can apply is for your first full calendar month (or your start month, if you start on the 1st). |
| When the desk fee is due | On the 1st of the following month. If you have pre-authorized a card, it is charged only after we have emailed you that month’s desk fee notice. If the fee is still unpaid when your payout goes out, it is deducted from the payout. |
| Payout | By the 15th of the following month, with a Payment Statement (PDF) by email. If a month’s desk fee is more than your share, the difference is owed to NEO. |
| Ending the agreement | 30 days’ written notice by either side, or immediately for serious misconduct, a breach of confidentiality, or a suspension or loss of licence. Files stay with NEO, you help transfer them, and you are still paid your share of fees collected later for work you did. |
| After it ends | For 12 months, you agree not to solicit NEO clients you worked for to move their matters without NEO’s written consent. A client can always choose their own representative. |
| Confidentiality | A separate Confidentiality Agreement, for as long as you work with NEO and three years after. Client information stays confidential without time limit. |
| Governing law | Ontario. |
How a month is worked out
The same steps every month, shown on your Payment Statement so you can check each figure.
Fees collected in the month
We take every client payment NEO received on your matters during the calendar month (Toronto time). Fees billed but not yet paid wait for the month they are paid in.
Each payment is applied in order
HST first, then disbursements (filing fees, couriers, process servers, copies, mileage and the like), then fees. Only the part that lands on fees is shared.
The share for each matter
Each matter’s fees are split by where it came from, as recorded when the file was opened: firm-sourced (50% to you), brought in by you (90% to you) or excluded work (100% to you).
HST on your share, if you are registered
13% is added to your share, and you invoice NEO for it.
Adjustments, and the desk fee if it applies
Agreed adjustments (for example a filing fee you paid yourself) are added or taken off line by line. If the month’s desk fee is owed and hasn’t already been paid (for example by your card), it is taken off.
Your statement and payment
By the 15th of the next month you receive a Payment Statement listing each matter, its fees, the share, HST, any adjustments, the desk fee and the net payment, and NEO pays you. Your desk fee notice for the month (amount due, waived, or a receipt) is emailed before any card charge.
The desk fee
The desk fee is a fixed charge of $250 a month plus HST ($282.50) for your workspace, the firm’s systems and support. So that a slow month doesn’t cost you, NEO waives it in full for any month with fewer than 5 qualifying firm-sourced matters, and it never applies to your partial first month. Under the standard agreement, a qualifying firm-sourced matter is a new firm-sourced matter that NEO opens and assigns to you in that calendar month; clients you bring in and excluded work don’t count. Your monthly desk fee notice shows the month’s count and whether the fee is owed; if you disagree with it, tell us before the due date.
What the desk fee is, and is not
It is a fixed monthly charge of $250 plus HST for your workspace, the firm’s systems and support. It is never:
- A charge for files, leads or referrals, or a payment for any matter NEO offers you.
- Pro-rated or charged in part. In a month it is owed it is the full $282.50; in any other month it is $0.
- Owed for your partial first month, or for a month with fewer than 5 qualifying firm-sourced matters.
- Charged to a card before that month’s desk fee notice has been emailed to you, or for more than you authorized.
- Charged to your card on wider terms than you authorized: if the fee goes up or the minimum count goes down, the card can’t be charged until you authorize it again.
Paying it by pre-authorized card
A card is one way to pay. If the fee is still unpaid when your payout goes out, it is deducted from the payout instead.
- You receive a private billing link. On it you read the authorization, type your full name to agree, and add a card on Stripe’s secure page. Nothing is charged when you add it.
- NEO keeps only the card type, the last four digits and the expiry date; the card details stay with Stripe.
- The card is charged on or after the 1st of the following month, only for a month in which the desk fee is owed, and only after we have emailed you that month’s notice.
- If your desk fee goes up, or the minimum count goes down, the card is set aside and can’t be charged until you authorize it again from your billing link.
- You can withdraw the card authorization by writing to us. Any desk fee already owed is still payable, and an unpaid one is deducted from your payout.
Worked examples Illustration only
Illustration only, on an assumed $1,000 of net fees collected (after HST and disbursements) on each kind of matter. It is arithmetic, not a forecast of what any matter or month will bring.
| Assumed net fees collected | Your share | NEO’s share |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 on a firm-sourced matter | $500.00 | $500.00 |
| $1,000 on a client you brought in | $900.00 | $100.00 |
| $1,000 of excluded work | $1,000.00 | $0.00 |
| Line on the statement | Desk fee waived | Desk fee owed |
|---|---|---|
| Your share (50%) | $500.00 | $500.00 |
| HST on your share (13%, registered) | $65.00 | $65.00 |
| Desk fee with HST | $0.00 | −$282.50 |
| Net from NEO | $565.00 | $282.50 |
If you are not HST-registered, leave out the HST line: the net would be $500.00 and $217.50. The HST you receive is remitted to the Canada Revenue Agency, and whether the desk fee is charged to your card or taken off the payment, the month comes to the same total. Your own costs, income tax and CPP, below, are yours to cover.
What you actually earn depends on the files you receive and accept, the fees NEO actually collects and your own work. NEO does not guarantee any number of files or any income.
Fee share calculator
Enter assumed fees for one month to see each side’s share, whether the desk fee would apply, and the net. Illustration only, not a promise of income; final terms are in the written agreement.
Illustration only, not a promise of income. The calculator does arithmetic on amounts you assume. What you actually earn depends on the files you receive and accept, the fees NEO actually collects and your own work, and NEO does not guarantee any number of files or any income. Final terms are the ones in your written Independent Contractor Agreement.
Fees only: after HST and disbursements. Your share is 50%.
Fees only: after HST and disbursements. Your share is 90%.
Work you and NEO agreed is excluded from the fee share. Leave it empty if you have none.
The desk fee is waived in full for a month with fewer than 5.
Amounts added to or taken off your payment under your agreement, for example a filing fee you paid yourself. Put a minus sign before an amount taken off.
For example your share of your insurance premium and Law Society fees, CPD, equipment and travel. Leave it empty to skip this line.
Your illustrationIllustration only
- Your share of firm-sourced fees (50% of $0.00)$0.00
- Your share on clients you brought in (90% of $0.00)$0.00
- HST on your share (only if you are HST-registered)$0.00
- Desk fee with HST. Fewer than 5 qualifying firm-sourced matters, so the desk fee is waived.$0.00
- Net from NEO for the month$0.00
- Left before income tax and CPP (leaving out HST you collect for the CRA)$0.00
Whether the desk fee is charged to your pre-authorized card (on or after the 1st) or deducted from your payout, the month comes to the same total. Only fees NEO has actually collected count: amounts still owing, refunds, write-offs and money still held in trust are left out. If you are HST-registered, ask your accountant whether you can claim back the HST on the desk fee. Your income tax and CPP are not worked out here. This is not tax or legal advice.
What your monthly paperwork shows
Two PDFs by email each month, so you can check every figure.
The Payment Statement
- Each matter with fees collected that month: where it came from, its percentage, the fees collected and your share.
- The fees collected in total, and your share.
- HST on your share, if you are registered (you send NEO an invoice for it).
- Any agreed adjustments, line by line.
- The desk fee: taken off, paid separately, or waived.
- The payment to you, or, if the desk fee was more than your share, the amount you owe NEO.
The desk fee notice
- “Amount due”, “Waived” or a receipt once paid.
- That month’s count of qualifying firm-sourced matters, and why the fee is owed or waived.
- The due date, and how it will be paid: by your card, if you authorized one, or from your payout.
Rules at the source
Read the rules at the source. These links open in a new tab.
- Fee splitting (paralegals) The Law Society’s guidance on dividing fees, and on not sharing them with anyone who is not a licensee.
- Paralegal Rules of Conduct, Rule 5 Rule 5.01: fees, the division of fees and referral fees.
- Paralegal Rules of Conduct, Rule 3 Rules 3.04 and 3.05: conflicts of interest, and conflicts when a paralegal changes firms.
- Paralegal Rules of Conduct, Rule 8 Rule 8.01: responsibility and supervision. Rule 8.03: marketing must be true and verifiable.
- Paralegal insurance requirements By-Law 6: the professional liability insurance each paralegal must carry.
- By-Law 9 Trust accounts, money received for clients, and the records each licensee keeps.
- LSO Connects: information for licensees Where you record business relationships and keep your annual report and fees current.
- CRA guide RC4110 Employee or self-employed? The factors the Canada Revenue Agency looks at.
- Ontario: employee or independent contractor How Ontario’s Employment Standards Act looks at the difference.
- The rules behind the modelEach rule in plain words, and what it means at NEO.
Your own costs
As a self-employed contractor you pay your own costs, which the share and the desk fee don’t cover. They include:
- Your professional liability insurance, which must meet the Law Society’s By-Law 6 and name you.
- Your Law Society annual fee and continuing professional development.
- Income tax and Canada Pension Plan contributions (as a self-employed person you pay both portions of CPP).
- HST on your share, which you collect and remit to the CRA if you are registered.
- Your own computer, mobile phone and data, travel and parking.
A note on HST
NEO charges 13% HST on the desk fee (NEO’s HST number is 73954 1035 RT 0001). HST is added to your share only if you are registered, in which case you invoice NEO for it and remit it to the Canada Revenue Agency. You generally have to register for HST once your taxable revenue passes $30,000 in a single calendar quarter, or over four consecutive calendar quarters, and you can choose to register earlier. The CRA’s guide for GST/HST registrants explains the tests. Whether you can claim back the HST on the desk fee is a question for your accountant.
NEO does not deduct income tax, CPP or EI from your payments, and provides no benefits or vacation pay.
Questions about the money
Will I be self-employed?
Yes. You work with NEO as an independent contractor. You decide which files to accept and when you work, you pay the desk fee when it applies and your own insurance and Law Society costs, and what you earn depends on your own work. You handle your own income tax and CPP. You generally have to register for HST once your taxable revenue passes $30,000 in a single calendar quarter, or over four consecutive calendar quarters, and you can choose to register earlier. The Canada Revenue Agency’s guide for GST/HST registrants explains the tests. NEO does not deduct income tax, CPP or EI from your payments, and provides no benefits or vacation pay.
Can I bring clients with me?
Yes, as NEO matters at the 90% share. Each one goes through NEO’s conflict check first, signs NEO’s retainer and is billed by NEO. If you are moving from another firm, the Paralegal Rules of Conduct on changing firms apply, and we check your current client list for conflicts before you start. We may decline a matter, for example because of a conflict.
How is my share worked out?
On the net fees NEO actually collects in the month: 50% on firm-sourced matters, 90% on clients you bring in, and 100% on excluded work. Each client payment is applied to HST first, then to disbursements, then to fees, and only the part that lands on fees is shared. If you are HST-registered, NEO adds HST to your share and you invoice NEO for it. The fee share page has the full terms and a calculator.
What is excluded work?
Work that you and NEO agree, in your Independent Contractor Agreement or when the matter is opened, is excluded from the fee share. 100% of the net fees NEO collects on it is yours, and nothing goes to NEO. It is still opened, billed and collected by NEO like any other matter.
What makes a firm-sourced matter “qualifying”?
Under the standard agreement, it is a new firm-sourced matter that NEO opens and assigns to you in that calendar month. Clients you bring to NEO and excluded work don’t count towards it. Your signed agreement has the exact wording. Each month’s desk fee notice shows that month’s count and whether the fee is owed or waived, so you can check it. If you disagree with the count, tell us before the due date.
Is the desk fee a charge for files?
No. It is a fixed monthly charge for your workspace, the firm’s systems and support: $250 plus HST ($282.50). It is waived in full for a month with fewer than 5 qualifying firm-sourced matters and for your partial first month, and it is never charged in part.
When is the desk fee charged, and how?
When it applies, it is due on the 1st of the following month. You can pre-authorize a card through a private billing link: nothing is charged when you add the card, and it is charged only after we have emailed you that month’s desk fee notice, never for more than you authorized. If the fee is still unpaid when your payout goes out, it is deducted from the payout.
What if a client doesn’t pay?
Only fees NEO actually collects are shared. Nothing is shared on amounts still owing, refunded or written off, or on money still held in trust. If a client pays later, the share is worked out in the month the payment arrives.
General information only, not legal, tax or employment advice. NEO Legal Services Professional Corporation is a licensed paralegal firm regulated by the Law Society of Ontario. Final terms are the ones in the signed Independent Contractor Agreement.
This page sets out NEO Legal Services Professional Corporation’s standard terms for independent contractor paralegals. NEO Legal Services Professional Corporation is a licensed paralegal firm (Mo. Farooqui, Licensed Paralegal, LSO licence P21785), not a law firm. The page is not legal, tax or employment advice, not an offer and not a contract: terms apply only once a written Independent Contractor Agreement is signed by you and NEO, and where they differ from this page, the agreement governs. It is not the Law Society’s text either: where this page differs from the Law Society’s rules or by-laws, the Law Society’s wording governs. Nothing here guarantees any number of files or any income. Questions? Email info@neolegalservices.com or call 647-200-3526.
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