Changing lawyers? Two letter templates to end your retainer cleanly.

Ending a retainer with a lawyer is normal, and it is your right. People change lawyers because the budget ran out, because the fit was wrong, or because they have decided to carry the file themselves with better preparation. Whatever the reason, the exit matters: done cleanly, you walk away with your complete file, a transparent accounting, and any trust balance refunded, with no missed deadline in the gap.

We wrote two ready-to-fill letter templates, and you can download both as a single Word document at the bottom of this page. Version A ends the relationship firmly and finally. Version B closes the file warmly and leaves the door open for the future. Pick honestly: if the relationship is done, use A. If you are pausing representation, continuing on your own for budget reasons, or may want the same office again someday, B keeps the goodwill while still getting you everything you are owed.

What Version A does (the clean, final break)

Version A is formal, polite, and unambiguous: the retainer ends immediately and the decision is final. It then locks in everything you are owed, on a clear timeline:

• Stop-work instruction. No further fees or disbursements beyond the administrative work of transferring your file.
• Your complete file within 14 days. Itemized so nothing hides: pleadings and drafts, all correspondence, disclosure, affidavits and exhibits in every version, expert reports, transcripts, your original documents, and the research, memoranda, and notes of attendances you were billed for. If anything is withheld, the letter requires them to identify it, and the basis, in writing within the same window.
• Final accounting within 14 days. An itemized statement plus the complete trust ledger, and any remaining retainer refunded within 30 days.
• Court dates confirmed within 7 days. Every upcoming date, deadline, undertaking, or limitation period, in writing, so nothing is missed in the transition.
• Acknowledgment within 7 days, with their timeline for each item.

"This letter confirms that I am ending our solicitor and client relationship, effective immediately. This decision is final, and I do not require proposals for continued or future representation..."

What Version B does (the warm close, door left open)

Version B asks for the same essentials, the complete file, the accounting and trust ledger, the refund, and the confirmed court dates, but in a warmer register with gentler timelines. It thanks the lawyer for their work, makes clear the decision is not a reflection on them, and closes the relationship without burning it:

"Thank you again for your work on my behalf. I have appreciated your professionalism, and should I require legal services in the future, I will not hesitate to contact your office."

Use B when you are stepping back for budget reasons, continuing on your own for now, or simply changing direction, and you can imagine calling the same office again someday.

Before you send either version

1. Court dates come first. If you have a hearing or a filing deadline in the next few weeks, plan the transition around it before you send anything. A lawyer who withdraws close to a hearing usually needs the court's permission, and you do not want a gap where nobody is watching a deadline.
2. Tell the court who represents you now. If you are continuing without a lawyer, most courts require a notice that you are now acting in person, with your address for service. In New Brunswick, ask the Family Law Information Centre or check the court forms for the notice that applies. If a new lawyer is taking over, they will usually handle the change of representation and the file transfer for you, and it is often smoother to let them request the file.
3. Unpaid accounts and your file. In most Canadian provinces a lawyer may claim a lien, meaning they hold parts of the file until their account is dealt with. If money is in dispute, do not let that stall your case: ask in writing which documents they will release now, and remember that filed court documents can also be obtained from the court registry.
4. Reviewing the bill. Every province has a process to have a lawyer's account independently reviewed or assessed, with time limits that can be short. If the final account looks wrong, look up the assessment process for your province, or contact your law society, before the deadline passes.
5. Send it traceably. Email plus registered mail or courier. Keep a copy of the letter, the delivery confirmation, and everything they send back. That paper trail is your record of the timeline you set.
6. Keep it polite even if the relationship soured. This letter may end up in front of a law society or an assessment officer someday. Calm and formal reads well everywhere.

Get both templates

The download below contains both complete letters, ready to fill in, with every bracketed field marked and the checklist above included, in one Word document.

These templates are general information, not legal advice, and they are not a substitute for advice about your specific situation. For questions about your rights in the transfer, your law society, legal aid, or a court self-help service in your jurisdiction can point you in the right direction.