Is a solicitor entitled to a bonus in the event of success?

In Gaglardi v. Gaglardi, 1983 CanLII 352 (BC SC), [1983] 4 W.W.R. 752 (B.C.S.C.), Boyle, L.J.S.C. was called upon to consider an agreement between a solicitor and client that the solicitor’s fee would be based on an hourly rate. In rendering his account, the solicitor added, and the registrar allowed in part, a bonus for success which was not part of the agreement. The judge held (at p. 753): “... on reflection, I concluded that solicitors must be held to their agreements. If a bonus in the event of success is contemplated, the client must be made aware at the outset of that possibility. A deal, in other words, is a deal.”