When will a solicitor be able to charge a client for their services?

The other point is this. It is one thing to raise such potential charges with a client prior to the retainer’s commencement. It is another to raise them after the retainer has commenced and the client has become dependent on the solicitor’s services, particularly in a matter involving ongoing litigation. At that point in their relationship a client would be reluctant to object to terms or conditions that might threaten that relationship: McInnis Cooper v. Canus, supra at paras.40-42. It strikes me then as unreasonable to place much weight on a client’s signature, at least in the circumstances of this case.