The best Mandarin interim legal fees advance lawyers set the highest winning precedents for other lawyers to use to help their clients. MacLean Law’s high net worth international family lawyers set the three leading Interim Legal Fees Advance awards ranging between $800,000 to $1,250,000. These awards have dwarfed other interim legal fee advances but in fairness, our cases involved high net worth cases with assets and income in the millions. See our Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese family law site here.
The award-winning Vancouver Mandarin interim legal fee advance lawyers handle high net-worth international family cases for our English, Mandarin and Cantonese speaking family law clients. In today’s blog, Kevin Zeng of our Mandarin Chinese high net-worth family law department will explain the rules related to interim legal fee advances to spouses who need money to discover, value, and divide high net-worth family property and support cases.
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Our winning Mandarin interim legal fees advance lawyers know certain principles can be taken from the large number of cases decided under s. 89 of the FLA which governs the advance of monies to a spouse to level the playing field when they need to be able to pay lawyers and experts to help obtain justice. Our Best Chinese and Vancouver BC High Net Worth Family Lawyers explain that the recent case of Lam v. Law provides greater clarity on whether a budget is required for an interim advance and whether interim advances can be used to pay for previously incurred legal expenses. A recent 2024 case of Lam v. Law 2024 BCSC 2035 explains:
[23] At para. 70 of Etemadi, Justice Butler wrote that the purpose of an interim distribution is to “promote balanced participation in dispute resolution”. Other decisions have said that the purpose of a s. 89 advance is to assist an economically disadvantaged spouse’s access to justice in matrimonial disputes or otherwise “level the litigation playing field”: See, for example I.F. v. R.J.R., 2015 BCSC 793 at para. 192.
[24] Orders under s. 89 are discretionary, and each case is very much dependent on its own facts.
[25] On the evidence here, there is no dispute that Dr. Law controls all or the majority of the parties’ wealth and assets and that the litigation playing field needs to be levelled in favour of Ms. Lam. There is also no dispute that Dr. Law’s interests will not be harmed by the interim distribution Ms. Lam seeks as the value of the undisputed family property in which Ms. Lam has an interest far exceeds interim distributions she has received to date and the amount of her current request.
[26] Dr. Law’s primary objections to the interim distribution are that Ms. Lam’s counsel has not provided a budget for the litigation and that Ms. Lam appears to be seeking an interim distribution for legal expenses already incurred. Dr. Law also suggests that some of the legal expenses already incurred were unnecessary or inadvisable. In my view, whether legal fees were unnecessary is not something I can determine on this application. Those issues remain to be determined at trial.
[27] I accept that, in some cases, the court has required a litigation budget when considering an application for a s. 89 interim advance. Depending on the facts, a budget may assist in determining the reasonableness of the request and the impact on the other spouse’s interests: See, for example, J.A.T.P. v. H.M.,2024 BCSC 1629 at paras. 84–86.
[28] However, a litigation budget is not always required on an application under s. 89. The FLA and the Supreme Court Family Rules do not require a budget. Cases granting interim advances have been decided in the absence of a budget: See, for example: Karringten v. Morrisonn, 2020 BCSC 1797 at para. 139. There, Associate Judge Muir wrote that the lack of a budget was not a bar to ordering an interim distribution because the court can, from experience, accept that the progress of an action, including through an 18-day trial, could well result in legal fees and other related costs of $300,000.
[29] I am satisfied that a budget is not required in this case for me to exercise my discretion for two reasons.
[30] First, as counsel for Ms. Lam explained, she is not seeking an interim distribution for future litigation costs. Rather, she seeks it for already-incurred litigation costs.
[31] Second, it is apparent that these proceedings involve complex financial issues, requiring expert evidence and, based on my experience, a 10-day trial in which both parties are represented by senior family counsel will be an expensive endeavor.
[32] On Dr. Law’s argument that an interim distribution of property is not available for already-incurred legal expenses, I accept that there are decisions of this Court that support that submission. For example, Justice G.C. Weatherill reached that conclusion in Chung v. Harrison, 2018 BCSC 1258 at para. 14, and a similar conclusion was reached by Justice Gaul in Bown v. Badior, 2019 BCSC 2381.
[33] However, there are cases that reach a contrary conclusion. For example, Associate Judge Muir granted an interim advance for, in part, already incurred legal expense in Y.L. v. G.L., 2018 BCSC 1571 at para. 103. No firm rule should be established in that regard as it might result in harm to a party who has exhausted budgeted legal expenses and face the threat of losing ongoing representation.
[34] The differences in the results of the cases are due to the difference in the facts in the cases and in the presider’s exercise of discretion. It is not surprising that each case relied on by counsel is distinguishable on its facts.
[35] In this case, and applying the principles set out in Etemadi at paras. 50–53,I am satisfied that the circumstances warrant an advance to Ms. Lam in the amount of $460,000 to satisfy her outstanding legal fees. I conclude that it is in the interests of justice to grant the order Ms. Lam seeks.
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The know that Best Chinese and Vancouver BC High Net Worth Family Lawyers although budget estimates are preferable and could assist the court in determining the reasonableness of an interim advance, it is not always imperative to have a litigation budget as stated in Lam v. Law. Moreover, the recent decision in Lam confirms that previously incurred legal expenses can be covered by interim distribution in circumstances where neither party will face prejudice as a result of the interim distribution. The Best Chinese and Vancouver BC High Net Worth Family Lawyers know a budget may not be mandatory why wouldn’t winnin lawyers do so to help you get more because when you can do a persuasive budget the Best Chinese and Vancouver BC High Net Worth Family Lawyers think it is foolhardy to cut corners to not do so.
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The best Mandarin Chinese speaking family lawyers know that the following issues invariably arise in high net-worth Mandarin Chinese cases:
- Significant amounts of foreign assets not only in China but in other jurisdictions such as Dubai, and other South-East Asian countries.
- Large amounts of numbered and holding companies used for investment or holding purposes in Canada.
- Parallel legal proceedings in China involving civil, family, or criminal matters.
- Unavailability of spousal support in China.
- Routine involvement and communication with Chinese accountants, business valuators, and lawyers.
The above issues require hiring various experts to ascertain property values which can lead to significant amount of expenses for clients. Therefore, interim advances are extremely important in high net-worth Chinese cases to fund costly expert reports and investigations.
MacLean Law has obtained the 3 highest interim advances in British Columbia history. In Devathasan v. Devathasan 2017 BCSC 1010 the Court granted a $800,000 interim advance for our client, in F v B in 2023 $800,000 was advanced after a disputed 2 year relationship and in K v M 2024 $800,000 was advanced to a doctor earning $400,000.
Obtaining interim advances in a complex high-net worth Chinese case is not straightforward. MacLean Law’s best Chinese and Vancouver high net worth family lawyers have proven winning experience in obtaining some of the highest amounts of interim advances for clients, and in setting some of the highest success precedent in Mandarin Chinese family law client disputes.
