RZCD Law Firm LLP Indifferent, incompetent, dishonest, unprofessional Mississauga Ontario

RZCD was part of my realtor's home purchase package -- one of the firms/services she offered her clients. Having no home purchasing experience, I put my faith in my realtor, who seemed to have extensive experience and seemed practical and sensible. However, I quickly saw signs that I had been wrong about her, one of these being evidence that RZCD was not the most reputable or reliable law firm.

Several months after my closing, I reviewed my documents, and, seeing that there was money owed to me -- $100 left over from the retainer -- I called the firm and inquired about the sum. I was told someone would be calling me back. This never happened. I never received the sum, or any sort of explanation regarding it. Note that RZCD issued that statement of the sum owed to me.

A few years later, I began to see signs that there were issues with encroachment on my property, and tried contacting the title insurer that RZCD had used as part of its package for my purchase. However, when I called the title insurer I was told outright by a representative that my particular issue was NOT covered. This made no sense to me, but, as I was dealing with nothing more than suspicions, and just making enquiries, I put the issue off for the time being.

A year or two later, I had serious problems with a neighbor's trespassing, and decided to put up a fence. In preparation for this, I got a full survey, and discovered that the problem neighbor was encroaching on my property. At this point I called RZCD several times -- because I knew the title insurer had to deliver on this -- and got no response. It was only when I pressured the realtor, and she pressured RZCD, that I got a call from a partner. This was the start of a rather painful, annoying, and -- considering the little the law firm did -- costly process.

I never got a straight answer on anything, from the partner or associate handling my case. They did the least they could do, which was filing the claim with the title insurer (and, yes, it turns out my issue WAS covered).

In the three, four months that this problem was being addressed, I was only once able to get the partner to discuss costs, and never got an explanation of what the law firm’s obligations or commitments were RE the issue, considering they had done the closing work, and had chosen the title insurer (there is something unsavory about your lawyer giving you title insurance and then charging your, right from the beginning, to communication with that company RE an issue).

Most annoying was, early in the process, having the associate complain that I was pestering them at no cost (when I had made it very clear that I was fine with being charged for work, as long as such charges were discussed before hand), and then, later, my having to copy-edit a Demand letter, for which I was charged in full.

Most disturbing was that, once the title insurer stepped into the process, RZCD became less communicative with me, while the title insurer insisted on more information and input from me. I felt that I was doing the bulk of the work, and that RZCD was sabotaging my claim, either intentionally, or because of indifference and/or incompetence.

Further, once I had reached a certain level of satisfaction with the process -- I got my compensation from the title insurer -- I was quick to inform the partner that our relationship was terminated immediately, that RZCD was no longer my legal representative. I received no further communication from RZCD, even though, from what I understood via an assistant at the firm, some sort of final report was owed me.

My impression was that RZCD, probably like many law firms, takes on residential real estate transactions because it is easy money -- they do what is, in effect, rubber stamping, and collect a small but tidy sum. They probably do hundreds of these a year -- a case of volume being a very good thing. However, when there are complications, the firm is reluctant to stand behind its work, and follow through and deliver the support a client needs and deserves.