Filing a claim with the Professional Liability Insurance Fund of the Barreau du Québec (FARPBQ). Thus, here is your simplified citizen guide for 2026.
Version française →Do you believe your lawyer made an error and you suffered a financial loss? Thus, in Quebec, you have the right to claim compensation from the FARPBQ. This guide explains the situations covered, the eligibility conditions, the steps of the claim, and how to use AI to help you prepare your file.
Too many citizens give up their right to compensation following a lawyer’s fault, thinking the procedure is too complex. However, it is not.
When to claim — the most common situations
The lawyer misses a prescription deadline, makes serious errors in drafting documents, or bad advice leads to direct financial losses.
Mismanagement of funds held in the lawyer’s trust account.
Your lawyer collaborates with the opposing party, causing direct and quantifiable financial damage.
Reimbursement of professional fees is not covered by the FARPBQ insurance contract (article 2.04 of the policy). Only actual damages caused by the fault are compensable.
For a claim to be admissible, three elements must be present:
The guide in 3 simple steps
Download the official forms and gather your facts
Before speaking with AI, you must have the official documents and your evidence. Thus, the FARPBQ requires the form to be saved on your computer, completed on screen if possible, printed, signed, and then transmitted.
Official 2026 forms to download:
Then gather chronologically: all important dates, emails and letters exchanged with the lawyer, invoices and judgments concerned, and any evidence quantifying your financial loss.
Fill out the official form
Open the 2026 PDF form. Read the Claimant’s Guide before filling it out. Thus, complete all fields: your contact information, information about the lawyer concerned, the description of the fault, the damages suffered, and the details of the amounts claimed. Sign it.
The FARPBQ specifies that your completed form and all documents received will be forwarded to the lawyer concerned. Therefore, be factual, precise and objective. Avoid emotional wording.
The 2026 form is interactive. Thus, you can fill it out directly on screen in your PDF reader before printing it. This is the method recommended by the FARPBQ.
Draft your claim email with the help of AI
Use Claude, Gemini or ChatGPT to draft a clear and professional text that will serve as an introduction in your email to the FARPBQ:
Use the generated text to fill in the relevant fields of the form: question 2 (why you consulted the lawyer), question 4 (the alleged fault), question 5 (description of the damages suffered).
Then attach: the completed and signed PDF form + all your evidence documents (invoices, emails, judgments, etc.).
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What happens after submission
Upon receiving your form, the FARPBQ will begin an investigation. Thus, it will first verify whether the applicable insurance policy allows its intervention. It may contact you to obtain additional information.
Filing a claim with the FARPBQ does not suspend the legal deadlines to initiate judicial proceedings. In matters of professional liability, these deadlines are generally 3 years from the discovery of the fault. Thus, the FARPBQ will give you no advice on these deadlines. Consult a lawyer of your choice on this question, at your own expense.
Once the investigation is complete, the FARPBQ will communicate its position to you. This position is final and is not subject to any review process. Therefore, if liability is retained, the Fund may offer you an amount of compensation. Failing an agreement, it will be up to you to address yourself to the courts within the prescribed deadlines.
The Fund is not your ally
The FARPBQ is not a public citizen advocacy service. Thus, it is the insurance company of the lawyer you are targeting. Its role is to defend their insured and minimize payments. Therefore, you are in an adversarial relationship.
Be factual and objective. Provide facts and figures, not emotions. The form you send will be communicated to the lawyer concerned. Every word counts.
Useful links for your claim
Ready to submit your claim?
Start my FARPBQ claim →Official FARPBQ forms 2026
Download the official FARPBQ PDF forms directly from EnDroit.ca. Thus, read the Claimant’s Guide before filling out the claim form.
Your right to compensation has value only if you exercise it
Prepare a factual file, respect the deadlines, and do not hesitate to combine a FARPBQ claim with a disciplinary complaint to the Syndic’s Office. Thus, these two procedures are complementary. One aims to compensate you. The other aims to protect the public. Therefore, you can and should do both.
An error to report? Information to add or a question about this guide? Write to us at endroit.ca@outlook.com. Thus, we will read every message.