Richards + Company Barristers & Solicitors

What Richards + Company Barristers & Solicitors does

Richards + Company Barristers & Solicitors is a private Edmonton, Alberta-based law firm founded in 1993 by Darren Richards (formerly operating as Richards Wood Toogood, Richards Hunter, and Richards Hunter Toogood). It provides four practice areas: Real Estate (residential and commercial transactions, refinances, title work), Corporate and Business Law (incorporations, amalgamations, reorganizations, acquisitions, shareholder agreements), Commercial Law (bank financing, land development, business purchases, joint ventures, and lender-side mandates for major banking institutions), and Wills & Estates (wills, Powers of Attorney, Personal Directives, and probate). The firm serves individuals, owner-managed businesses, franchisees, and lenders across Edmonton, Alberta, and — via remote engagement — clients elsewhere in Canada.

The firm has productized portions of its practice. Residential real estate is offered on flat-fee pricing with no internal cost-recovery surcharges (a stated competitive differentiator); corporate incorporations are standardized at a C$950 legal fee with transparent all-in pricing; and wills are sold as a three-tier ladder (Simple Online, Standard Online, Traditional). The technology stack is light: a Wix.com-hosted website powers an Online Wills App (lawyer-drafted questionnaire with save-and-resume functionality and integrated payment), a digital minute book system supports corporate clients, and Treefort provides optional C$25 digital ID verification on incorporations. A proprietary "Purchase Report" — delivered as a tabbed physical binder or bookmarked PDF — is positioned as a documentation differentiator on real estate closings.

Commercial model is mixed: one-time flat or hourly fees for transactional real estate, corporate, and estate work, plus a small recurring revenue stream from Annual Corporate Maintenance subscriptions (C$265-C$290/year) covering registered address, annual returns, resolutions, and minute book updates. Go-to-market is sales-led: direct office consultations, website/phone/email inquiries, free quotes, professional referrals from real estate agents and mortgage brokers, and an active content marketing engine (blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X, email newsletter, SEO). The firm employs roughly 16 people across three lawyers and support staff and has been ranked among the top three real estate lawyers in Edmonton on ThreeBestRated for six consecutive years, with a #1 ranking on Best in Edmonton.

Name

Richards + Company Barristers & Solicitors

Legal name

Richards + Company Barristers and Solicitors

Website

https://richardslaw.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Richards + Company is a private Edmonton, Alberta law firm founded in 1993 that provides residential and commercial real estate, corporate/business, and wills & estates legal services to individuals, owner-managed businesses, franchisees, and lenders across Alberta and Canada, with productized flat-fee pricing and a Wix.com-powered Online Wills App.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Legal Services (5411), Title Abstract and Settlement Offices (541191)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate & Construction Law (BPAHAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK), Estate Administration & Probate Services (FSAAANAE), Business Valuation & Litigation Support (BPAHABAK)

Keywords

• Real estate law
• Corporate legal services
• Estate planning services
• Commercial transactions
• Wills and probate

Headquarters

HQ city

Edmonton

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Legal Services: Residential and commercial real estate transactions including purchases, sales, refinances. Fees based on flat rates for standard residential, with commercial pricing based on complexity and time.
2. Corporate/Business Legal Services: Incorporations, amalgamations, acquisitions, reorganizations, minute book maintenance, unanimous shareholder agreements, business purchases/sales
3. Annual Corporate Maintenance: Records and Registered Address services, annual return filings, director/shareholder resolutions, minute book updates. Billed annually.
4. Wills & Estates Services: Traditional wills, standard online wills, and simple online wills packages. Probate services for estates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Richards + Company is a law firm providing legal services in four core practice areas: Real Estate (residential and commercial transactions, title transfers, refinances), Corporate/Business Law (incorporations, amalgamations, acquisitions, reorganizations, minute book maintenance), Commercial Law (bank financing, land development, business purchases, joint ventures), and Wills & Estates (wills, powers of attorney, personal directives, probate). The firm serves individuals and businesses in Edmonton, throughout Alberta, and across Canada.

Product overview

Richards + Company is a law firm offering legal services, not a technology product company. The firm's service portfolio consists of four core legal practice areas: Real Estate Law (residential and commercial transactions), Corporate and Business Law (incorporations, amalgamations, acquisitions, reorganizations), Commercial Law (bank financing, land development, business purchases, joint ventures), and Wills & Estates (wills, powers of attorney, personal directives, probate). The firm has developed three tiers of will preparation services: Simple Wills Online (budget-friendly online process), Standard Wills Online (with lawyer consultation), and Traditional Wills (full in-person service for complex estates). Additional corporate services include minute book maintenance, unanimous shareholder agreement drafting, and registered office services. The firm is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta and serves clients throughout Alberta and Canada.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Real Estate Legal Services Residential and commercial real estate legal services including title transfer, mortgage registration, refinances, and due diligence for property transactions in Edmonton and Alberta.
• Corporate and Business Law Services Corporate legal services including incorporations, amalgamations, mergers, acquisitions, business purchases and sales, and corporate reorganization.
• Commercial Law Services Commercial legal services including bank financing, land development, business purchases, limited partnerships, and joint ventures.
• Wills and Estates Services Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Personal Directives drafting, along with estate planning and probate services.
• Simple Wills Online Process Lawyer-drafted estate documents at a discounted online price for single individuals or legally married couples seeking simple, budget-friendly wills.
• Standard Wills Online Process Estate documents with more lawyer drafting and consultation for individuals or couples requiring more complex terms, including a free 30-minute lawyer phone meeting.
• Traditional Wills Process Full lawyer consultation and estate planning assistance for complex estates, business owners, blended families, with unlimited drafting flexibility.
• Minute Book and Annual Maintenance Services Corporate records management including annual return filing, director/shareholder resolutions preparation, and digital minute book maintenance.
• Unanimous Shareholder Agreement Services Drafting of unanimous shareholder agreements governing relationships between business owners with exit strategies and buy/sell provisions.
• Registered Office and Records Address Services Acting as corporation's registered address, records address, and agent for service for annual compliance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Six consecutive years ranked in top 3 real estate lawyers in Edmonton
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wix.com Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationWix.com provides the online estate planning and payment platform for the firm's digital wills services. Third party processor for web hosting, payment processing, and customer service for the online estate planning transaction process.
• REIN (Real Estate Investment Network)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDarren Richards serves as an advisor to REIN, providing legal guidance to real estate investors within the network.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• LegalZoom: US-based online legal services platform offering wills, incorporations, and business filings. While US-focused, sets the consumer expectation benchmark for affordable online legal products that R+C's online wills platform competes against in concept.
• Willful: Canadian online wills and estate planning platform offering lawyer-reviewed documents at low price points. Direct competitor to R+C's Online Wills offering, targeting the same budget-conscious Canadian consumers seeking affordable estate planning.
• Epilogue Wills: Canadian online wills platform with guided digital workflows. Comparable to R+C's Simple and Standard Online Wills tiers, competing for the same digitally-engaged Canadian consumers priced out of traditional lawyer-drafted wills.

Direct peers

• Witten LLP: Edmonton-based full-service law firm with significant real estate and corporate law practices. Directly comparable in geography, service mix (real estate, corporate, commercial), and target client base of Edmonton and Alberta businesses and individuals.
• Prowse Chowne LLP: Edmonton law firm with established real estate and corporate practice. Direct competitor in the same local market for residential real estate transactions, incorporations, and commercial legal work in Edmonton and Alberta.

Broad incumbents

• Duncan Craig LLP: Larger Edmonton-based full-service law firm with real estate, corporate, and commercial practices. Comparable service portfolio but operates at a larger scale, providing a benchmark for full-service regional competition.
• Dye & Durham Corporation: Canadian legal technology platform providing practice management, document automation, and corporate registry services to law firms. R+C uses corporate registry filings and could be a customer/comparable via its minute book and corporate maintenance services.

Others

• Emerging.ai / Treefort: Digital identity verification provider already integrated with R+C for incorporation services. Adjacent ecosystem partner that supports the firm's online onboarding and verification workflows.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DarrenLRichards
• Facebookfacebook.com/RichardsLawEdmonton
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/richardsandcompanylawyers
• Instagraminstagram.com/richards.and.company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Richards + Company Barristers & Solicitors