Christy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
Christy Bieber, J.D. ContributorChristy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
Written By Christy Bieber, J.D. ContributorChristy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
Christy Bieber, J.D. ContributorChristy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has.
ContributorAdam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Adam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Adam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Adam has resided at the intersection of legal and journalism for two decades. An award-winning journalist and legal strategist, he’s covered high-profile trials in Florida. After law school, Adam and spent two years clerking for a U.S. District Co.
Updated: Apr 20, 2023, 12:19pm
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When hiring an attorney, you may be required to pay a lawyer retainer. But what is a retainer for a lawyer? In general, it refers to a sum of money paid up front as part of a professional agreement to obtain legal services. However, there are actually different kinds of retainers you should know about.
This guide answers the question, what is a retainer fee for a lawyer, and helps you determine if paying a retainer makes sense for you.
A retainer is a sum of money you provide to a lawyer or law firm in order to initiate a lawyer-client relationship with that attorney or firm.
But, there’s not just one answer to the question, what is a retainer fee for a lawyer, because this sum of money could have different purposes. In fact, there are three potential kinds of lawyer retainers you should know about. Here’s what they are.
A security retainer is money that you deposit for the performance of future legal services. With this type of lawyer retainer, the attorney does not get to keep the money until they actually provide the services you are requesting.
When you pay a security retainer, the money goes into a trust or an escrow account (this is sometimes called an IOLTA account, short for “interest on lawyer trust’ account). The money earns interest, but neither you nor your lawyer get the interest. The interest usually goes into a state charitable fund to pay for legal services for those who cannot afford them.
The lawyer (and the firm employing the attorney, if applicable) cannot use this money yet. They must earn it first. Depending on the terms of the agreement you make with your attorney, your lawyer may receive this money on a set schedule after performing services or after the attorney has performed all of the specified legal services.
The goal of a security retainer is to ensure you actually have the funds to pay for legal services you’re seeking. You may be asked to put more money into this trust account after all of the initial fees have been paid out. And when your lawyer has finished performing services you may get a refund of unused funds or your lawyer may get to keep any remaining money left over, depending on the terms of your representation agreement.
An advance payment retainer is another type of lawyer retainer that is similar to a security retainer in that the money you pay is intended to buy you access to specific legal services. Unlike with a security retainer, though, this money does not necessarily have to go into a special account. Instead, the funds are simply prepayment for the legal work you’re requested.
Depending on the terms of your agreement with your attorney, the advance payments you make may cover all of the fees for the future service your attorney will perform or they may simply be a deposit and you may be required to pay more if extra costs are incurred.
This type of lawyer retainer is not allowed in certain states because clients can sometimes have a hard time getting money returned to them if they have prepaid for legal services which are then not performed as promised.
A general retainer is a specific type of lawyer retainer that is not considered a deposit for legal services or prepayment of legal services. Instead, when you pay this kind of retainer, you are paying to reserve an attorney or firm’s time.
When you pay a general retainer, you still must pay separately for any legal services you actually need. But, your retainer guarantees the lawyer or firm will be there for you if you require their assistance.
For example, a big corporation may put a specific law firm they wish to work with “on retainer” so they can call on the firm as needed and ensure its availability if a legal issue arises. When they actually call on the firm of services, they pay for the necessary legal work (usually on an hourly fee basis).
General retainers typically are not refundable and lawyers are required to get your written consent if you pay a lawyer retainer you cannot get back if you don’t use legal services.
You may be required to pay a lawyer retainer if you are securing the services of a lawyer or law firm that will be paid on an hourly or flat-fee basis. This could occur in divorce cases, estate planning, real estate, breach of contract claims or a wide variety of other legal cases.
You are especially likely to be asked to pay a lawyer retainer if the attorney or firm wants to make sure you actually have the money for legal fees or wants to confirm you are invested in seeing your case through. And, you may be required to pay a general retainer if a firm is highly specialized or skilled and is in demand.
You will not have to pay a retainer if you are hiring a lawyer who charges on a contingent fee basis. A contingent fee arrangement is one where you pay only if you win your case. This fee arrangement is common in personal injury claims, including car accident cases, product liability claims, slip-and-falls, medical malpractice and similar situations.
Your attorney must disclose to you up front if you will have to pay a retainer, what the amount is and what the purpose of the retainer fee is. Be sure you are comfortable with your attorney’s fees before hiring a lawyer to represent you.
A lawyer retainer may be worth paying depending on the situation. If you pay a general retainer, you are simply paying to reserve a firm’s time in the future. You then incur separate fees for any services. With a security retainer, on the other hand, you are pre-paying for services but your lawyer doesn’t receive the money until they perform legal services and earn it. You may be required to put this up-front deposit down to get legal services.
You may be able to get a lawyer retainer returned to you, depending on the circumstances. If you put down a security retainer as a deposit for future legal services and your attorney does not end up providing enough services to use up the entire amount of money you put down, you may be able to get the excess funds back. The details of when and how refunds will be issued vary based on your agreement with your attorney.
Lawyers sometimes ask for money up front in the form of a security retainer or advanced payment retainer. A security retainer is put into an escrow account or trust and your lawyer can access the money from it as they provide legal services and you incur fees. An advance payment retainer, on the other hand, is paid directly to your lawyer up front in exchange for legal services they will provide to you in the future.