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Retainer amount / agreement
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This book was written by Michael Dew, a Vancouver lawyer who practices civil litigation, includng assisting persons who have been denied insurance coverage by insurance companies, and persons dealing with builders lien issues.
If payment is to be by the hour, most lawyers will require advance payment (called a “retainer”). The word “retainer” can be a bit confusing because it is used in many different ways: it can refer to the dollar amount handed over by the client to the lawyer as security for future fees, it can refer to the written document that sets out the fee agreement, and it can refer to the overall relationship / agreement between the lawyer and the client. The word retainer is used on this page to refer to the dollar amount that the client provides to the lawyer from time to time.
The retainer may be used in different ways. For example it may be placed in a bank account by the lawyer and then as work is done on the file the lawyer draws money from that account to pay for the work done. When the retainer runs out, the client will generally be required to replenish the retainer before the lawyer does further work on the file.
A retainer may be used purely as a form of security rather than a fund to finance ongoing work. In this scenario the lawyer may be willing to take a slightly smaller retainer which is then held in trust to be applied against the final bill, with interim bills being issued to the client, and paid by the client, and the retainer being kept as security for payment of the final bill. This is sometimes referred to as a “last month’s rent retainer”.
