What is a retainer fee?

So, you’re ready to hire an attorney.  You told the attorney that you would like to hire, and the person quoted you a “retainer fee.” What does that mean? Is that the amount that you have to pay for the entire case? 

Unless you were quoted a “flat fee,” then there is no guarantee that your retainer fee will cover your entire case.  Typically, an attorney charging on an hourly basis will take the amount of work that they have done on your case and deduct the fee from the retainer amount.  When that amount has been depleted to a certain point, you may be asked to replenish (or put more money in.)  

Still confused?  Let’s use an example:

Imagine that you’re going on a long road-trip.  The first thing you do before you begin your trip may be to fill up the gas tank.  Your legal matter is simply like that road trip, and your retainer fee is like your first tank of gas.

As you go on your trip and drive your car, you will use up gas in the gas tank.  That is similar to your attorney (and the office staff) working on your case, and your retainer amount being depleted as work is done. 

When you get to a certain point (and hopefully before the gas tank light is on!), you will need to refill the gas tank.  This is similar to you being asked to replenish your retainer.  Typically, you will refill your gas tank back to full. Similarly, you may be asked to replenish your retainer back to the full amount.

Now, most people will wonder how much a legal case may cost.  This is similar to asking how many gallons of gas will be needed for your road trip.  While you may be able to have an estimate, it is difficult to give a guaranteed amount.  This is because you may end up getting stuck in traffic, taking unexpected detours, running into unexpected issues, etc. that may use up more gas than expected.  Similarly, an attorney cannot give a guarantee of exactly how much work will be needed on the case.  Even an experienced attorney can only offer a rough estimate, because a legal case is an ever-changing matter with numerous factors working together.  Therefore, one can only give a rough idea based on experience, but even that is not always a dependable answer.

Now, it is possible that you cannot afford a large retainer to begin your matter. Imagine if you have a small gas tank.  With a small gas tank, your frequency of needing to refill your gas tank will go up.  So you may have to go through a short amount of time before you have to refill it.  If you have a large gas tank, you will have a much longer period before having to refill it again.  A retainer fee works in a similar way.  The smaller your retainer, the more frequently you have to replenish because it will run low faster.  If you can start with a large retainer, you will have more time to recover before you have to replenish again. 

Of course, this is just an analogy.  There’s more to driving a car than this. Just like there is more to working a legal matter than what is described here. However, hopefully this better helps you understand how a retainer works.  

Next time you need to speak with a family law attorney, you will have a better idea of what this is about, and be better prepared. 

The content provided in this blog is for informational purposes only.  This is not legal advice, and your viewing of this blog does not form any attorney-client relationship. 

© 2020-2022 All Rights Reserved.