Retainer Agreements
A retainer agreement is a contract between a lawyer and a client that sets out which services the lawyer will provide for the client, the lawyer and the client’s obligations during the course of the retainer, and the cost of the lawyer’s services. Lloyd Family Law accepts Traditional Comprehensive Retainers, Limited Scope Retainers and Alternative Fee Arrangements.
Traditional Comprehensive Retainers
Generally, the traditional comprehensive retainer model presumes that a lawyer will be responsible for all legal tasks throughout the whole of the process. When the retainer agreement is signed a monetary retainer is provided. This specific sum of money is collected by a lawyer in advance of work commencing and held in a client trust account. As the lawyer completes work the client is billed and the lawyer deducts the necessary funds from the client’s portion of the trust account. The sum of money paid as a retainer is not a quote of the cost of the legal services. If further funds are required, they will be requested. If the work is completed and funds remain in the retainer, they are returned to the client.
Limited Scope Retainers
Limited scope retainers or unbundled legal services refer to the provision of legal services for part, but not all, of a client’s legal matter by explicit agreement with the client. Otherwise, the client remains self-represented. An example of a limited scope retainer would be where a client retains a lawyer to prepare a separation agreement whose terms were arrived at through mediation and/or to provide independent legal advice on such an agreement. A monetary retainer is usually still required in advance of work commencing.
Alternative Fee Arrangements
In addition to acceptance of limited scope retainers, where appropriate, we are prepared to discuss flat rate or capped legal fees.