So no, not these.
This is one of a series of posts describing different fee arrangements offered by attorneys.
Just to clear up a bit of jargon, you might hear me or another attorney talk about a “retainer.” What on earth is a retainer?
A retainer is a fancy way of describing a “down payment.” Lawyers, especially those who are working on an hourly rate, want to have some guarantee that their bills are going to get paid. As a result, they might ask you for a certain amount of money up front, and bill against that money as they go along (paying themselves out of the retainer). You might end up seeing retainers in a variety of other fee situations as well, but this is the most common context.
Retainers may be negotiable, just like a variety of other things. The lawyer is using the retainer as insurance of sorts against not receiving money later on. If there is some way to ensure that you will pay, or that the lawyer will get their money from some other source, it may be possible to get them to reduce the amount they want as a retainer, making it easier for you to pay that lump sum up front and getting started with their representation.
Just to clear up a bit of jargon, you might hear me or another attorney talk about a “retainer.” What on earth is a retainer?
A retainer is a fancy way of describing a “down payment.” Lawyers, especially those who are working on an hourly rate, want to have some guarantee that their bills are going to get paid. As a result, they might ask you for a certain amount of money up front, and bill against that money as they go along (paying themselves out of the retainer). You might end up seeing retainers in a variety of other fee situations as well, but this is the most common context.
Retainers may be negotiable, just like a variety of other things. The lawyer is using the retainer as insurance of sorts against not receiving money later on. If there is some way to ensure that you will pay, or that the lawyer will get their money from some other source, it may be possible to get them to reduce the amount they want as a retainer, making it easier for you to pay that lump sum up front and getting started with their representation.
