Retainer

An upfront payment made to a lawyer to secure their services. The lawyer draws from this deposit as they work on your case.

A retainer is money you pay to a lawyer upfront before they begin working on your case. The lawyer deposits this money into a special trust account and draws from it as they perform work, billing against the retainer at their hourly rate. When the retainer runs low, the lawyer may ask for an additional deposit.

Under Minnesota’s Rules of Professional Conduct, lawyers must keep retainer funds in a separate trust account until the fees are earned. Any unused portion of the retainer must be returned to the client.

Why it matters: Understanding how retainers work helps you budget for legal representation. Ask your lawyer how large a retainer they require, what their hourly rate is, and how quickly they expect the retainer to be used. You have the right to receive a written fee agreement and regular billing statements.

Example: A person hires a divorce attorney who requires a $3,000 retainer and bills at $250 per hour. After 10 hours of work, the attorney has earned $2,500 and the remaining $500 stays in the trust account. The attorney asks for a $2,000 replenishment to continue the case.