Question of the month from the Garvie Reading Room:
I need a lawyer to help me with a situation, so I met with one the other day. The lawyer said that before she would do any work on my case, I would have to pay her $3,000.00 as a retainer. Why should I have to pay her when she hasn’t done anything yet?
A retainer fee is a way of assuring both you and your lawyer that the money will be available to cover your legal fees and any other costs associated with your legal action. You pay a lump sum which is then deposited in a trust account. As the case proceeds, your lawyer will bill you and take money from the trust account for her fees and specified costs (e.g. photocopying, court application fees etc.). If the retainer is used up before the case is completed, you will probably have to pay to top up the account so that the legal work can continue. If there is any of the retainer money left when your case is done and all the fees and costs have been paid, then you will get that money back.
You can find more answers to questions about retainer fees and retainer agreements at Canadian Legal FAQs.
Lawyers charge for services in different ways depending on the type of service being provided and the complexity of the situation. Articles about understanding lawyer’s fees are provided by the Law Societies of BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan as well as the Nova Scotia Barrister’s Society.