Retainer agreement

Short description: Contract retaining future work

Contract law

Part of the common law series
Contract formation

* Offer and acceptance
* Posting rule
* Mirror image rule
* Invitation to treat
* Firm offer
* Consideration
* Implication-in-fact
* Collateral contract

Defenses against formation

* Lack of capacity
* Duress
* Undue influence
* Illusory promise
* Statute of frauds
* Non est factum

Contract interpretation

* Parol evidence rule
* Contract of adhesion
* Integration clause
* Contra proferentem

Excuses for non-performance

* Mistake
* Misrepresentation
* Frustration of purpose
* Impossibility
* Impracticability
* Illegality
* Unclean hands
* Unconscionability
* Accord and satisfaction

Rights of third parties

* Privity of contract
* Assignment
* Delegation
* Novation
* Third-party beneficiary

Breach of contract

* Anticipatory repudiation
* Cover
* Exclusion clause
* Efficient breach
* Deviation
* Fundamental breach

Remedies

* Specific performance
* Liquidated damages
* Penal damages
* Rescission

Quasi-contractual obligations

* Promissory estoppel
* Quantum meruit
* Unjust enrichment

Related areas of law

* Conflict of laws
* Commercial law

Other common law areas

* Tort law
* Property law
* Wills, trusts, and estates
* Criminal law
* Evidence

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A retainer agreement is a work-for-hire contract. It falls between a one-off contract and permanent employment, which may be full-time or part-time.[1] Its distinguishing feature is that the client or customer pays in advance for professional work to be specified later. The purpose of a retainer fee is to ensure that the employed reserves time for the client in the future when their services are needed.

A retainer agreement may incorporate other contractual provisions regarding the performance of services, or the parties may potentially enter into additional contracts that define the other terms of their working relationship. A retainer fee may be paid on a fixed, pre-negotiated rate or on a variable hourly rate depending on the nature of retainer and also, the practice of the professional being retained.

## Legal services

It is common for a person seeking the services of a lawyer (attorney) to pay a retainer ("retainer fee") to the lawyer, to see a case through to its conclusion.[2] A retainer can be a single advance payment or a recurring (e.g. monthly) payment. Absent an agreement to the contrary, a retainer fee is refundable if the work is not performed.[3]

The retainer agreement may serve as the basis of authority for a legal advocate. It may limit a lawyer's authority to specific tasks or services, as opposed to providing authority for general purposes.[4] For example, if a lawyer is hired for purposes of litigation, during litigation the advocate will normally be authorized by the client to accept service of documents for which personal service upon the client is not required. In addition to being formally described in a retainer agreement, a client's grant of authority to an attorney may be implied, apparent or usual through the normal practice of the legal professional in providing representation to a client.[5][6]

## See also

* Contingent fee
* Legal expenses insurance

## References

1. ↑ Mariotti, Steve (2014). The young entrepreneur's guide to starting and running a business : turn your ideas into money! (First ed.). New York: Crown. p. 125. ISBN 9780307815514.
2. ↑ Richmond, Douglas r. (2009). "Understanding Retainers and Flat Fees". Journal of the Legal Profession 34: 113.
3. ↑ Lane, Mary (29 October 2012). "Retaining the professional retainer when the client is in financial distress". https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=df17b6c0-5d8e-462c-a138-accf76dcaaf8. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
4. ↑ "Reviewing Retainer Agreement Contract Principles, Scope, and Trea" (in en). https://natlawreview.com/article/if-its-not-its-out-crucial-role-retainer-agreements.
5. ↑ Lanctot, Catherine (1999). "Attorney-Client Relationships in Cyberspace: The Peril and the Promise". Duke Law Journal 49 (1): 147–259. doi:10.2307/1373064. https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/dlj/vol49/iss1/2.
6. ↑ Giesel, Grace M. (2013). "The Attorney-Client Relationship in the Age of Technology". Mississippi College Law Review 32: 319.

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