Retaining a business attorney from the very start can save valuable time, energy and money in order to help avoid litigation. Retaining an attorney from the beginning can help you focus on your business and not on legal questions. A retained attorney can help avoid litigation by reviewing all your business contracts. Without the help of a skilled attorney, a business owner may not recognize any unfair or adverse provisions that may leave the business vulnerable to losses or liability, or even whether a location will help or hinder a business.
For all your business needs, do not hesitate to contact us regarding our business law services. Please call for more information. Solution Driven Representation. We need you to know the following so we can have a productive conversation: We will need to know some basic information about you and the other people involved in your issue to make sure we do not have a conflict. We need to make sure we do not already represent someone else involved in your situation. If your lawyer bills you and the remaining retainer fee is nearing zero, the lawyer will ask you to top up the retainer fee.
You can ask your lawyer at any time for a trust account statement. Bills or statements of account that you receive from your lawyer will also say how much of your retainer fee is left. If there is money left after your lawyer has been paid for the services they provided to you and the lawyer is not providing any further services , your lawyer will return the balance to you.
If your lawyer bills you, applies the retainer fee and you still owe money, you should pay the rest as soon as you can. Your retainer agreement might say how many days you have to pay a bill and what the late fees or interest will be if you do not.
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If you have a separate interest-bearing trust account with your lawyer, you receive the interest on that account. Ask your lawyer about separate interest-bearing accounts. Sometimes money is in a trust account for a short period and the interest earned does not outweigh the cost of setting up a new account. Some lawyers will agree to be paid for their services at the end of a transaction or periodically without taking a retainer.
Another option is a contingency fee agreement, which is most common in personal injury cases. A third option is a limited scope retainer, where a lawyer does only some tasks on the file and you do the rest.
See above for more information about contingency fee agreements and limited scope retainers. You can discuss your concerns with your lawyer. This website provides general legal information only. It does not provide legal or professional advice.
See Disclaimer for more information. Copyright Legal Resource Centre of Alberta. A retainer refers to two things: A written agreement contract between you and the lawyer that forms a solicitor-client relationship. This is a retainer agreement. Money you pay to a lawyer to secure their services. This money is a deposit on future legal fees and expenses the lawyer will incur on your behalf.
This is a retainer fee. Last updated: February What is a retainer agreement? Usually your lawyer has full authority to act for you. They must follow your instructions unless your instructions are unethical or illegal on important steps, such as going to court or accepting a settlement offer. Sometimes you might hire a lawyer on a limited scope retainer.
In this case, the retainer agreement must set out exactly what work the lawyer will be responsible for. You will be responsible for all other steps in the court action. See the question below for more information on limited scope retainers. The lawyer might charge you a flat fee for their work or by the hour. If they charge you by the hour, the agreement must say what their hourly rate is.
The agreement should also say what the costs are for the services of legal assistants or other employees of the lawyer who work on your file. Last updated: February What is a retainer fee?
Last updated: February What is a trust account? Last updated: February What is a statement of account? Last updated: February How do I find a lawyer? There are many ways to find a lawyer: Ask friends and family for recommendations.
Call or email the Lawyer Referral Service. Run by the Law Society of Alberta, this service will provide you with the names and contact information for three lawyers that may be able to help with your legal issue.
Each lawyer you contact should provide a free half-hour consultation. You should spend this time talking to the lawyers to see if they are a good fit for your legal issue. The lawyers will not give you free legal advice during this time. Talk to service providers. Ask your intake worker, support worker, etc. For further information regarding retainers or other financial terms of representation, contact Fenza Legal Services with any questions that you have. Reach Out Now. Check with your state's bar association for more information.
An attorney should give you a description of their fees, preferably in writing, and some states require that lawyers put their fees in writing before taking a case.
You should also see details of fees for services like copying documents, court filing fees, or research costs. One way to make sure that you have a complete understanding of the fees is to thoroughly review the retainer agreement with your attorney before you sign it.
There is no such thing as a "typical" retainer agreement, but some common features are included in most:. What happens if you don't pay? The attorney might charge you a service fee or interest on the overdue balance or take out a lien on your documents or other property the attorney has. In other words, you won't get your stuff back until you pay the attorney's bill in full. The agreement with your attorney should spell out the attorney's right to charge you for non-payment.
Attorneys are legally and ethically obligated to deposit your retainer fee in special trust accounts, not in their business accounts. An attorney will then transfer funds from that account into her business account periodically as the case progresses—usually on a monthly basis. Transfers occur after your attorney earns the money by performing services on your behalf.
It's up to you as the client to make sure that transfers made from the retainer are supported by time spent on the case. You should receive an update letter at least every month as you work with your attorney or other professional. The letter should include an accounting statement with details of the work that was done on your behalf and billed against the retainer.
The accounting should include time billed for each item of work done or contact made, with a total for the month.
If you don't get a letter or an accounting statement every month, ask for one. Spend time looking at to make sure you understand all the parts of the bill, including attorney time and other charges. A retainer arrangement benefits both the client and the attorney. The attorney has the assurance of being paid monthly or at least on a regular basis. This is particularly helpful if a client is slow in paying. The retainer arrangement is also beneficial for the client because it provides an estimated budget for legal fees.
Depending on the nature of your case, however, it's not uncommon for a legal matter to "blow up," requiring much more time and effort to resolve.
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