All About An Initial Retainer

Attorneys cost money—and they should. Informed, caring representation in legal matters requires years of education, strict licensing, ongoing training, and continuous oversight by state authorities. An attorney invests significant time and financial resources into building and maintaining a professional career and deserves fair compensation for that commitment. While it is often said that attorneys charge unreasonable fees—and in some cases that may be true—understanding how attorneys structure their fees can help clients make informed choices. One common fee structure involves an initial retainer, which is an upfront payment applied toward future legal work and costs. By understanding how an initial retainer works and how legal fees are handled, clients can select an attorney who aligns with their expectations of fairness and value, often securing strong legal representation at a reasonable cost.

One of the ways of handling legal fees is for an attorney to charge an upfront amount called a “retainer.” Just as the word “retainer” implies, this amount of money retains an attorney’s services until the retainer fee is used in full. Here it should be noted that many attorneys will keep the entire retainer amount whether, in the course of representation, the money is used entirely for your benefit or not.

For example, you need a family law attorney to help you collect the arrears on child support not being currently paid by the parent adjudicated to do so. The attorney you want to hire will charge a $3,000 retainer to be paid before he/she can begin litigation. Ongoing fees for this particular attorney’s representation are charged by the hour, at $250 an hour. So you have approximately 12 hours of the attorney’s time prepaid. As it turns out, after the attorney files the paperwork required by the court, and this paperwork is served to the offending parent, he/she decides to make up the arrearages and agrees in writing, which is notarized, to be faithful in future child support payments. What could have been a lengthy and expensive litigation now becomes one needing only 8 hours of your chosen attorney’s time. Many attorneys will simply keep the entire $3,000 of your retainer fee. Thus, the difference of the $250 per hour or $2,000 for 8 hours leaves a balance of $1,000 not used on your behalf and not returned to you.

You can easily see why it is so important to check several attorneys before deciding on the one to represent you. It is most helpful if you are able to meet in person with an attorney to ask him or her about their fee schedule, including whether they charge a retainer, and if they do, will you be refunded any monies that are not used specifically for your case? Some attorneys offer a free, initial consultation so you can do just that.

Attorney Grant Gisondo, who practices family law in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, is an attorney who not only will refund any unused portion of his retainer but also offers a free, initial, in-office consultation where he will meet with you personally to answer your questions and share his fee schedule and how he can help in your individual situation. He represents clients in Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Miami-Dade, Broward, Orange, and Hillsborough counties in Florida and clients in Washington, DC, or New York. You can call (561) 530-4568 to make an appointment. New clients can meet with Attorney Gisondo on Saturdays between 8:30 am and 1:00 pm as well as weekdays. Be sure to visit his website https://gisondolaw.com/ for more information about Attorney Gisondo as a person and how he and his legal representation can be of help to you.