What is a Retainer Fee for a Divorce Lawyer? - YouTube

One question I always get from clients, in meetings, even from friends and family is—

Jenny, how much does a lawyer cost?

It's a great question, but instead of giving you the typical lawyer answer of “it depends,”

I'm going to explain the different structures of attorney’s fees and how they work.

I'm Jenny Bradley, owner of Triangle Smart Divorce in Cary, North Carolina.

There are two ways most attorneys charge for their services.

Let's start with a flat fee. A flat fee is a set price for a specific service.

You may be familiar with this if you've ever paid a lawyer to handle a traffic ticket.

You pay the flat fee once, and that pays for all work on your case.

The second way lawyers charge for their services is by retainer.

A true retainer is a fee that is paid only to reserve an attorney’s services, not to actually pay

for any of the work provided by the attorney.

We don't do that at Triangle Smart Divorce. What we do and what most people call a retainer

is actually an advanced fee deposit.

You pay a retainer that we bill against until it runs low,

and we ask you to replenish your retainer; this cycle repeats until your case is closed.

And listen, there are going to be pluses and minuses to both payment structures.

For example, many lawyers who charge flat fees make more profit when they settle your case quickly,

so they can rush through and not get the best result.

On the other hand, many people think lawyers working off retainers

are going to drag the case out to keep charging you more money.

Bottom line, you can be taken advantage of, no matter the billing structure,

so you really need to focus on finding a law firm you can trust.

Like I mentioned, at Triangle Smart Divorce, we work mainly on retainers

or technically advanced fee deposits.

Now some people call us and want to know exactly how much their case is going to cost.

While we understand why you want to and need to know the cost.

without getting all the specific details and researching the case,

we really can't give you an accurate number.

Think about a mechanic. They're not going to be able to tell

you how much your car repair is going to

cost until they get in there and look under the hood.

And in a separation and divorce, we aren't just dealing with an inanimate object like a car.

We also have to factor in your spouse's willingness to resolve matters,

the other lawyer’s speed in responding and managing expectations,

as well as who your judge is if you go to court.

All of these things impact the cost, and some of them we just can't fully predict.

That's why when you come to us, we quote the amount we feel will cover the first 60 days of your case.

Some law firms quote for the first 30 days.

Some do the first 90 days; 60 days is just the amount of time

we found works for us and our clients.

If your funds go low before the first 60 days, we’ll ask for more.

If not, every billing cycle, you'll receive a new request for what we think the next steps are going to cost;

and every replenishment amount may look different depending on what's coming up in your case

and how much money is left in your trust account.

If, at the end of your case, there's still money left in your trust account,

we’ll cut you a check for the unused funds.

We'll have you sign a retainer agreement before you pay us anything.

That agreement goes into detail about all of this.

It includes our entire legal teams’ hourly rates because we work together

so that your time and funds are used smartly and efficiently.

And so you get the benefit of the entire teams’ legal experience.

The agreement also lays out any additional services this money might be used for

as well as our process for billing our time and invoicing you.

And you always have access to your account and can see every charge billed.

As we say in our retainer agreement, every attempt will be made to perform this legal representation

in the most cost-effective way possible.

We're open and honest about how your money is being used to resolve your case.

We respect our clients, and part of how we show our respect is making sure we're charging

what's fair and explaining to you what we're doing in your case.

For us, we find using retainers makes sure clients get exactly what they pay for.

If you have any questions about how retainers work here at Triangle Smart Divorce

or how we can help you, give us a call.