A solicitor’s retainer is not just paperwork.
It is the foundation for the right to charge. If the foundation is weak, everything built on it is vulnerable.
A successful case may still end in a fight about the bill. A client may challenge a success fee. A deduction from damages may be attacked. A CFA may not say what the solicitor thought it said. A funding agreement may not fit with the client care letter.
That is why retainers should be treated as risk documents.
I advise on the drafting, review and challenge of retainers and funding documents, including CFAs, DBAs, client care letters, success fees, deductions from damages, cancellation provisions, hybrid arrangements, funding agreements and group litigation documents.
Before the problem arises
The best time to take advice on a retainer is before it is used.
A good retainer should state the bargain clearly, explain the financial consequences to the client, and be robust enough to withstand hostile scrutiny if the relationship later breaks down.
Length is not the same as clarity. A retainer does not become safer because it is longer. It becomes safer because the documents work together and the client can understand what is being agreed.
When the retainer is challenged
Many retainer disputes begin after the case has ended and money has been recovered.
At that stage, the client looks again at the paperwork. Was the success fee explained? Was the deduction from damages authorised? Was the estimate clear? Does the client care letter match the CFA? Did the client give informed consent?
I advise solicitors and clients on the strength of retainer challenges, the evidence needed to answer them, and the practical options for settlement, assessment or litigation.
What to send
Please send the client care letter, retainer, CFA, DBA or terms of business, any costs estimate, ATE policy, litigation funding agreement, document dealing with deductions from damages, group litigation documents, and a short note explaining the concern.
If urgent, identify the deadline, hearing date, assessment date or complaint deadline at the start.