This is a legal contract between the law firm and the client setting forth the terms of the legal services to be provided and how the client will be charged for the services.
A retainer need not be in writing, although it is in both your and the lawyer's interests if the essential terms are in writing. This may be part of a costs agreement. Under a retainer, the lawyer agrees to use all the relevant information to further your interests.
Retention Letter means a document held to maintain net economic interest significantly, updated by various parties from time to time.
A contract can either be written or verbal, and while both can be legally binding, some contracts are required to be written in a designated format to be enforceable. Contract law is complex and differs between jurisdictions.
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. Its distinguishing feature is that the client or customer pays in advance for professional work to be specified later.
1. As noted above, a retainer agreement is a letter of engagement countersigned by both the attorney and the client, and contains all the elements that letters of engagement must contain.