How a Marketing & Advertising Business Hired a Lawyer to Draft a Retainer Agreement in California

Thank you for your question. The answer is going to sound a bit vague, but a retainer agreement is a type of contract - like any contract, the answer depends on the terms of the agreement itself. Please read the agreement very carefully, and see whether or not an increase in the retainer is allowed or not under the terms of the agreement as written. Also, please note that most often, a retainer is simply a down payment on hourly fees that will be charged - if that's the case, the attorney will have more flexibility in asking you to pay in advance. If, on the other hand, you are being charged a flat fee for a service, the attorney may have less flexibility in changing the terms. I suggest that you carefully read through this page of information from the Washington State Bar Association for additional information: https://www.wsba.org/for-the-public/concerns-about-a-lawyer

That is an excellent question, and I wish more people asked. Every attorney writes these differently, but, like all contracts, retainer agreements are usually written to benefit the author, and it's often difficult to negotiate changes. For a very large and costly project, please consider paying either a contracts attorney or an ethics attorney for an hour or two of his or her time to review the proposed retainer before you sign, and perhaps help you negotiate it. One of the things to look for is (are) hidden costs - for example, will the law firm charge you $36 every time they write a one sentence response to an email question you may have? Will you or they be paying for experts - if so, who will be used, and will you have any say in their selection? How much will the experts charge? (EG - a doctor in a personal injury case could charge $1500/hour). Does the retainer include language regarding how disputes between you and the law firm will be resolved? Does the retainer fully comply with the Washington State Rules for Professional Responsibility? https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/?fa=court_rules.list&group=ga&set=RPC (Please note - the court website system has been having technical problems - in addition to the rules, there are also innumerable opinions interpreting the rules - only a true ethics attorney will be on top of all of these).