Retainer

What is a RETAINER....In Illinois, a divorce retainer is an upfront lump-sum payment made by a client to secure an attorney's services, functioning primarily as an advance fee or security deposit from which the lawyer bills hourly. Under Illinois Supreme Court rules and state law, this money is drawn down as work is performed, and any unearned funds must be refunded to the client at the end of the case. 

Does the amount of the retainer you pay correlate with great representation? Will you have a successful outcome in your case if the retainer you pay is higher than the opposing party pays to the other attorney?  Both of these answers are unequivocally "No".   There is no legal determination as to what the retainer must be.  The differences in retainers between firms are based upon what the law firm thinks they can charge without losing potential clients.  There is no justification or benefit to you to pay a high retainer.  The benefit is given to the firm who receives your money.  This is your money being held by the attorney in a State monitored trust account to work on your case. If you think about it, a higher retainer is a reflection of the attorney  protecting the law firm against their concern that you will not to pay additional fees after the retainer is used. When you interview attorneys to represent you, I suggest you ask them to explain and support the retainer dollar amount they require you to pay.  

A successful divorce outcome depends on facts, evidence, statutory guidelines, and negotiation—not the size of your deposit. A highly skilled, efficient attorney charging a $1,000 retainer can easily outperform a disorganized attorney charging a $5,000 retainer. 

My retainer is $1,000.00.  This amount will typically cover the minimum of reviewing the case, filing the required court appearance, preparing and filing the initial court pleadings, or a response to the pleading filed with the court by the other attorney, completing any court- required additional documents and appearing on the first court date if no settlement is reached.  There is no need to pay a $3,000.00 or higher retainer to do these steps.  In the event the retainer is exhausted the attorney can simply send you an invoice to pay the additional fees incurred.