Precedent Documents and Retainers

As a supplement to the managing the finances of your practice booklet, practicePRO has created a number of precedent documents, including (see Note below):

Precedent Documents Adobe PDF Word 97+ Word- Perfect 8+ Business plan outline: 34 KB 57 KB Sample budget: 11 KB 49 KB   Sample associate agreement: 19 KB 41 KB 45 KB Model retainer agreements:       • General retainer 33 KB 39 KB 54 KB • General retainer (short) 14 KB 41 KB 185 KB • Criminal retainer 19 KB 28 KB 87 KB • Estate retainer (admin) 45 KB 52 KB 83 KB • Estate retainer (probate) 43 KB 51 KB 59 KB • Family retainer 42 KB 48 KB 45 KB • Personal injury retainer (hourly) 47 KB 61 KB 73 KB • Personal injury retainer (contingency) 40 KB 61 KB 72 KB Client Billing Information Document Precedent 89 KB 50 KB   Client Administrative Information Document Precedent 89 KB 50 KB

NOTE: Model retainers and agreements are provided by LAWPRO for your consideration and use when you draft your own documents. They are NOT meant to be used "as is". Their suitability will depend upon a number of factors, such as the current state of the law and practice in each area of law, your writing style, your needs and the needs and preferences of you and your clients. These documents may need to be modified to correspond to current law and practice.

Retainer letters or agreements should include reference to the following:

• identity of the lawyer and the client;
• scope of service (is your work to be limited in any way?);
• obligations of client;
• delegation of work;
• expected chronology;
• fee arrangement;
• billing format;
• rate changes;
• withdrawal or termination of services; and
• conflicts of interest.

These documents were originally drafted by the Law Society of British Columbia, and are reproduced with permission. LAWPRO gratefully acknowledges the work the Law Society of British Columbia did in preparing these documents.

Other Resources

• managing the finances of your practice
  This booklet reviews the steps you can take to better manage the finances of your practice, and touches briefly on some of the longer-term financial planning issues involved in winding up law practice.
• practicePRO Lending Library
  View books from the 'Billing and Financial Management' titles of our library.
• Other LAWPRO articles on financial management
  Click here to see a complete list of articles on practice finances.