Q= What is the amount of your retainer | attorney fees based on?

Q= What is the amount of your retainer | attorney fees based on?

A= Depends. An important factor in maintaining the trust and confidence of my clients is clearly communicating the amount of my retainer fee and what it covers on a given case. My reasonable retainer fee is based on and in compliance with the ethical factors and considerations spelled out in the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct that govern licensed attorneys, as follows:

(1) the time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved, and the skill requisite to perform the legal service properly;

(2) the likelihood, if apparent to the client, that the acceptance of the particular employment will preclude other employment by the lawyer;

(3) the fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services;

(4) the amount involved and the results obtained;

(5) the time limitations imposed by the client or by the circumstances;

(6) the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client;

(7) the experience, reputation and ability of the lawyer or lawyers performing the services; and

(8) whether the fee is fixed or contingent.

As with most criminal defense attorneys, my retainer fee in a criminal case is fixed. That is, my retainer fee is a set or flat fee that is not contingent on any outcome or promise. In fact, it is unethical for a criminal defense attorney to make a retainer fee contingent on the outcome of the case.

As the above-noted ethical factors and considerations show, in order to quote and ultimately charge a reasonable retainer fee in a given case I need to know more than the bare-bone details of the case. This is precisely why most criminal defense attorneys, including myself, do not have a price-for-type-of-case menu, say, like you might see at an automobile repair shop. However, with that being said, because for more than a decade I have handled so many of the same or similar type of case, e.g., DWI, I can provide a general range of what my retainer fee is likely to be on certain cases.

Again, depending on a number of ethical factors and the specifics of your DWI case:

My retainer fee for a DWI generally ranges anywhere from

$1,900.00 to $10,000.00.

Of course, this illustration of a wide range of my retainer fee in a given case is precisely why you will need to provide me with more details concerning your case, including your concerns and expectations, before I can quote you a reasonable retainer fee specific to your case.

It almost goes without saying, and I cannot stress this enough:

You get what you pay for!

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Call Me, Matthew L. Thornton, Esq.: (651) 699-2007