Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Ohio

Re: ethics

The answer to this question depends on the fee contract you signed with the lawyer. In almost all circumstances, the retainer is actually a deposit to secure the payment of legal fees that will become due in the future. Once the attorney has been discharged there will be no legal fees to become due in the future, and thus no need for a deposit. When the attorney is discharged he or she should total up the amount they have earned for work performed to date, subtract that amount from the retainer, and refund the balance to the client.

In rare cases a retainer is paid to insure that the attorney is available on a specific matter and to prevent someone else from hiring that attorney. In those cases, the retainer may be entirely earned by the attorney when it was paid. As this is a rare circumstance, I would not anticipate it to apply to your question.

I hope this helps. If you need additional information please feel free to call me.

Respectfully,

Richard A. Cline