Hi Brian..


>If I gave that impression, it's unfortunate, and bodes ill on me. It was not my intent. It is just that the lawyer that I've dealt with in the past has led me to believe that having it "down on paper" is what is necessary (I don't know, maybe it just makes things easier on him). That's not to say that something not specifically stated isn't possible or wouldn't apply, but just that I didn't make that assumption.
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Having as much as you can in writing is best. It helps to avoid ambiguities. However, what happens when you are the agrieved party and you know that events have strayed beyond what is in writing. Often, to reach a fair result, one must stray beyond the 4 corners of the contract. This gets into the Williston vs. Corbin views on what courts should do. On one hand, courts are there to ensure justice and fairness prevail. On the other hand, courts cannot get in the business of writing contracts for litigants...


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This is one more thing that I've learned today (in addition to keeping my mouth shut :). From what I've been previously told (and read), a retainer fee is usually not refundable. Up until a few months ago I'd only heard it in the context of securing a lawyer's services, and more times than not, it wasn't refundable. However additional research found that such a charge could be used for other types of services. Now whether or not "retainer fee" is the proper term, or if the definition differs from state-to-state, it's all I know because of what I've read.
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Lawyers are governed by professional standards of conduct. In fact, as a law student, I am governed by them as well. When we started our legal education, we were welcomed to the legal profession, because the standards of conduct start there. After all, whether we are admitted to the bar or not depends not only on whether we pass the exam, it also depends on conduct. The process of bar admission is quite extensive... What you can do with a fee is of focus in the standards of conduct. On one hand, the relationship between lawyer can client is governed by contract. On the other hand, there are certain rights that clients have that cannot be contracted away. If you pay a lawyer a retainer and then dismiss him, there may be serious ethical issues as to whether the attorney can keep the entire fee.