legal · 2026-05-01
Project how fast a legal retainer will burn given hourly billing pace, replenishment threshold, and projected case length.
| Initial retainer | $5,000 |
| Attorney hourly rate | $400 |
| Avg hours billed per week | 3 |
| Replenishment trigger % | 25% |
| Expected case length (weeks) | 26 |
| Total projected cost | $31,200 |
| Replenishments needed | 6 |
| Replenishment trigger amount | $1,250 |
The retainer agreement looks like a contained budget. It's not. It's an opening deposit you'll be asked to refill repeatedly as the meter runs. Knowing the burn rate up front avoids the "we need another $5,000" surprise call mid-case.
weekly burn = avg hours billed/week × hourly rate
weeks to zero = retainer ÷ weekly burn
total case cost = weekly burn × expected case lengthA $5,000 retainer at $400/hr × 3 hours/week burns through in 4.2 weeks. On a 26-week case, you'll fund the retainer 6 times — true cost ~$31,200.
At case close + 30 days under most state ethics rules. The retainer is your money in trust until billed; unbilled balance must be returned. Some attorneys condition this on completion of all discovery (a fair condition); some try to keep it as 'minimum engagement fee' (often unethical). Read your engagement letter.
For predictable work — uncontested divorce, simple LLC formation, single-issue motion — flat fees protect you from runaway hourly billing. Typical: $1,500-5,000 for a standard family-law uncontested matter. Don't accept flat-fee for litigation: the attorney's incentive flips against you.
Ask for weekly time logs (not monthly statements), require pre-approval on any task >2 hours, and set a monthly cap above which the attorney needs your sign-off. The attorney that refuses these terms is the one you can't afford.