Help with a piece of Business English

Definitions of retainer (in this case):

a fee charged in advance to retain the services of someone

money paid by the client to the lawyer to obtain a commitment from the lawyer to handle the client’s case. A retainer is a deposit against which the lawyer’s fees are charged as they are earned. Some retainers are refundable and some are not. You will need to check with your lawyer.

A pay me nt made to an attorney to secure his or her services. The retainer is placed in a trust account and, as the attorney works, the charges are deducted from the retainer until the money is used up.

So i'd guess that you'd have to pay $2000 first as a deposit and the $200 more each hour on top of the $2000.

I hope that helps

The "retainer" is the money you pay up front to retain the services (or goods) being purchased. As has already been suggested, it's a good idea to find out first whether any part of this retainer will be refundable in the event that the purchase total comes to less than the retainer covers.

Thank you for this precise definition, you helped me a lot.

That must be an awfully cheap lawyer or a pretty expensive plumber.

And you heard that joke about the doctor who became a plumber?

No, but I remember eating breakfast at some sort of upscale diner in NYC and sitting next to one of those women who talk much too louly on her cell, wrangling with a hospital about an immediate appointment because she was having problems with her pipes. For tenn minutes we all heard every itimate detail of her pipes. Kinda took a little bit off the bagel.

So waht about the doc?