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Retainer Management

Retainers are monthly billing agreements between your MSP and an attorney partner. Each retainer specifies included hours per month and an overage rate for hours beyond the included amount. The platform automatically processes attorney payouts on the first of each month.

Retainer Lifecycle​

draft → active → paused → cancelled
StatusMeaning
draftBeing configured — not yet active
activeBilling is live; hours are being logged against this retainer
pausedTemporarily suspended — no new hours logged, billing paused
cancelledRetainer is ended — historical records preserved

Creating a Retainer​

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Retainers are created by your attorney partner and presented to you for acceptance. You cannot create a retainer yourself — contact your attorney to initiate one.

When an attorney creates a retainer:

  1. You receive a notification to review the retainer terms
  2. Navigate to Retainers in the sidebar
  3. Open the pending retainer in draft status
  4. Review:
    • Monthly fee — Fixed monthly cost for the included hours
    • Included hours — Hours per month covered at no additional charge
    • Overage rate — Hourly rate for hours beyond the included amount
    • Start date — When billing begins
    • Billing cycle — Day of month for renewal (typically 1st)
  5. Click Accept Retainer to activate it

Viewing Retainer Details​

Navigate to Retainers to see all active and historical retainers.

Retainer Summary Card​

Each retainer shows:

  • Attorney name and retainer title
  • Status badge
  • Monthly fee amount
  • Included hours remaining this month
  • Hours used this month vs. included
  • Next billing date

Retainer Detail Page​

Click a retainer to open the full detail view.

Overview Tab

  • Full retainer terms
  • Status and activation history

Hours Log Tab

  • All billable hours logged against this retainer
  • Filter by date range or matter
  • Each entry: date, matter title, hours, description, rate applied (included or overage)
  • Monthly summary: included hours used, overage hours, overage charges

Matters Tab

  • All matters attached to this retainer
  • Quick-link to each matter detail page

Payout History Tab

  • All monthly payout records
  • Each entry: payout date, hours billed, included charges, overage charges, total payout amount

Hours Tracking​

As your attorney logs hours against matters attached to this retainer:

  • Hours deduct from the monthly included balance
  • When included hours are exhausted, additional hours bill at the overage rate
  • You can see the current monthly balance in real time on the retainer detail page

Monthly Reset​

On the 1st of each month:

  • The included hours counter resets
  • Unused hours from the prior month do not roll over
  • A payout record is generated for the prior month's usage
  • The payout is processed automatically via Stripe Connect (100% to the attorney, 0% platform fee)

Retainer Statements​

A monthly statement is generated automatically on the 1st of each month for the prior billing period.

To view statements:

  1. Open the retainer detail
  2. Click the Payout History tab
  3. Each row represents one monthly billing period
  4. Click View Statement on any row to see the full itemized breakdown

Statement includes:

  • Billing period dates
  • Matter-by-matter hours breakdown
  • Total included hours used
  • Total overage hours and charges
  • Total payout amount

Replenishment Alerts​

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The platform automatically sends an alert when your included hours fall below 20% of the monthly allotment. This gives you time to discuss whether to increase the retainer or prioritize which work to pursue.

Alerts are sent via:

  • In-app notification in the Legal portal
  • Email to the MSP owner

Pausing a Retainer​

If you need to temporarily suspend legal services:

  1. Open the retainer detail
  2. Click Pause Retainer
  3. Enter a reason (shown to the attorney)
  4. Choose an optional resume date
  5. Click Confirm

During a paused period:

  • No new hours can be logged
  • The monthly fee is not charged for months where the retainer is paused for the full month
  • Partial month pauses are handled based on the retainer terms

Cancelling a Retainer​

To cancel a retainer:

  1. Open the retainer detail
  2. Click Cancel Retainer
  3. Enter a cancellation reason
  4. Review the final billing calculation (any hours in the current period are billed)
  5. Click Confirm Cancellation
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Cancellation is final. A new retainer must be created by the attorney to resume services. All historical records (matters, hours, statements) are preserved after cancellation.

Multiple Retainers​

You can have multiple active retainers — for example, one for ongoing general legal work and one for a specific project. When opening a matter, select which retainer to bill against.

Payout Processing​

Attorney payouts are processed automatically:

  • Schedule: 1st of each month at 2:00 AM UTC
  • Payment method: Stripe Connect (direct bank deposit to attorney)
  • Platform fee: 0% — the full retainer amount goes to the attorney
  • Overage: Overage charges are added to the monthly payout

If a payout fails (e.g., Stripe connectivity issue), the platform retries and alerts both the attorney and MSP owner.