Retainer

1.

The act of engaging an attorney-at-law to prosecute or defend a cause; also, the formal notice given by the lawyer that he has been so retained; and, also, the fee paid — the "retaining fee." In particular, the fee of a barrister, or advocate, paid before it is earned. The old rule that all fees should be paid in advance, by removing pecuniary interest in the issue of suits, tended to maintain the independence and respectability of the bar.

See Attorney.

2.

At common law, the right in an executor or administrator to reserve assets enough to pay his own debt, before other creditors of equal degree. The reason was, he could not sue himself. Now, as a rule, unsecured debts share alike.