A retainer is not a guarantee to be on-call, nor to do anything outside of regular business hours.seamusTX wrote:The sort of scenario I'm thinking of is being arrested at 10 p.m. the day before Thanksgiving. It's going to be days before you can get in touch with an attorney unless you have an existing relationship.mr surveyor wrote:I do NOT see how paying an attorney to be "on stand by" in case of some potential need could, or should be any more effective at providing legal counsel than one hired at the time of need ...
A retainer doesn't establish much of a relationship; the attorney gets your money and you get his phone number. Not such a great deal.