The legal retainer template that turns one-off matters into ongoing counsel.
Hourly billing trains clients to avoid calling you — exactly the opposite of what a trusted-counsel relationship needs. This template prices ongoing legal support as a monthly retainer with defined hours and response times, so the client engages proactively. It scopes contracts, compliance, and strategic counsel into three clear tiers.
Setup fee + monthly retainer. Round numbers. Each tier includes everything below it plus specific upgrades. The middle tier is recommended — most clients pick it.
Early-stage businesses needing foundational legal coverage and on-call guidance
Growing companies managing active vendor, employment, and commercial contracts
Scale-ups and established companies requiring fractional general counsel coverage
Cover, Executive Summary, Understanding Your Business, Legal Services & Scope, Our Legal Advisory Approach (Onboarding & Assessment → Risk Mapping → Ongoing Counsel → Quarterly Review), Timeline, Investment (3 tiers), Why Us, Case Study, Next Steps. Fully editable inline.
Move clients off the meter. Advisory Retainer around $2K setup + $3K/mo for up to 5 hours of counsel and contract review. Business Counsel around $5K/mo for 12 hours, drafting and negotiation support, and a priority response window. General Counsel around $8K/mo for fractional-GC coverage — M&A review, litigation risk, board attendance. All figures here are in USD — set the proposal's currency to INR or any other in the editor. A retainer with defined hours and response SLAs removes the client's hesitation to pick up the phone.
1) Pure hourly billing, which makes the client ration their questions and undermines the advisory relationship. 2) No defined response time — "we'll get back to you" doesn't differentiate. 3) Undefined scope of what counts against the retainer, the #1 source of billing disputes. 4) No tier for clients who genuinely need fractional-GC depth — leaving your highest-value offer off the table.
You're pitching ongoing counsel rather than a single matter. The client is a growing business managing active contracts, employment questions, and compliance, and would rather have a known counsel on retainer than scramble for a lawyer each time something comes up.
Adjust monthly-hour allotments and response SLAs per tier. Tailor the scope to your practice area. Add or remove the general-counsel tier. AI rewrites in your firm's voice. Prices are shown in USD — set the proposal's currency (INR, EUR, GBP, and more) in the editor. Share via tracking link or export a branded PDF.
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