re·tain·er / riˈtānər/ • n. 1. a thing that holds something in place: a guitar string retainer. ∎  an appliance for keeping a loose tooth, an orthodontic prosthesis, or orthodontically aligned teeth in place.2. a fee paid in advance to someone, esp. an attorney, in order to secure or keep their services when required.3. a servant or follower of a noble or wealthy person, esp. one that has worked for a person or family for a long time.

RETAINER

A contract between attorney and client specifying the nature of the services to be rendered and the cost of the services.

Retainer also denotes the fee that the client pays when employing an attorney to act on her behalf. When a client retains an attorney to act for her, the client thereby prevents the attorney from acting for an adversary.

A right to retainer refers to the authority by which the executor or administrator of the estate of a deceased person reserves out of the assets an amount sufficient to pay any debt due to him from the deceased in priority to the other creditors whose debts are of equal degree.

cross-references

Executors and Administrators.