Common questions that clients have but seldom ask a lawyer when they go to see a lawyer for the first time is “what is a retainer?”, “How do retainers work?” and are there different types of retainers?” While most lawyers think that the answers to these basic client questions are self evident, the answers are not really self evident to clients or potential clients looking to engage the services of a lawyer, especially those contemplating retaining a lawyer for the first time. Therefore the purpose of this paper in a very general way is to explain what retainers are and the different types of retainers that lawyers can offer to perspective clients.