Periodic retainers

Where you anticipate being instructed on a number of smaller connected matters for the same client, then you may wish to use a Periodic Retainer to set up a framework for the engagement. Once it is in place, you may deal with each individual instruction using the abbreviated €˜Specific Instruction as part of Periodic Retainer letter', typically sent out by email with a copy to the Clients Team or an email which addresses the key points, namely scope, exclusions, assumptions, fees, and personnel. In exceptional circumstances, a Periodic Retainer Engagement Letter can also be used for a group of connected clients who are not subsidiaries of the same parent company, although bespoke wording will be required in such a case. Where advice is required that is outside the scope of the framework Engagement Letter, this should be subject to our accepting those instructions.

You should bear these important points in mind when seeking to use a Periodic Retainer:

• They should only be used for (i) day to day work, (ii) where the annual fees are less than £20,000 and (iii) where each piece of work will take less than 2 months to complete.
• They should not be used to govern the sale or purchase of any property or in respect of any litigation.
• We must preserve the right to decline work offered to us by the client under a Periodic Retainer. The Periodic Retainer Engagement Letter is structured such that the client emails us with his needs (his offer) and we write back using a €˜Specific Instruction as part of Periodic Retainer letter' if we wish to accept those instructions.
• You are still required to undertake conflict searches in the usual way before accepting small pieces of work under a Periodic Retainer.
• Periodic Retainers should be time-limited to no more than two years' duration.
• You can include your first set of specific instructions in the Periodic Retainer Letter itself if known to you at the time. If not, you can leave it general and follow up with a Specific Instruction as part of the Periodic Retainer letter once the client's requirements are known.

It is also possible to assign an Engagement Letter, and we have an assignment template on Keyed-in as well as one for the Isle of Man office. As with Engagement Letters, the signed assignment should be sent to clients@keystonelaw.co.uk.