Monthly retainer legal services agreement template
A monthly retainer agreement is a contract under which a law office gives a company or institution ongoing legal services, such as consultations, contract reviews and correspondence, for a fixed monthly sum in Qatari riyals. It sets what the sum covers and what is billed on top, and the term, renewal and termination.
This agreement is used by offices that serve companies and institutions that do not need a full in-house legal department, so the office becomes their standing adviser: asked by phone and email, reviewing their contracts before they sign, and writing their correspondence and legal notices. The partner responsible for the client negotiates it, the accountant then follows its monthly payments, and the lawyer comes back to it whenever the question arises: is this request inside the monthly fee or outside it? That is why the agreement is built around two clear lists, what the fee covers and what it does not, with a cap on hours or on the number of tasks that stops the retainer from turning into open-ended work with no fee.
When do you need this template?
- When contracting with a company or institution that needs recurring legal advice and reviews throughout the year.
- When a client’s small requests keep coming, making it impractical to write a fee agreement for every consultation or review.
- When a client wants consultations for a fixed sum, with a separate fee agreement for each case it entrusts to the office.
- When renewing an agreement whose term has ended, or changing its fee or the scope of its services.
What must it include?
- The company’s details: trade name, commercial registration number and address, and the name and capacity of the authorised signatory.
- A specific list of the services covered, with a monthly cap in hours or in number of tasks.
- The services not covered, litigation and arbitration first among them, and how their fees are calculated.
- The monthly fee in figures and in words in Qatari riyals, its due date, and the rate for additional hours.
- How requests are made, each party’s contact person, and the expected response time.
- The term and start date, how the agreement renews, and the notice period for non-renewal or termination.
- Confidentiality and conflicts of interest, the governing law, and both parties’ signatures and stamps.
Legal Services Agreement (Monthly Retainer)
This agreement is made on the date stated above between:
First Party: [Office name] Advocates and Legal Consultants, Licence No. [Office licence number], address: Building No. [Building number], Street No. [Street number], Zone No. [Zone number], Doha, State of Qatar; represented by Advocate [Lawyer name], Registration No. [Lawyer registration number] (hereinafter the “Office”).
Second Party: [Company name], Commercial Registration No. [CR number], address: Building No. [Building number], Street No. [Street number], Zone No. [Zone number], Doha, State of Qatar; represented for signature by [Authorised signatory] in the capacity of [Capacity] (hereinafter the “Company”).
Preamble: Whereas the Company wishes to engage the Office to provide it with ongoing legal services for a fixed monthly fee; and whereas the Office has accepted; now, therefore, the parties have agreed as follows:
Clause 1: Preamble and Subject of the Agreement
The above preamble forms part of this agreement. The Office shall provide the Company with the services set out in Clause 2 throughout the term of the agreement, in return for the monthly fees set in Clause 4.
Clause 2: Services Covered by the Monthly Fees
The monthly fees cover the following services, up to [Number of hours] working hours per month:
- Giving oral and written legal advice on the ordinary affairs of the Company’s business.
- Reviewing the contracts and agreements put to the Company and commenting on them, and drafting no more than [Number of contracts] new contracts per month.
- Preparing legal correspondence, notices and replies in the Company’s name.
- Reviewing internal regulations and policies, and employment contract templates, from a legal standpoint.
- Attending [Number of meetings] meetings per month with the Company’s management, in person or remotely.
- Informing the Company, on request, of new legislation affecting its business.
Clause 3: Services Not Covered
The monthly fees do not cover the following work; the fees for each shall be agreed in writing when it is requested:
1. Representing the Company before the courts, dispute settlement committees and arbitral tribunals, and preparing statements of claim and memoranda in those proceedings; a separate fee agreement is made for each case or arbitration.
2. Incorporating and restructuring companies, and legal due diligence for transactions, acquisitions and financing.
3. Transactions that require dealings with government authorities, or registration and notarisation procedures.
4. Translation of documents, court and government fees, and experts’ fees, which are borne by the Company.
Clause 4: Monthly Fees and Method of Payment
The Company shall pay the Office fixed monthly fees of QAR [Amount in figures] ([Amount in words] Qatari riyals only), payable in advance on day [Day of the month] of each calendar month, starting on [First due date].
The fees shall be paid by bank transfer to the Office’s account with [Bank name], IBAN: [IBAN], or by cheque payable to the Office, and the Office shall issue a receipt voucher for each payment.
Clause 5: Limits of the Monthly Work
The Office shall record the hours taken by the work covered by Clause 2, and shall send the Company, on request, a monthly statement of the work completed and its hours.
If the Company’s requests in a month exceed the agreed limit, the Company shall be informed before the additional work begins, and that work shall be charged at QAR [Hourly rate] per hour once the Company has approved it.
Hours not used in a month are not carried over to the following month, unless the parties agree otherwise in writing.
Clause 6: Requests and Communication
The Company’s requests shall be made through [Name and title of the Company’s representative] by email at [Email address] or by telephone on +974 [Phone number], and Advocate [Name of the lawyer in charge] shall handle communication for the Office. The Office shall answer routine consultations within [Number of working days] working days of receiving the request with all its documents; for matters that need longer study, a date shall be agreed on receipt, and requests the Company describes as urgent shall take priority over others.
Clause 7: Obligations of the Company
The Company shall provide the Office with the necessary information and documents, complete and correct and in time for them to be studied, issue any powers of attorney or authorisations needed for the work that requires them, and pay the fees on time. The Office’s opinion is based on the information and documents the Company provides.
Clause 8: Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest
The Office and its staff shall keep the Company’s information and documents confidential, and this obligation continues after the agreement ends. The Office shall not accept instructions against the Company in a matter it has handled for the Company under this agreement, and shall notify the Company if it is offered work that may conflict with the Company’s interests.
Clause 9: Term and Renewal
The term of this agreement is [Number of months] months starting on [Start date], and it renews automatically for a like period unless either party notifies the other in writing of its wish not to renew at least [Number of days] days before the term ends. On renewal, the parties may agree in writing to change the monthly fees or the services covered.
Clause 10: Termination and Late Payment
Either party may terminate this agreement before its term ends by written notice sent to the other party [Number of days] days before the termination date. The Office is entitled to the monthly fees up to that date, and to the fees for any work outside the monthly fee that it has completed at the Company’s request.
If the Company is more than [Number of days] days late in paying the monthly fees after their due date, the Office may, after notifying the Company in writing, suspend the services covered by this agreement until payment is made.
The end of this agreement does not affect the separate fee agreements for cases unless the parties agree otherwise, and on termination the Office shall hand over to the Company the original documents it holds.
Clause 11: Notices and Governing Law
The addresses and email addresses stated in this agreement are the parties’ approved addresses for notices. This agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Qatar; the parties shall seek to settle amicably any dispute concerning it, failing which the courts of the State of Qatar shall have jurisdiction.
Clause 12: Copies
This agreement is made in two original copies, one held by each party, and no amendment to it shall have effect unless it is made in writing and signed by both parties.
Adjust the list of services and the hours cap to the size of the company, and write a separate fee agreement for each case it entrusts to the office.
How to fill in the template
Agree on the services before the fee
Ask the company what it actually needs in a month: how many consultations, how many contracts to review, and whether it needs you at meetings. Then write Clause 2 on that basis, delete whatever does not apply, and only then estimate the monthly fee.
Set a clear limit on the monthly work
Choose a limit both parties understand: a number of hours a month, or a number of contracts and letters. Write the hourly rate for anything beyond it, and decide whether unused hours carry over or not.
Check the signatory’s authority for the company
Copy the company’s name and commercial registration number from the valid CR certificate, make sure the signatory is authorised to sign for it by a document proving it, and keep a copy of that document with the agreement.
Set the due day and the payment method
Make the fee fall due on a fixed day each month, and write the bank account details in full. Ideally the first payment falls due on the agreement’s start date, so no work begins before the first payment.
Fill in the term and the notice periods
Write the start date, the term, the notice period for non-renewal and the termination notice period, then note a date to review the agreement well before it renews automatically, so you can compare the actual workload with the fee.
Common mistakes
- A general phrase such as “all legal services” instead of a specific list, so unforeseen work such as litigation is requested under the monthly fee.
- No cap on hours or tasks, so the work doubles in some months with no extra fee.
- Saying nothing about fees for court cases, so the client assumes representation before the courts is part of the retainer.
- Automatic renewal year after year at the same fee, without reviewing the actual workload.
- Someone who is not authorised signing for the company, or no record kept of the proof of their authority.
Issue this document from your office’s data
In Murafe, the agreement is recorded as a fee agreement in the company’s name under “Fee agreements”: you enter its total value for the term and split it into monthly instalments with their due dates, then link the agreement to the legal services the office provides to the company, so it appears in the company’s file alongside its consultations, agreements, documents and balance. Overdue instalments, and those falling due within 7 or 30 days, appear on the “Contract instalments” page; the system sends clients reminders of instalments falling due according to the office’s settings, and the receipt voucher is issued against the instalment itself. The company’s consultations are recorded with their category, adviser and duration, so the office finds them all in the company’s file when it reviews the agreement before renewing it or changing its fee.