“Nonrefundable” Isn’t Final: What a Criminal Defense Attorney Costs in St. Louis
Revised October 20, 2026
What is the average retainer fee for a criminal defense attorney?
There is no honest single average. A retainer is a deposit a defense lawyer draws against as they work, not the price of the case. A flat-fee misdemeanor that ends in a plea costs far less than an hourly felony headed for trial, so ask whether the quote is the whole fee or only the starting balance.
Keep reading ↓“Nonrefundable.” It’s printed in capital letters halfway down the fee agreement, and your thumb keeps landing on it while the coffee goes cold beside the arrest paperwork. Somebody you love is charged with a crime. A lawyer wants money before they’ll file a single page. And that one word makes your stomach drop, because if the case ends in a month, that money looks gone for good.
In Missouri, that word does not mean what it seems to mean. The Missouri Bar’s own ethics guidance says agreements that call a flat fee “nonrefundable,” or say the lawyer earns it the moment it is paid, violate the rules and are not enforceable. If the lawyer is let go before the work is done, the unearned part comes back. Most people sign that page without ever hearing this. Some of them are signing it tonight.
That is the leverage point of this whole page. Defense fees feel like a black box because the charge is scary, the clock is loud and nobody slows down to explain the money. But the money has rules. There are rules about where a lawyer must hold it, rules about when it becomes theirs, and, if you cannot pay at all, a public defender office inside the downtown courthouse. Knowing those rules does not make a lawyer cheaper. It makes you harder to rush.
If the charge is filed in the City of St. Louis and there is no money for a private lawyer at all, write this down before anything else: the Missouri State Public Defender’s St. Louis City office, District 22, Mel Carnahan Courthouse, 1114 Market St, Ste 602, St. Louis, MO 63101, phone (314) 340-7625. You do not need to know anything else to make that call. You only need the case paperwork in your hand when you do.
And if a private lawyer is the plan, and a parent or grandparent is the one writing the check, know that Missouri gives the person paying a way to push back later. The Missouri Bar runs a Fee Dispute Resolution program that offers facilitation, mediation, and binding arbitration, at no cost to either party. The client starts it, and someone who paid the fee may join the client in the process. Nobody wants to need it. Knowing it exists changes how the first conversation feels.
What is the average retainer fee for a criminal defense attorney?
There is no honest single average, and a confident number online deserves a raised eyebrow. A retainer is a deposit the lawyer draws against as they work, not the price of the case. A misdemeanor that ends in a plea and a felony headed for a jury are both “criminal cases,” but averaging them gives you a figure that fits nobody’s situation.
Think about what the lawyer is actually pricing. A first appearance. Reading the police report. Calls with the prosecutor. Maybe motions, maybe a suppression hearing, maybe a trial with witnesses sitting in the hallway at the Carnahan Courthouse waiting their turn. A case that resolves early takes a sliver of those hours. A case that fights to the end takes all of them, and the quote has to guess which one yours will be.
So when you hear a retainer figure, ask one question before you react to the size of it: is this the whole fee, or is it the starting balance? On a flat-fee misdemeanor it may be the whole thing. On an hourly felony it is the opening deposit, and you may be asked to top it up as the hours pile on. That single answer tells you more than any average ever could.
The two ways a defense lawyer prices your case
Most defense lawyers quote one of two ways, or a mix of both. A flat fee is one agreed price for a defined piece of work. It is common for misdemeanors, many first-time DWI cases and anything likely to end in a plea. You know the number going in, which matters when the rent is due on the first. Read the scope line slowly, though, because a flat fee often stops at the courtroom door and a trial is priced separately.
Hourly billing is for cases nobody can size up front: several charges, a co-defendant, forensic evidence, a case that may go to trial. The lawyer names an hourly rate, asks for a retainer to start and bills their time against it. When the balance runs low, you get a letter asking for more. It costs more because it usually is more work, and an honest lawyer will tell you that up front instead of letting the second invoice surprise you.
Missouri adds a rule most clients never hear about. Under the Missouri Bar’s reading of Comment 20 to Rule 4-1.15, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2019, flat fees exceeding $2,000 paid in advance must remain in the lawyer’s trust account until earned. Smaller flat fees can go straight into the office account, but even then, any unearned part must be refunded if the relationship ends early. Your money is not the lawyer’s money just because it cleared.
Does “nonrefundable” really mean you never see it again?
Not in Missouri. The Missouri Bar spells it out plainly: lawyers sometimes try to escape the refund obligation by calling a flat fee nonrefundable, or by saying it is earned on receipt or when they file an “Entry of Appearance,” and such agreements violate the rules and are not enforceable. A client agreeing to it does not fix it. A Missouri lawyer has to be able to explain which part of a flat fee has been earned and which part has not.
That does not mean you get everything back if you change your mind after months of work. It means the lawyer keeps what the work was reasonably worth, and the rest is yours. If you end the relationship, do it in writing, keep a copy, and in the same letter ask for an itemized accounting of what was earned and a refund of the rest. If the answer doesn’t sit right, the client can file with the Missouri Bar’s Fee Dispute Resolution program instead of hiring a second lawyer to fight the first. The quiet click of sending that email is a lot easier than the knot of never asking.
If the case is filed across the river in Illinois, the Missouri rules on this page may not be the ones that apply, so ask the lawyer to explain how a refund would work there before you sign. The question is the same. Only the rulebook changes.
If you can’t pay at all, start on the sixth floor of the Carnahan Courthouse
Suite 602 in the Carnahan Courthouse is the public defender’s District 22 office, and (314) 340-7625 is the line. Bring the charging papers, the next court date and a rough picture of your income and bills. The people up there are trial lawyers who handle criminal cases every working day, and asking for one is not asking for a favor. It is what the office is there for.
Under Missouri law, anyone claiming they cannot afford a lawyer files an affidavit with the court with the financial information the public defender system requires. Eligibility looks at your whole situation, not just one paycheck. If the court later finds you are not indigent, the public defender stops representing you, so be accurate on the form. Missouri law also sets a penalty for false statements on it.
Here is the part almost nobody mentions at the window. Under section 600.090, the reasonable value of public defender services can become a lien on property you have or later acquire, and the public defender shall file that lien whenever the value appears to exceed one hundred fifty dollars. Free at the door is not always free forever. That is not a reason to refuse help when you need it. It is a reason to know the deal before you take it.
Ready to compare two or three defense lawyers before you sign anything? Browse criminal defense attorneys across the St. Louis metro on St Louis Near Me Directory, then bring this page’s questions about refunds and trust accounts to the first call.
If you’re the defense lawyer, the solo practice or the two-attorney firm that takes new criminal cases, the frightened people reading this are your next customers. Listing your practice puts your name in front of them the night they start calling.
How should you interview a criminal defense attorney about cost?
Treat the first meeting as an interview, because it is one. Shortlist two or three lawyers, tell each the charge in plain words, and say what scares you most. Then listen to how they explain the money and the likely path of the case, not just the number at the bottom.
Ask which structure applies, flat or hourly, and why. Ask what the fee covers and what it leaves out, so a separate trial fee doesn’t land on you later. Ask where the money will sit until it is earned. Ask what happens to the unearned part if the case ends early. Ask who does the day-to-day work and how fast they return calls. A lawyer who answers all of that without sighing is showing you how they will treat you for the next six months.
Listen for the difference between a process and a promise. One lawyer walks you through how cases like yours usually unfold. Another leads with a result that sounds guaranteed. Nobody can promise an outcome in criminal court, and the honest ones say so early. The same instinct helps any time you hire a lawyer for trouble you didn’t ask for. Our guide to when you need a tax attorney in St. Louis, not a CPA uses the same interview mindset for a different kind of problem.
Rebuilding your career after all this? A St. Louis MBA might be worth it.
Why two honest quotes for the same charge can be miles apart
The price tracks the work, and the work depends on more than the charge printed on the paper. Misdemeanor or felony is the first fork. Plea or trial is the second. Then come the court, the facts, the evidence, and how much experience the lawyer brings. A case with hours of body-camera video to watch is not the same job as one with a two-page report.
Where the case is filed matters too. A charge in the city moves on its own calendar, and the same charge filed in an Illinois county near North Venice or Livingston may move differently again. Add an expert witness or a lab question, and the number climbs. That is not padding. It is the case being bigger than its one-line description.
The cheapest quote and the priciest quote are both just numbers until you know what is behind them. The higher one may get you out of a courtroom faster. The lower one may be exactly right for a simple plea. Match the lawyer to the case in front of you, and let the fee be one part of that fit.
People are asking
Is a $5,000 retainer too much for a criminal defense lawyer?
It depends on the work behind it: The Missouri Bar’s ethics column on flat fees explains that Rule 4-1.5 says all fees must be reasonable and requires weighing at least eight factors, among them the time and labor required, the fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services and the experience of the lawyer. One line in that column should steady the hand holding the pen: fee reasonableness is viewed in retrospect, not at the time of fee negotiation. The same column describes a criminal flat fee earned in milestones, a portion after arraignment, after a review of discovery, after pretrial motions and finally after a trial or plea agreement. Ask for those milestones in writing, and the number at the bottom of the agreement turns from a guess into a map of the work.
Frequently asked questions
Is it worth it to hire a criminal defense attorney?
For anything past a minor ticket, usually yes. A criminal charge can touch your job, your record, your housing and your freedom, and a lawyer’s value is measured against those stakes, not just the fee. A good defense lawyer knows the local court and the realistic options. On a serious charge, going it alone is often the expensive choice.
How can I afford a criminal defense attorney?
Ask about the fee structure and a payment plan in the first call, because many lawyers offer one. A flat fee on a misdemeanor is easier to budget than an open-ended hourly case. If money is truly tight, ask whether the work can be scoped narrowly, and check whether you qualify for a public defender. Comparing two or three quotes shows you what is normal.
What is the hardest criminal case to beat?
Cases built on strong physical evidence, believable witnesses or a recorded statement from the accused are the toughest to defend. Video, forensics or an admission leave less room for reasonable doubt. That does not make a case hopeless. A skilled lawyer may still challenge how evidence was gathered or negotiate a better result, and those odds shape both the strategy and the cost.
How do I get a lawyer if I cannot afford one?
Ask for a public defender through the court that has your case. In Missouri you file an affidavit about your finances with the court. For a City of St. Louis case, the public defender’s District 22 office is in the Carnahan Courthouse at 1114 Market St. If you land just over the line, ask private lawyers about payment plans.
Does a lawyer keep a retainer fee?
Only the part they earn. In Missouri, a lawyer must refund the unearned portion of an advance fee if the relationship ends early, and calling a fee “nonrefundable” does not change that, according to Missouri Bar ethics guidance. Ask for a written accounting of what was earned. In Illinois, ask the lawyer to explain the refund rules before you sign.
What are the disadvantages of a retainer fee?
A retainer ties up money before you know the final cost, and on an hourly case you may be asked to replenish it as the work goes on. It can also feel like the money is gone the second it clears, even when it is not. The fix is not avoiding retainers. It is knowing yours: what it covers, how it is billed and where it sits until earned.
Is a retainer the same as the total cost of my case?
Not usually. On an hourly case, the retainer is a starting balance the lawyer bills against, and you top it up as the work continues, so the total can end higher. On a flat-fee misdemeanor, the retainer may be the whole price. Ask the lawyer directly which one your quote is.
Do criminal defense lawyers offer payment plans?
Many do, especially on flat-fee cases, though the terms vary from office to office. Some take part up front and spread the rest across the case. Others want the full retainer on serious matters where the work is hard to predict. It is a fair thing to raise in your first conversation, and a plain answer tells you a lot about the lawyer.
Written by a dedicated team of St. Louis locals who live, work, and play right here in the St. Louis metro. Founder Lane Forman and team are committed to building the region’s most trusted directory by verifying listings and connecting local businesses with loyal customers across Missouri and Illinois.