Crooked Eritrean lawyer may ask for one (8)
I believe the answer is:
retainer
'lawyer may ask for one' is the definition.
'crooked eritrean' is the wordplay.
'crooked' indicates anagramming the letters.
'eritrean' is an anagram of 'RETAINER'.
(Other definitions for retainer that I've seen before include "Advance fee to reserve someone's services" , "money to be paid in advance" , "Old servant - preliminary fee" , "reduced rent" , "Eritrean as kind of servant" .)