Free Legal Consultation

What a free first consultation usually covers

• A short conversation, usually time limited. Twenty minutes to an hour, in person, by phone or online. The limit is the point. It is long enough to understand the shape of your problem and not long enough to solve it.
• An honest view on whether you have a matter. That you have a case, that you do not, or that you have one but the practical route to a result is poor. Worth having even when it is disappointing.
• What the next step is and what it costs. You should leave knowing what happens next, who would do it, roughly how long it takes and what it costs. If you cannot answer those four questions afterwards, the meeting was not useful.
• Who you would be dealing with. Ask who would handle the matter and who would appear if it reaches court. A first meeting with one person and a case run by another is normal, but you should know that at the start.

Why no firm can resolve a matter in a first call

• Your documents decide the case, not your account of it. What you remember agreeing and what the signed document says are often different, and only one of them is evidence.
• There is another side. Their version, and what they have already filed, changes the advice.
• Much of the case file is in Arabic. Court documents and police records have to be read in the original.
• Deadlines change the strategy. A matter with a hearing next week is handled differently from the same matter with no deadline, and nobody knows which you have until they check.

How to make a first conversation worth having

Preparation decides how much you get out of it, whether it costs you nothing or costs you a fee.

• Write one page of facts in date order. Dates, names, amounts, what was said and by whom.
• Bring the documents. Contract, tenancy agreement, offer letter, cheque, invoice, notice, case or police reference, and messages with the other side.
• Bring the bad documents too. The message you regret sending is the one that changes the advice.
• Say the deadline in your first sentence. A hearing date, a notice period, a date by which you must respond.
• Put your questions in order of importance. Lead with the one that decides what you do next.
• Know what outcome you want. Money back, the case dropped, the travel ban lifted, the children’s arrangements settled. It changes the route.

Warning signs around the word free

Our guide on how to choose a lawyer in Dubai covers the rest of the warning signs and how to verify a licence before you pay anyone.

• Free until the pressure starts. A meeting that costs nothing but ends with a demand for an immediate transfer is a sales process, not advice.
• A confident quote before anyone has read anything. Both the price and the promise tend to move later.
• Payment into a personal account. Fees are paid to the firm. This one ends the conversation.
• Free that turns out to be a charge for something else. Ask in advance about registration or file opening fees.
• A guaranteed result. No lawyer can guarantee an outcome, whatever the meeting cost.

Talking to us

Tell us what has happened, what you have in writing and whether there is a deadline. We will tell you whether you need a lawyer at all, what the options are, and what the next step costs before you commit to anything. If your matter belongs with MOHRE or the Rental Dispute Centre instead, we will say so.

If cost is the obstacle, say so plainly. Some matters can be scoped down to a fixed piece of work, such as a single letter or a document review, rather than a full engagement.

Call or message +971 50 747 9570, or email help@lawyerindubai.ae. The contact page lists what to have ready, our legal fees page explains how charges work, and our other legal guides cover choosing a lawyer and the difference between an advocate and a legal consultant.