Legal consultation agreement template
A legal consultation agreement is a short contract that sets the matter on which the office’s opinion is sought, the form (a session or a written opinion) and date, and the fee in Qatari riyals and its payment. It states that the opinion rests on the facts and documents provided, and excludes litigation and drafting.
This agreement is used when a person or a company asks for a legal opinion on a specific matter before deciding their next step: should they bring a case? Should they sign a contract they have been offered? Where do they stand on a legal notice they have received? The enquirer signs it at reception before the paid session, or before the adviser starts a written opinion that requires studying documents. For the office, it settles the fee before the work, defines what the adviser is being asked so the request does not grow after the session, and records that the opinion rests on the enquirer’s account and documents. For the enquirer, it shows in advance what they will get, when, and for how much.
When do you need this template?
- Before a paid in-person or video consultation with a new enquirer.
- When a written legal opinion is requested that requires studying contracts or documents.
- When a company wants an opinion on a single matter without a monthly retainer.
- When the consultation is likely to turn into a case, so that its fee stays separate from the litigation fees.
What must it include?
- The enquirer’s details: name, Qatar ID or commercial registration number, and contact details.
- The matter on which the opinion is sought, written in a few precise lines, and a list of the documents provided.
- The form of the consultation: a session of a set length, or a written opinion with a delivery date.
- The fee in figures and in words in Qatari riyals, when it is paid, and what is charged if the session runs over or more matters are added.
- What the consultation does not cover: litigation, drafting or dealings with authorities.
- That the opinion rests on the facts and documents provided, and is for the enquirer alone and for the purpose requested.
- Confidentiality and the conflict-of-interest check, and both parties’ signatures.
Legal Consultation Agreement
This agreement is made between:
First Party: [Office name] Advocates and Legal Consultants, 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: [Enquirer name], a [Nationality] national, Qatar ID No. [Qatar ID number] (or Commercial Registration No. [CR number] if a company); Tel: +974 [Phone number]; Email: [Email address] (hereinafter the “Enquirer”).
Clause 1: Subject of the Consultation
The Office shall give the Enquirer a legal opinion on the following matter: [Description of the matter on which the opinion is sought].
The Enquirer has handed the Office copies of the following documents: [List of documents]. The opinion is limited to this matter, within the limits of these documents.
Clause 2: Form and Timing of the Consultation
The consultation shall take the form of [an in-person session / a video meeting / a telephone call] of [Number of minutes] minutes on [Session date], and/or a written legal opinion delivered within [Number of working days] working days of the date on which the fee is paid and all the documents are received.
The Enquirer may put questions of clarification about the written opinion within [Number of days] days of receiving it at no extra charge, within the scope of the same matter.
Clause 3: Fees
The consultation fee is QAR [Amount in figures] ([Amount in words] Qatari riyals only), payable [on signing / before the session] in cash, by cheque or by bank transfer to the Office’s account, against a receipt voucher issued to the Enquirer.
If the session is extended at the Enquirer’s request or new matters are added, an additional fee of QAR [Amount in figures] shall be charged for each [additional hour / additional matter], after the Enquirer has been informed and has agreed.
If the Enquirer cancels the session at least [Number of hours] hours in advance, the fee shall be refunded or another date set; it is not refundable once the session has taken place or the opinion has been delivered.
Clause 4: Basis and Limits of the Opinion
The opinion is based on the facts presented by the Enquirer and the documents provided, and on the legislation in force in the State of Qatar on the date it is given. The Office bears no responsibility for the consequences of facts or documents that were not put to it or were put to it untruthfully.
The opinion is a professional assessment and carries no guarantee of the outcome of a dispute or of an authority’s decision. The consultation does not include representing the Enquirer before the courts or any authority, drafting contracts or memoranda, or studying any document not listed in Clause 1; all of these are agreed under a separate fee agreement.
Clause 5: Use of the Written Opinion
The written opinion is prepared for the Enquirer alone and for the purpose requested, and may not be given to third parties or relied upon against them without the Office’s written consent.
Clause 6: Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest
The Office shall keep confidential the information and documents that come to its knowledge by reason of this consultation. The Enquirer has disclosed the other parties to the matter, namely [Names of the other parties], so that the Office can confirm there is no conflict of interest before giving its opinion; if a conflict emerges, the Office shall decline and the fee shall be refunded in full.
Clause 7: General Provisions
This agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Qatar, and the courts of the State of Qatar have jurisdiction over any dispute arising from it. It is made in two copies, one held by each party.
Delete from Clause 2 whatever does not apply, the session or the written opinion, and write the matter in wording the enquirer agrees to before signing.
How to fill in the template
Phrase the matter as a precise question
Write the matter in two or three lines that the enquirer agrees to, for example: “Whether he is entitled to an end-of-service gratuity under the attached employment contract”. The more precise the wording, the easier it is later to tell what falls inside the consultation and what falls outside it.
List the documents handed over
Write each document by name and date, and state whether it is an original or a copy. If the enquirer hands over originals, record their receipt in a separate acknowledgement of receipt, under which they are returned.
Check for conflicts of interest before the session
Ask for the names of the other parties to the matter and search for them in the office’s records before the adviser hears the details. If the other party is a client of the office, declining before the session is safer than declining after it.
Choose the form and timing of the consultation
Delete from Clause 2 whatever does not apply, and write the length of the session or the delivery date of the written opinion in working days, counted from when the documents are complete and the fee is paid, not from the date of signing.
Set the fee and what may be added to it
Write the fee in figures and in words, what is charged if the session runs over or matters are added, and the cancellation notice. Then issue the receipt voucher as soon as payment is made, and keep a copy of it with the agreement.
Common mistakes
- Leaving the matter general, such as “consultation on a labour dispute”, so the enquirer comes back with new questions as if they were part of the same consultation.
- Delivering a written opinion that does not list the documents it was based on, making it hard later to prove what was and was not put to the office.
- Starting to study the documents before the fee is paid or before the conflict-of-interest check.
- Mixing up the consultation and litigation, so the enquirer thinks the fee covers preparing or filing the statement of claim.
Issue this document from your office’s data
In Murafe, the consultation is recorded under “Legal consultations” even if the enquirer is not a client: their name and phone number are enough, then the category, the channel (in person, telephone, email, WhatsApp, video meeting, written) and the adviser, the question, the legal opinion, the duration and the fee, and a follow-up date if needed. The “Legal consultation form” opens from the consultation’s page, filled in from its details, and prints on the office’s letterhead with its logo and a serial number; the signed copy is attached on its page. Consultations and their fees are counted in the statistics by month, category and adviser, and if the enquirer decides to instruct the office, they are recorded as a client and the case or service is opened for them straight from their file.