Legal fees agreement template
A legal fees agreement is the written contract between office and client: the case and litigation degree covered, what is excluded, the fees in Qatari riyals with dated instalments, and who pays court fees and expenses. Below is a complete one for a case before Qatar’s courts: fill in the brackets and sign two copies.
The fees agreement is usually prepared by the lawyer in charge of the file or by the office’s secretarial staff, once the partner and the client have agreed on the fee and how it will be paid. The accountant then reviews it before signing, because it is the reference against which receipt vouchers will be issued and from which the client’s statement of account is built. It is usually signed at the same meeting at which the power of attorney to the office is arranged, so the file starts complete: a power of attorney that authorises the lawyer, and an agreement that sets out what the lawyer will work on and for how much. This template is written for a single case before a specific litigation degree, the most common situation in law offices; ongoing services for a monthly fee and one-off legal consultations each have their own template in this library.
When do you need this template?
- When the office takes on a new case, before it is filed or before the first step is taken in it.
- When a litigation degree that the first agreement did not cover opens, such as an appeal, cassation or execution.
- When one file has more than one client, such as heirs or partners: each of them gets an agreement with their own fees.
- When something essential in the arrangement changes, such as the fee or the payment schedule, rather than relying on a verbal amendment.
What must it include?
- The parties’ details: the office, its licence, and the lawyer’s name and registration number; the client’s name, nationality, Qatar ID or commercial registration number, and address.
- The scope of work: the case number, the court, the client’s capacity, the opponent and the claims, and the litigation degree covered.
- What the fees expressly do not cover: appeals, execution, counterclaims and execution disputes, unless agreed.
- The fee in figures and in words in Qatari riyals, and an instalment schedule giving each instalment an amount and a due date.
- Who bears court fees, expert fees and translation costs, and how they are paid.
- Both parties’ obligations, the office’s right to withdraw on breach, and the effect of dismissal or settlement on the fees.
- Confidentiality, the approved addresses for notices, the governing law and the forum for disputes.
- The number of copies, both parties’ signatures and the office stamp, and the date and place of signing.
Legal Fees Agreement
This agreement is made on [Day], [Agreement date], 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; Tel: +974 [Phone number]; Email: [Email address]; represented by Advocate [Lawyer name], Registration No. [Lawyer registration number] (hereinafter the “First Party”).
Second Party: [Client name], a [Nationality] national, holder of Qatar ID No. [Qatar ID number], address: Building No. [Building number], Street No. [Street number], Zone No. [Zone number], [City], State of Qatar; Tel: +974 [Phone number]; Email: [Email address] (hereinafter the “Second Party”). (If the client is a company: [Company name], Commercial Registration No. [CR number], represented by [Authorised signatory] in the capacity of [Capacity].)
Preamble: Whereas the Second Party wishes the First Party to act for it in [Brief subject of the case] against [Opponent name]; and whereas the First Party has accepted, having reviewed the facts and the documents submitted to it; now, therefore, the two parties, each having full legal capacity under Sharia and the law, have agreed as follows:
Clause 1: Preamble
The above preamble and the parties’ details form an integral part of this agreement.
Clause 2: Scope of Work
Under the power of attorney issued to it by the Second Party, the First Party shall conduct Case No. [Case number] of [Year] before [Competent court], Circuit [Circuit number], in which the Second Party is the [claimant / defendant] and whose subject is [Subject of the case and the claims]. If the case has not yet been filed, the work includes drafting the statement of claim and filing it with the competent court.
This includes studying the documents, preparing the necessary memoranda, attending the hearings and following the proceedings before [Litigation degree covered] until judgment is given in the case at that degree.
The First Party may delegate any lawyer it sees fit to attend hearings or carry out certain proceedings on its behalf, without prejudice to its responsibility for the work under this agreement.
Clause 3: Work Not Covered by the Fees
The fees agreed in this agreement do not cover the following work, unless the parties agree on it in writing in a separate agreement or addendum that sets its fees:
1. An appeal or an appeal in cassation against the judgment given in the case, whether lodged by the Second Party or by the opponent.
2. Proceedings to execute the judgment and the execution disputes relating to them.
3. Counterclaims and incidental or related actions, and grievances and applications independent of the case.
4. Any other work not expressly stated in Clause 2.
Clause 4: Fees and Method of Payment
The parties have agreed that the First Party’s fees for the work set out in Clause 2 shall be a lump sum of QAR [Amount in figures] ([Amount in words] Qatari riyals only).
The Second Party shall pay them in cash, by cheque or by bank transfer to the First Party’s account with [Bank name], IBAN: [IBAN], and shall receive a receipt voucher from the First Party for each amount paid. Payment by cheque is complete only once the cheque has been cleared. Fees paid are not refundable once the First Party has begun the work, except by written agreement.
The fees shall be paid in the instalments set out in the following schedule:
| Instalment | Amount (QAR) | Due date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | [Amount in figures] | [Due date] | On signing the agreement |
| Second | [Amount in figures] | [Due date] | [Instalment description] |
| Third | [Amount in figures] | [Due date] | [Instalment description] |
| Total | [Total fees] | — | Equal to the fees stated in this clause |
Clause 5: Court Fees and Expenses
The fees do not include court and government fees, experts’ fees, the costs of translating and attesting documents, or any other costs needed to carry out the work under this agreement; these are borne by the Second Party alone. The Second Party shall pay them directly or deposit their amount with the First Party when requested. If the First Party pays them on the Second Party’s behalf, it shall record them on the Second Party’s account by a payment voucher supported by the receipt, and the Second Party shall reimburse them within [Number of days] days of being asked.
Clause 6: Obligations of the First Party
The First Party shall exercise the professional care required in carrying out the work under this agreement; its obligation is one of due care, not of achieving a particular result. It shall keep the Second Party informed of hearing dates, of what takes place at them and of any judgments given, keep safe the documents it receives, and return the originals to the Second Party when the agreement ends.
Clause 7: Obligations of the Second Party
The Second Party undertakes to:
1. Issue a power of attorney to the First Party authorising it to carry out the work under this agreement, and renew it before it expires for as long as the agreement remains in force.
2. Provide correct and complete documents and information by the dates the First Party sets, and bear alone the consequences of any inaccuracy in them or delay in providing them.
3. Notify the First Party in writing of any change in its address or contact details.
4. Not settle or negotiate with the opponent, or waive the case, without notifying the First Party in advance.
5. Pay the fees and expenses on the dates set in this agreement.
Clause 8: Late Payment and the Right to Withdraw
If the Second Party is more than [Number of days] days late in paying any instalment, or breaches any of its essential obligations, the First Party may, after notifying it in writing and giving it [Number of days] days to remedy the breach, withdraw from the work under this agreement, provided that it withdraws at a suitable time that does not harm the Second Party’s interests in the case, and with due regard to the Advocacy Law and the rules of professional conduct. In that event, the First Party is entitled to the fees corresponding to the work completed up to the date of withdrawal.
Clause 9: Termination and the Effect of Dismissal or Settlement
This agreement ends when the work set out in Clause 2 has been completed and the fees and expenses have been paid in full.
If, without any breach by the First Party, the Second Party dismisses the First Party, revokes its power of attorney or entrusts the case to another lawyer before it is completed, or settles with the opponent, or waives or abandons the case without referring to the First Party, the First Party is entitled to: [the full agreed fees / the fees corresponding to the work completed, subject to a minimum agreed by the parties], as the parties choose on signing.
Clause 10: Confidentiality
The First Party and its staff shall keep confidential the information and documents concerning the Second Party that come to their knowledge by reason of this agreement, and shall not disclose them except with the Second Party’s consent or to the extent required to carry out the work under this agreement or by law. This obligation continues after the agreement ends.
Clause 11: Correspondence and Notices
The addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers stated at the head of this agreement are the parties’ approved addresses for correspondence and notices. Notice may validly be given to them by email, by text message or through a messaging application on the registered number, unless either party notifies the other in writing of a change.
Clause 12: Special Terms
[State here the terms the parties have agreed for this client in particular, or “None”].
Clause 13: Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
This agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Qatar. The parties shall seek to settle amicably any dispute arising from it or from its interpretation; failing that, the courts of the State of Qatar shall have jurisdiction.
Clause 14: Copies and Amendments
No amendment to this agreement shall have effect unless it is made in writing and signed by both parties. This agreement is made in two original copies in [Arabic / English], one held by each party to act upon, and takes effect from the date of signing.
Signed in Doha on [Agreement date].
The template covers one case at one litigation degree. If the arrangement includes the appeal or execution, move it from Clause 3 to Clause 2 and add its fees to the instalment schedule.
How to fill in the template
Copy the parties’ details from their documents
Write the client’s name and Qatar ID number from a valid copy of the ID, not from memory, and check its expiry date. If the client is a company, write its name and commercial registration number as they appear on the CR certificate, and the authorised signatory’s name and capacity as they appear in the document proving the authority; then delete whatever does not apply in the Second Party paragraph.
Write the scope of work as it appears in the case papers
Copy the case number, its year and the court’s name as they appear in the statement of claim, such as “Court of First Instance – Civil Circuits” or “Investment and Trade Court”, then the client’s capacity, the opponent, the claims and the litigation degree covered. If the case has not been filed yet, write its subject and the claims to be brought.
Go through the exclusions with the client
Read Clause 3 with the client before signing, and delete from it whatever you have agreed the fees will cover. This clause answers the question that keeps coming up once judgment is given: is the appeal part of the agreement?
Split the fees into dated instalments
Give each instalment an amount, a due date and a short description, and check that the instalments add up to the total fees written in figures and in words. If you tie an instalment to a stage of the case, give it an expected date as well, so it can be followed up and the client reminded.
Fill in the periods and options in brackets
Set the grace period for late payment and the notice period before withdrawal, choose the effect of dismissal or settlement on the fees, and write the special terms or “None”. Leave no bracket empty in the copy that will be signed.
Sign two copies and keep a copy on file
Both parties sign, the agreement is stamped with the office stamp, and one original is handed to the client. Then keep a scan of the signed copy in the client’s file next to a copy of the power of attorney, and record the instalment schedule where the accountant follows it up.
Common mistakes
- Writing only “following up the case”, without the case number and the litigation degree, so the parties later disagree on whether the appeal or execution is covered.
- Writing the amount in figures only, or writing it in words differently from the figures.
- An instalment schedule that does not add up to the total fees, or instalments tied to stages of the case with no dates.
- Saying nothing about court fees and expenses, then asking the client for them at the first expert report or translation.
- Changing the amount or the instalments verbally after signing, with no written addendum signed by both parties.
Issue this document from your office’s data
In Murafe, the agreement is written under “Fee agreements”: you choose the client and the agreement type, enter the total fees and split them into instalments with due dates, then link the agreement to the cases or services it covers. It prints in your office’s own wording, saved once under Settings → “Fee agreement template”, so for each agreement only the variable parts are filled in: the reference number, the scope of work (which the “Write the scope from the case” button can draft from the case details), the appeals not covered and the special terms, the amount in figures and in words with the instalment schedule, and the client’s details from their file. Its overdue instalments, and those falling due within 7 or 30 days, then appear on the “Contract instalments” page, and the receipt voucher is issued against the agreement and the instalment itself.