Questions to ask a commercial law firm before booking

How to use this guide

Also ask how scope, fees, staffing changes and communication will be recorded. The purpose of the pre-booking conversation is not to obtain a promised outcome. It is to confirm that the right people can assess the right problem through a secure, clearly priced first step.

Send a conflict-safe brief before asking detailed questions

Give the firm enough information to route the enquiry without circulating the full file. A useful opening brief normally identifies the business entity, the other important parties, the type of transaction or dispute, the earliest fixed date, the immediate decision and a neutral one-paragraph description.

Do not include commercially sensitive strategy, privileged communications, passwords, unredacted personal records or a large document archive until the firm explains its conflict and intake process. If the firm needs more names for a conflict check, supply those names through the channel it identifies.

This short brief lets you ask focused questions. It also prevents the first conversation from being consumed by reconstructing basic parties, dates and objectives.

Question 1: Can you run the required conflict check?

Ask what names and entities the firm needs before it can discuss the matter in detail. Include related companies, directors, shareholders, counterparties and any existing advisers where they are material to the potential conflict.

Do not assume that a booking form means the firm has accepted the instruction. Ask when it will confirm whether it can act, what information you may safely send before confirmation, and what happens if a conflict prevents the firm from proceeding.

Question 2: Who is the right person for this work?

Describe the task as an action: review an agreement, advise on a shareholder decision, respond to a demand, preserve a business relationship, prepare an urgent application, or assess financial-distress options. Then ask which lawyer would lead that task and why.

Request a matter-relevant explanation rather than a broad assertion of commercial expertise. The answer should connect the proposed person’s work to your documents, stage, industry or decision without requiring disclosure of another client’s confidential information.

If the matter crosses practice areas, ask who will identify the overlap and whether another specialist must join before the first route is confirmed.

Question 3: Who will attend and who will do the work?

The person appearing on a website or introductory email may not be the person conducting the first assessment. Ask for the appointment attendee, responsible lawyer, day-to-day contact, supervisor and any likely additional team members.

Clarify whether the booking is with one practitioner, a lawyer and candidate attorney, or a broader team. Ask how work will be allocated after the meeting and whether any staffing change affects the scope or fee basis.

Question 4: What exactly does the booking include?

Different providers use “consultation”, “strategy session”, “initial review” and “assessment” differently. Ask what the booked time is intended to produce.

Possible outputs include issue classification, a document-gap list, an oral preliminary view, a written note, a proposed next phase or a costed scope. Do not assume that the appointment includes drafting, correspondence, negotiation, a formal opinion or court work unless that is stated.

Ask whether the lawyer will review documents before the meeting, during it or only after a separate instruction. Confirm the length, format, attendees and rescheduling terms as operational details, not as substitutes for the legal scope.

Question 5: Which records should be supplied, and how?

Ask for a short priority list rather than uploading everything available. The firm may need the triggering agreement, notice, resolution, correspondence, chronology, company records or financial information, but the correct pack depends on the task.

Confirm the approved upload or delivery channel, file-size limits, naming convention and treatment of originals. Ask whether sensitive personal information or trade material should be redacted at the enquiry stage and when a more complete secure transfer will be available.

If records are missing, say so. A document gap may change what the first appointment can reliably achieve.

Question 6: How will the earliest fixed date be triaged?

State every known date in absolute terms: when a notice was received, when a response is requested, when a meeting or hearing is scheduled, when performance is due, or when a transaction is expected to close.

Ask whether the firm can assess the date before the ordinary booking and what minimum information it needs for that triage. Do not label the matter “urgent” without explaining the event and consequence. Equally, do not hide a date because you are unsure whether it is legally decisive.

The answer may be that the firm is unavailable or that a different specialist is needed. It is better to discover that before waiting for a routine appointment.

Question 7: What will the first paid deliverable be?

Ask the provider to identify the smallest useful piece of work after the booking. It might be a focused document review, risk note, letter, negotiation preparation, corporate-record assessment, advice on a decision process, or an urgent procedural assessment.

Confirm what question that deliverable will answer, what it will not cover, who will prepare and review it, and which facts or third-party steps could change it. A defined first deliverable gives both sides a review point before the mandate expands.

Question 8: What is included, excluded and assumed?

Ask for the proposed client entity and immediate task to be stated precisely. Then request the important exclusions and assumptions.

For example, a contract review may exclude tax advice, negotiation and implementation documents. A dispute assessment may exclude issuing proceedings, evidence collection and counsel. A company-law instruction may depend on obtaining a complete securities register, memorandum of incorporation or board record.

An exclusion is not necessarily a problem. An invisible exclusion is.

Question 9: How will fees and changes be handled?

Ask about the fee basis for the booking and first phase, applicable tax, expected disbursements, payment timing, deposits, cancellation terms and the process for work outside scope. If more than one person may work on the matter, ask how their roles affect charging.

Do not demand a guaranteed total where the documents or route are still unknown. Instead, ask what can be estimated now, what remains uncertain, which event triggers a revised estimate, and who must approve additional work.

If the practitioner will receive or hold funds and an FFC is required for that role, the LPC encourages the public to verify that the certificate is valid. Ask for the correct practitioner details and verify through the current official route.

Question 10: How will communication and decisions work?

Ask which channel is used for instructions, documents, routine updates and urgent messages. Identify who in your business may give instructions and who must approve settlement, material drafting, a changed budget or a new work phase.

Also ask what response arrangement applies when the lead lawyer is unavailable. A communication plan should fit the matter’s risk and pace; it need not promise instant replies to every message.

Question 11: What happens if the firm is not the right fit?

Ask whether the firm can identify the missing specialism or capacity even if it cannot accept the matter. A responsible answer may be limited by conflicts or the information available, but it can still help you avoid waiting for a service the firm does not provide.

Do not pressure a provider to stretch beyond its experience. A clear refusal or referral signal can be useful evidence about fit.

Questions that should not drive the booking

Avoid treating “Will we win?”, “Can you guarantee the result?” or “Can you fix this immediately?” as selection tests. A reliable answer usually depends on documents, the other party, applicable law, procedure, evidence and third-party decisions.

Likewise, do not select only on the first hourly rate or the confidence of the speaker. Test what work, people, assumptions and deliverables sit behind the answer.

Record the answers in a booking note

After the conversation, record the firm, attendees, conflict status, dates disclosed, documents requested, booking output, proposed first deliverable, scope limits, fee basis and next confirmation. Send material corrections promptly.

Keep the booking note separate from your assessment of the underlying legal merits. Its purpose is to show what the provider and business understood about the proposed first step.

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