Questions to Ask a Lawyer About Fees and Scope

Key takeaways

• Before instructing a lawyer, ask for a written answer to six questions: what work is included now, what is excluded, who will do each task, how professional fees are calculated, which other costs may arise and what must happen before the scope or budget changes. Also confirm the deposit, VAT treatment, billing frequency, payment terms, stopping rules and what happens if the mandate ends.
• Do not compare headline prices until the proposed work is comparable. A lower amount may cover only a consultation or first letter, while another proposal may include document review, negotiations or a procedural stage. “Estimate”, “cap”, “fixed fee”, “deposit” and “retainer” also describe different controls. Ask the firm to define its words, assumptions and approval points rather than relying on the label.
• This guide owns the pre-instruction fee-and-scope comparison. The consultation-fee glossary explains the initial appointment term, while the legal-fees dispute checklist covers records to preserve after a billing problem arises. Choosing a provider and reviewing an accepted mandate remain separate decisions.

1. Start by defining the decision you are pricing

A useful fee discussion starts with a defined legal task, not “How much will my case cost?” Give each lawyer the same short matter brief: the parties, important dates, current documents, immediate problem, desired result and next known event. Do not send a full confidential file before the firm has completed an appropriate conflict and intake check.

Then ask what the first proposed engagement actually is:

• an introductory or fit call;
• a paid consultation;
• a consultation with advance document review;
• a written opinion;
• one letter or negotiation step;
• a limited procedural stage;
• continuing representation; or
• urgent protective work pending a fuller mandate.

These are not interchangeable. Paying for a consultation does not by itself prove that the firm has accepted responsibility for the matter, a deadline or later representation. Ask when the mandate begins, who confirms acceptance and which task the firm will regard as its first deliverable.

The South African attorney-client relationship is one of mandate. In Le Roux v Johannes G Coetzee and Seuns, the Constitutional Court explained that accepting instructions creates a contract of mandate and carries an implied obligation to perform with the skill, care and diligence required of the average attorney. Whether acceptance has occurred and what it covers still depend on the communications, conduct and terms in the actual matter.

2. Ask for a stage-based scope

“Handle the matter” is too broad to compare or supervise. Ask the lawyer to divide the proposed work into stages and identify the deliverable at the end of each stage.

For a dispute, possible stages may include:

1. initial facts and document review;
2. advice on routes, risks and evidence gaps;
3. pre-litigation correspondence or negotiation;
4. issuing or defending proceedings;
5. interim applications and pleadings;
6. discovery, experts and preparation;
7. hearing or trial;
8. judgment, settlement implementation or enforcement; and
9. appeal, review or rescission.

For a transaction, stages may include instructions, due diligence, first draft, negotiation rounds, conditions, signature, implementation and post-closing work. Other matters require their own map.

Ask:

• Which stage does this proposal cover?
• What document, advice, appearance or completed action marks the end of it?
• Which documents and factual assumptions were used to price it?
• Does it include calls, meetings, correspondence and ordinary follow-up?
• Is implementation or enforcement included?
• Which event triggers a new scope and fee discussion?

The answer should describe work the firm controls. It should not promise a court order, regulatory decision, settlement, recovery, registration date or other external outcome.

3. Put exclusions next to the included work

An included-work list is incomplete without exclusions. Ask the firm to state material exclusions in the same proposal instead of leaving them to a later invoice.

Common questions include whether the current amount excludes:

• urgent or after-hours work;
• a counterclaim, new party or separate cause of action;
• an appeal, review, rescission or enforcement step;
• tax, labour, regulatory, competition or foreign-law advice;
• extra document volumes or investigation;
• a second or later negotiation round;
• travel, waiting time or an appearance outside the stated forum;
• counsel, experts, correspondents, sheriffs, translators or other providers; and
• work for a director, shareholder, family member or related entity that is not the named client.

An exclusion does not mean the work will never become necessary. It means the current responsibility and price do not cover it unless the mandate is varied. Ask the lawyer to identify any excluded task that is reasonably foreseeable from the current facts and explain how its need would be raised.

4. Identify every person who may work and bill

The person leading the consultation may not perform every task. Ask for the responsible practitioner, the expected team and the basis on which each person's time is charged.

Clarify:

• who owns the file and makes material recommendations;
• who will attend the consultation, negotiation or hearing;
• which tasks may be delegated to another attorney, candidate legal practitioner, paralegal or administrative worker;
• the rate or pricing treatment for every chargeable role;
• who reviews delegated work and whether review time is also charged;
• how staffing changes will be communicated; and
• whether an advocate, correspondent, expert or other specialist is expected.

Delegation can make work more efficient, but only if responsibility, supervision and pricing are visible. A blended or team fee should state what it includes. A proposal based on one senior practitioner should explain what happens if another person performs the work.

If counsel may be involved, ask who selects and briefs the advocate, who receives the advocate's account, whether counsel requires advance cover, which appearances or conferences are assumed and how cancellations are treated. Do not assume the lawyer's headline fee includes counsel.

The attorney-types page can help distinguish professional roles before comparing their proposed responsibilities. The actual enrolment, practice model, scope and fee terms still require current verification.

5. Make the fee formula reproducible

Ask the firm to show how the professional fee will be calculated. A usable formula allows another reader to apply the written terms to the later account.

For hourly work, confirm:

• the rate for each chargeable person;
• whether the rate includes VAT;
• the minimum time unit;
• how short calls, messages and internal conferences are recorded;
• whether travel, waiting and administrative time are charged;
• when rates may change; and
• whether a time-entry narrative will accompany the bill.

For a fixed or staged fee, confirm the exact deliverable, included revisions or meetings, assumptions, payment milestones and change rule. “Fixed” is meaningful only for a defined scope. It may not cover new parties, additional documents, an urgent application or a later stage.

For a recurring retainer or availability arrangement, ask what recurring amount buys, whether unused capacity carries over, which work remains separately chargeable and how the arrangement ends. The word “retainer” is also sometimes used loosely for money paid in advance. Require the firm to define its use rather than assuming it means the total price.

The Legal Practice Council Code recognises a legal practitioner's entitlement to a reasonable fee, while also addressing unnecessary work and expense and the timing or manner of demands for fees or advance cover. It does not create one universal price list for private legal work.

6. Separate a quote, estimate, cap and budget

These controls answer different questions:

Do not turn an estimate into an assumed guarantee or treat a cap as a fixed fee without reading the variation clause. In Tshisevhe Gwina Ratshimbilani Incorporated v Gijima Holdings, a legal-fee claim arose from a written mandate containing a capped fee and provisions addressing additional tasks and unforeseen factors. The case illustrates why the assumptions, overrun process and alleged approval history matter when fees move beyond the original figure.

Ask for the estimate's date, scope, assumptions and exclusions. Then set an update trigger: a percentage, amount, stage, new event or forecast date at which the firm must report before further avoidable cost is incurred.

Section 35 of the Legal Practice Act contains a proposed written cost-estimate regime, but the government's commencement record and the LPC's 2026 ethics guide confirm that nine of section 35's twelve subsections remain unproclaimed. The uncommenced provisions should not be described as a universal current statutory duty. Written cost and scope controls remain important contractual and professional safeguards.

7. Ask exactly what a deposit covers

Before paying an advance, ask:

• Is this an earned consultation fee, a deposit against future work, advance cover for disbursements or a recurring retainer?
• Who issues the invoice and receipt?
• Into which account must it be paid?
• When may the firm transfer or apply the money?
• How will each deduction appear on a statement?
• When must the amount be replenished?
• What happens to an unused balance?
• May work pause if the balance is not restored, and how will active deadlines be protected?

Section 84 of the Legal Practice Act applies Fidelity Fund certificate requirements to specified attorneys and trust-account advocates and extends the control to deposits taken for future fees or disbursements. The LPC provides a current public verification route. The certificate question depends on the practitioner and practice model; it is not a substitute for verifying the invoice, payee, bank details and allocation of the payment.

Confirm bank details through an independently obtained firm contact, especially after any change. A genuine-looking invoice, email chain or messaging profile is not enough. Do not use an unexpected payment link or substitute account until the change has been verified out of band.

In Blakes Maphanga Inc v Outsurance Insurance Co Ltd, the Supreme Court of Appeal addressed disputed fees and trust money, underscoring the need for certainty before disputed money is treated as earned. The application of trust and account rules is fact-specific; preserve the mandate, statements and approvals rather than relying on a verbal description of the deposit.

8. Build the full-cost list beyond professional fees

A legal budget can include more than the firm's own fee. Ask for a list of expected and possible external costs, who selects the provider and who must approve the instruction.

Depending on the matter, the list may include:

• advocate's fees;
• expert or investigator fees;
• sheriff, filing, registry or deeds charges;
• correspondent attorneys;
• searches, reports and certificates;
• transcription, interpreting and translation;
• notarisation, legalisation or authentication;
• travel, accommodation, copying, couriers or secure data hosting; and
• taxes or statutory charges that are not professional fees.

Ask which figures are current quotes, published charges, estimates or placeholders. Confirm whether VAT applies to each line and whether every figure is VAT-inclusive or VAT-exclusive. Do not label an external charge as an official fee unless an authoritative source establishes that status.

Require prior written approval above a practical threshold. Ask whether the firm adds an administration, handling or uplift charge to a third-party amount and what supporting record will accompany the invoice. If counsel or an expert may require a cancellation fee, ask when that exposure begins.

9. Agree how invoices and reports will work

The billing system should let the client compare work performed with scope, progress and prior approvals. Ask:

• How often will invoices be issued?
• Will time entries name the date, person, task and duration?
• How will fixed-fee milestones be shown?
• Will deposits, transfers, payments and balances be reconciled separately?
• Which supporting records will be supplied for disbursements?
• How long does the client have to raise a query?
• Who receives and answers billing questions?
• Does a query suspend only the disputed amount or affect all work?

Also ask for a budget-to-actual update at agreed points. A short status report should show completed scope, next work, amount billed, committed external costs, remaining estimate and decisions needed. This is more useful than discovering an overrun after the stage is complete.

The 2025 Supreme Court of Appeal decision in Walker v Schabort Potgieter Attorneys considered a written fee and mandate agreement, client identity despite third-party payment, and an attorney's fiduciary duty to account truthfully and openly. The case is a reminder to name the client, payer and reporting recipient separately where they are not the same person.

10. Create a written change-control rule

Legal work changes when facts, opponents, documents or procedure change. The mandate should not pretend otherwise. It should require a disciplined variation process.

Ask the firm to report:

1. the new event;
2. the extra or changed work it creates;
3. whether that work was included, excluded or not contemplated;
4. the effect on timing, staff, third parties and budget;
5. any urgent protective step that cannot reasonably wait; and
6. the approval required before continuing.

Name the client representative who may approve extra work and spending. For an organisation, clarify whether an operational contact can approve strategy but not settlement or cost above a threshold. For joint clients, establish how a decision is made and what happens if interests diverge.

Avoid a clause that allows unlimited new work whenever the firm considers it necessary. Equally, avoid a rule that prevents an identified emergency step needed to preserve a right. Define the emergency contact, permitted interim action and earliest written confirmation point.

11. Ask how deadlines and non-payment interact

Fees do not suspend a court, regulator, contract or prescription date. Ask the firm to identify which dates it has accepted responsibility for and which remain the client's responsibility.

Clarify:

• the first protected date under the proposed scope;
• information or funds the client must provide before it;
• what notice will be given before work pauses;
• who monitors the matter during a pause;
• whether formal withdrawal or substitution is required;
• which urgent step may still be needed to avoid prejudice; and
• how the file status will be reported if the mandate ends.

The Code states that a legal practitioner may not refuse to carry out or continue a mandate for non-payment or failure to provide advance cover where the demand was made at an unreasonable time or in an unreasonable manner, considering the circumstances. That provision does not promise indefinite unfunded work. It makes the timing, notice, circumstances and live procedural obligations important.

Do not wait for a payment dispute to learn who holds the calendar. Record accepted deadlines in writing and maintain your own dated copy of notices, orders and correspondence.

12. Price the end of the mandate

Ask what happens if the client changes lawyer, the firm withdraws, the matter settles early or the client decides not to continue.

The written terms should address:

• fees earned up to the ending date;
• work in progress and committed external costs;
• cancellation or minimum fees;
• reconciliation and return of unused advance money;
• the final invoice and status report;
• urgent dates and procedural withdrawal;
• originals, electronic records and file transfer;
• any asserted lien and the process if it is disputed; and
• responsibility for notifying the court, opponent or provider.

A fixed fee should state whether early termination produces a stage-based calculation, time-based calculation or another agreed result. A recurring arrangement should identify the notice period and work during it. Do not assume that ending the relationship cancels a hearing, undertaking, counsel booking or invoice.

13. Treat contingency fees as a special legal arrangement

“No win, no fee” is not a casual substitute for ordinary terms. The Contingency Fees Act permits specified contingency arrangements and requires the agreement to be in writing, in the prescribed form and signed as the Act directs.

Before considering such an agreement, ask:

• Does the Act apply to this proceeding and arrangement?
• Which ordinary fee and success-related fee formula is proposed?
• How are the statutory limits applied?
• Which disbursements remain payable regardless of outcome?
• Who funds experts, counsel and other external costs?
• What happens after an offer, partial success, appeal or early termination?
• Which cooling-off, review and affidavit steps apply?
• Has the complete prescribed agreement been supplied before signature?

Do not rely on an informal percentage in a message or a verbal assurance. Have the actual agreement checked against the current Act, prescribed form and facts.

14. Compare proposals on one page

Create one row for each firm and use the same columns:

Mark “not supplied” instead of guessing. Ask for the missing term in writing. A proposal with a higher headline amount may be more controlled if it covers a larger stage, includes senior review, caps defined work or reduces uncertain external cost. A lower proposal may still be appropriate when it is deliberately limited and the client needs only that limited output.

The lawyer consultation preparation guide can help you give each provider the same fact and document brief. The lawyer directory is the approved discovery route when the proposed scope does not match the matter; directory presence does not verify a quote, availability, experience or outcome.

15. Stop and clarify these warning signs

Pause before paying or instructing if:

• the provider will not identify the responsible practitioner or firm;
• the proposal promises a result controlled by a court, regulator or opponent;
• a “fixed” amount has no deliverable, assumptions or exclusions;
• the deposit is described inconsistently or must be paid to an unexplained account;
• the firm will not state whether VAT or third-party costs are included;
• counsel or expert costs can be incurred without an approval rule;
• extra work may be added without notice or limit;
• the firm will not explain who holds urgent deadlines;
• material terms are supplied only verbally or disappear from the final document;
• blanks, missing schedules or contradictory clauses remain at signature; or
• pressure to pay prevents independent verification.

One warning sign does not determine fraud, misconduct or the validity of the proposal. It identifies a fact to resolve before the relationship and payment become harder to unwind.

16. The final questions to send

Before accepting the proposal, ask the lawyer to confirm in one written response:

1. Who is the client, and who may give instructions and approve spending?
2. What exact stage and deliverable are included now?
3. What material work is excluded?
4. Who will perform, supervise and bill the work?
5. Is the price hourly, fixed, staged, capped, recurring or contingent?
6. Does each amount include VAT?
7. What assumptions support the quote or estimate?
8. What deposit is required, where is it held and how is it reconciled?
9. Which counsel, expert, official and other costs may arise?
10. When will invoices and budget updates be sent?
11. What requires prior written approval?
12. Which deadlines has the firm accepted?
13. What happens if payment is delayed or the scope changes?
14. What happens if either side ends the mandate?
15. Which signed document records the final terms?

Keep the accepted proposal, mandate, each variation, invoice, statement, approval and payment proof together. The objective is not to predict every event. It is to make responsibility, price mechanics and decision points visible before work and cost expand.

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