When a legal concern arises, hiring a lawyer may be the smartest option. Most lawyers meet with clients for an initial consultation/meeting. Initial consultations essentially serve as an opportunity to determine if you want to hire a specific lawyer to handle your case and offer you legal advice. If it’s your first time meeting with a lawyer, you may not know what to expect and how things will work.

RELAX! YOUR SECRETS ARE ALWAYS SAFE WITH YOUR LAWYER TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW!

First, be assured that lawyer’s meetings are a safe environment where lawyer-client confidentiality and privilege rules apply. What you discuss with your lawyer must stay in between you and the lawyer and it is not discussed elsewhere or even with the court unless you give permission or an ethical law requires the lawyer to disclose it.

Normally, if you have questions about the limits of lawyer-client privilege and confidentiality, always feel-free to discuss it with the lawyer and how it would apply to your situation during an initial consultation with the lawyer.

It’s common and normal for potential clients to be nervous or anxious when scheduling an initial consultation with a lawyer. As a result, it can seriously benefit you to know what to expect when consulting with a lawyer. Below we explain the basics of lawyer-client consultations for the purpose of helping you navigate meetings and communications with your lawyer, or a lawyer that you are looking to hire. It will also discuss how to understand the fees and services that come with legal representation in Rwanda.

• HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR YOUR MEETING WITH A LAWYER IN RWANDA?

Being prepared for your meeting with a lawyer can help relieve tension and increase your general comfort about the upcoming meeting. It is also essential to focusing your meeting with a lawyer so that he or she can give you accurate and relevant advice regarding your claim or legal matter.

First, you should gather all important and relevant legal documents relating to your case. In case, your lawyer requested you to find, complete given forms, or requested you to come with specific documents, you must ensure that those documents are in order, complete, accurate and bring them with you to meet with the lawyer.

In Rwanda, it is common practice for lawyers to request their clients to come with given documents related to the case. This helps the lawyer know what necessary documentation exists and the lawyer will be able to organize what basic questions he/she will ask you during the meeting. This saves time and makes the initial meeting helpful for both the client and the lawyer. For example: If you have received documents from the opposing party or you were served by the adverse party, it is wise and important that you come with those documents to be reviewed and analyzed by your lawyer for the better understanding and planning of your case.

Also, find time and prepare a list of all your major concerns and questions that you want your lawyer to address during the first meeting. E.g:

1. What experience does the lawyer have with similar cases like your case? (Has the lawyer ever handled a similar case like your and if so, was it successful or not?);
2. Who else will be having access to your file/case/confidential information?
3. Apart from what you have provided, what else will the lawyer want from your side?
4. What will be the costs?

The list can be as long as reasonable it can be and having all questions that will satisfy your expectations and concerns.

• BE READY TO TAKE A FEW NOTES

It can be difficult to remember what you discussed with the lawyer days or even weeks later when the situation arises again. We encourage all potential clients to take a few notes on important discussion topics during their consultation so they have something to jog their memory later. Additionally, there may be follow-up information or documents the lawyer needs you to obtain before he/she can take the next step, and it is always helpful to have those type of instructions written down.

However, it is highly not advisable to allow clients to take copious notes or record conversations with lawyers in any way. This helps preserve the confidentiality of your conversations with the lawyer and staff members as well as making sure you are not so focused on taking notes that you cannot listen to the lawyer’s advice!

• WHAT REALLY HAPPENS AT THE ACTUAL LAWYER-CLIENT INITIAL MEETING IN RWANDA?

The lawyer meeting with you will take time to understand your situation, develop your legal claim(s), and determines with you what strategy would be to resolve your case. Normally, the lawyer will take time to answer your questions, separate legal myths from legal facts, ad otherwise ease your worries about the unknown. The lawyer will provide advices and explanations tailored to your situation that stem from his/her years of experience, education, and specialized training.

You may not hear what you expected, or what you want to hear, but the lawyer will not hide the legal realities of your cases from you,

Some lawyers prepare fresh-up drinks, always feel-free to ask and take some drink or something to decrease the tension that comes with meetings  

•  WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT MAKING PAYMENTS TO YOUR LAWYER?

In Rwanda, legal fees are regulated by the law that sets the scale of fees that lawyers are supposed to charge clients, but this depends on case per case as provided by the law. This means that for every matter, there is maximum and minimum fees to be charged accordingly.

A lawyer is required to inform his/her client from the beginning of their relationship, the terms of fixing his/her fees, discuss it beforehand with him/her, so that the fees are clearly fixed in perfect agreement and depending on the type of dispute, the complexity of the case, the special skills of the lawyer and financial situation of his/her client.

However, a lawyer and client are free to agree on the ways of payment within the limits of the law. But, any agreement on fees in connection exclusively to the judicial outcome of the case is prohibited.

There are many ways that clients pay lawyers. The first way is called a “retainer,” where the client pays the lawyer in advance for his or her legal services, and when the lawyer has worked for the full amount of the retainer, the client pays the lawyer at their hourly rate. Retainers are most common in cases that don’t involve claims for money–usually criminal defense, divorce, and bankruptcy claims.

It’s normal for lawyers with more practice experience to charge higher fees than junior lawyers. Sometimes, a lawyer may be able to work out a payment plan so that you can make reasonable payments over time. If you are unable to afford the fees that your lawyer outlines in their contract, ask the lawyer whether he or she is willing to come to an alternative agreement regarding fee payment.

A lawyer is entitled to ask the client appropriate advance payment from the beginning of his/her intervention and following the progress of the case, and to establish the status of the advance on fees at various stages of the proceedings.

Where the hourly method applies, regular records of work performed shall be sent to the client, and the lawyer shall especially ensure that the advance on fees is paid.

CONCLUSION

At the close of your meeting with a lawyer, you should make sure that you have shared all the necessary information and raised all of your questions and concerns. Ideally, you should leave the meeting feeling comfortable with contacting your lawyer, clear about the next steps in your case, and confident that your legal matter is in competent hands. Although meeting with a lawyer can be intimidating, being prepared and knowing what to expect can help you navigate the process successfully.

Author:

Advocate KALLAGI. Arnold|

• Member of the East Africa Law Society;
• Member of the Rwanda Bar Association;
• 2018 Certificate of Recognition for completion of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Exchange of Best Practices on Trademark Examination held at Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda 2018;
• Masters in Business Law (University of Rwanda 2017-2019);
• Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice and Development (ILPD);
• Bachelor of Laws (Islamic University in Uganda Kampala-Campus).

Email: advocatekallagi@gmail.com   Tel: +250787337024 (WhatsApp)

Website:   http://opt-law.com/