How much do you charge for legal fee?

We charge our legal fee varies according to the circumstances and complexity of the case. In most civil matters, we offer two different ways of charging fees for civil matters i.e. fixed fees and contigency fee (percentage fees based on the contentious amount involved). For criminal matters, there is only single way of charging that is fixed fee.

In some non-contentious matters such as Sale and Purchase Agreement, Tenancy Agreement and etc., the legal fee has been fixed and prescribed by the Advocates Remuneration Rules 1988. For that reason, we are strictly prohibited to charge in excess or below the prescribed fee.

Due to restrictions imposed by the law, all law firms practising in the state of Sabah is strictly not allowed to disclose the rates and method of charging on their webpage. Therefore, for quotation of our legal fees kindly contact us directly.

How much do you charge for drafting Sale and Purchase Agreement

In respect of drafting Sale and Purchase Agreement, the legal fee has been fixed and prescribed by the Advocates Remuneration Rules 1988. You may refer the schedule of fee on the Sabah State's Attorney General's webpage.

Any discount for my legal fee?

Pursuant to Rule 7 of the Advocates Remuneration Rules 1988, no advocates shall give any discount on or receive in consideration any consideration other than the remuneration set out in the Advocates Remuneration Rules 1988. Exceptions only given to the following persons/bodies:

1. Charity/Religious bodies
2. Employees of the law firm
3. Immediate family members of the advocate
4. A fellow member of advocate

Does the legal fee includes disbursement and filing fee to the Court etc.?

No. Our legal fee excludes disbursements, which are out-of-pocket expenses which we incur on your behalf. These expenses include court e-filing fee, postage charges, telephone charges, photocopying charges, court fees and the costs of airfare and/or hotel accommodation for any travel outside Kota Kinabalu relating to this matter by our lawyers. A classified list of disbursements will be provided in each invoice.

Can you start work on my case without payment of deposit?

In all criminal cases, we will require full payment of legal fee or at least 50% deposit of total legal fee before we can work on your case.

In respect of civil cases, we usually enclose our Schedule of Payments in our Letter of Engagement. Payment of legal fee will be in accordance with the work progress as per stated in the Schedule of Payments.

Why lawyer's fee is so expensive?

That's a common misconception. Lawyer's fee is relatively modest and correspond with the amount of work, time, skill and effort spent working on each case. Most often, the client tends to overlook the fact that much of lawyer's work is unseen. The many hours spent in researching the law or drafting the agreement or in evaluating the evidence are usually done in the quiet of library and outside the presence of our client. Not to forget lawyer consumes much of their time going through voluminous law reports and journal full with legal jargons that often time only lawyers could understand. In return of that efforts, lawyer takes away the trouble from client and give them instead a peace of mind and assurance that your case is well-taken care off.

That explains much why lawyer's fee sometimes quoted with premium. ;)

Do you accept payment via Credit Card?

No, all payment in cash term.

My family member has been arrested. What should I do?

Calm yourself. Identify on what ground he was arrested. Take note the time and place of his arrest and try to gather as much information the activity he has involved with for the last past hours and days. This is useful information to lay down your defence during trial.

You should also get in touch with the Investigating Officer (IO) of the case and enquire where he will be detained.

Appoint lawyer as soon as the arrest was made. This is to arrange a speedy consultation with the arrested person and to stop the police from recording statement from the arrested person which may incriminate him with criminal offence.

I have been arrested for more than 24 hours. What should I do?

The minute you have been arrested, you are entitled as a matter of right to communicate with your lawyer. Inform the police that you will exercise your right to seek consultation with your appointed lawyer and insist not to proceed with questioning or recording your statement without first consulting your appointed lawyer.

The Police cannot detain you more than 24 hours unless remand application to the Magistrate has been granted. Ensure to contact your appointed lawyer so that he can be present during the remand proceedings. Your lawyer will submit and oppose the remand application so you may be released forthwith.

Can I be bailed out during remand period?

No. You will be detained until the remand period has expired. It is therefore important to appoint criminal lawyer during the remand proceedings so that your lawyer can argue your case before the Magistrate.

My remand has expired. What's next?

Depending on Public Prosecutor's instruction, you may be released or charged in the open Court. If the prosecution preferred a criminal charge against you, you will be brought to the Court and the charge will be read and explained to you. You may plead guilty or not guilty to the charge. Before entering the plea, you may consult with your appointed lawyer.

I plead not guilty to the charge. Can I be bailed out?

Depending on type of offence, you may be bailed out with or without conditions attached. In unbailable offences, you cannot be bailed out.

Can lawyer stands as my surety?

No. Lawyer cannot stand as surety/bailor to his client as this is against the Advocates (Practice & Etiqutte) Rules 1988.

Do you care to explain to process of criminal justice?

To learn more about criminal justice system in Malaysia, kindly refer to this link.

What type of Agreement do you draft?

We draft all types of agreement ranging from Memorandum of Understanding to Development Agreement and Sale & Purchase Agreement to Power of Attorney. Basically, we draft any agreement to suit your needs and foremostly it is legally binding to participating parties

Can you handle the Sale and Purchase Agreement of my house?

Sure we can.

I am dying. But before I die I wanted to make sure my children inherits all my properties. Can you do that for me?

Firstly, we're sorry to hear your medical condition. We are capable to draft any Will so that your children will get everything as you've wished for. We also offer services to retain the custody of the Will so in the event of your demise, our lawyer will read and explain the Will to your children and thereafter advise the next step to obtain the grant of probate. Just wanted to make it clear, the cost for drafting Last Testatement and Will is entirely separate from the service of retaining the Will and making a grant of Probate application to the High Court.

My lawyer from Penang has drafted a Sale and Purchase Agreement in respect of property I bought in Butterworth. Since I am working in Kota Kinabalu, the lawyer asked me to execute the agreement in front of Sabahan lawyer. Can you do that for me and how much do you charge?

Absolutely. We offer attestation services for any type of agreement except loan or security documents. As per our Advocates Remuneration Rules 1988, the charge for witnessing execution of a document is RM 50.00 for the first and RM 5.00 for each subsequent copy. For witnessing execution of a document and giving an attestation certificate, the charge is RM 100.00 for the first and RM 5.00 for each subsequent copy.

I am interested to appoint you as my lawyer. Can you evaluate my case?

If you interested to appoint us as lawyer you may schedule a consultation with our lawyer for evaluation of your case. Initial consultation with our lawyer will incur you one-off consultation fee of RM 150.00. Our consultation should give you our preliminary opinion of your case including the pros and cons of pursuing your claim. If you don't have a case, we will ensure you understand why and will discuss and explore what options remain open for you.

However, not all clients need a consultation. Some cases can be common to layman and you might as well know what legal services you require. If that's the case, you may simply fix an appointment and we will open a file to work on your case.

Will you charge consultation fee for Sale and Purchase Agreement and etc.?

No, we do not charge consulatation fee in respect of Sale and Purchase agreement and Tenancy Agreement. The transaction is very elementary and quite common. You may simply fix an appointment with us and bring all related documents.

What happen after the initial consultation?

You may want to instruct us to open a file and prepare a detailed legal opinion writing about your case. At this juncture, we will advise you the anticipate legal cost of the action and will either require you to pay a sum of deposit to secure our performance of the task. You may also choose to consult with other lawyers for second opinion of your case.

Do you charge request for consultation via email ?

Due to high volumes of request we received everyday, we are unable to review your case submitted through email or online. Please call our desk office for appointment.

After the consultation, I have decided to appoint you as my lawyer. What's next?

We will first require you to sign the Legal Services Agreement in which you will indicate your acceptance to our terms and conditions of our service.

I have been charged in the court for criminal offence and need your advise on how to proceed.

Be sure to call us for an appointment. If that is not possible, you should arrange your family members to contact us. We may on our discretion and consideration waive the consultation fee.