A first consultation is most useful when the advocate can see the documents rather than only the story. Half an hour of preparation beforehand usually halves the follow-up questions afterwards.
Which documents should you bring?
- Identification , your national ID or passport, and KRA PIN where relevant.
- The core document in dispute or under negotiation: contract, title deed, lease, will, or court papers.
- Correspondence , demand letters, notices, emails, and relevant WhatsApp messages.
- Financial records connected to the matter: receipts, invoices, bank or M-Pesa statements.
- Any earlier agreements or documents referred to in the core document.
- A short chronology , a dated list of what happened, in order.
What questions will the advocate ask?
Expect questions about your goal , settlement, payment, transfer, defence , the parties involved, the dates, the money at stake, and any deadlines bearing on the matter. Answer directly, including on the awkward points: an advocate can only advise well on facts they know. The consultation is confidential, so candour costs you nothing.
What should you leave the consultation with?
Three things: an assessment of your options and their risks, a proposed next step with an indicative cost, and clarity on who does what next. If you leave without any of these, ask before you go. Bring a notebook , advice delivered verbally is easy to misremember, and the details matter.
Many consultations now take place by video call, which changes little: send documents ahead, keep them organised in one folder with clear file names, and have the chronology in front of you. Confidentiality applies on screen as it does in the room, and the same candour is expected either way. If you are unsure whether a document matters, bring it anyway , sorting takes minutes, while a missing document can cost a second meeting.
It is also sensible to confirm that the advocate you are seeing is properly qualified; member records are maintained by the Law Society of Kenya. Our practice areas page shows the matters we handle so you can book with the right team, and the about page explains what to expect at our Westlands office.
For guidance on your specific situation, contact CS Advocates LLP , call, WhatsApp, or book a confidential consultation at our Westlands, Nairobi office.