Describe the matter without choosing the answer first
Prepare a factual summary: proposed activity, founders or owners, location, intended customers, financing, timeline, any foreign element and what has already been filed or agreed. State what you need the lawyer to advise on. Do not select an entity or filing path from a generic article before receiving advice tailored to current facts.
Bring questions about ownership, control, liability, tax coordination, intellectual property, employment, licenses and future investment where relevant, while expecting the lawyer to define their own scope. Business registration can overlap with accounting, sector regulation and local permissions. Ask which issues the lawyer handles and which require another appropriately qualified adviser or authority.
Verify the individual legal practitioner
Request the lawyer’s full professional name and identifying enrollment or license details, then verify through the Nepal Bar Council’s official resources or contact process. Confirm that the person giving legal advice—not only the office or intermediary—has the appropriate current status. A directory listing, academic title or business brand alone is not professional verification.
Ask about recent experience with matters similar in activity, ownership structure and complexity without requesting another client’s confidential information. Experience should be assessed alongside communication and conflicts, not converted into a guaranteed result. This directory does not rank legal competence or endorse a named practitioner; it provides questions for a user-led comparison.
Demand a clear engagement scope
The engagement letter should identify the client, responsible lawyer, work included, work excluded, assumptions, expected stages and conditions for ending the engagement. Clarify whether the service covers advice only, document drafting, name or other preliminary checks, filing, authority responses, post-registration steps or coordination with other advisers. Do not infer services from “registration package.”
Ask who may work on the file, who communicates with authorities and when your approval is required. If an agent, junior team member or outside professional is involved, understand supervision and confidentiality. Record what counts as completion: filing submitted, registration issued, original documents handed over or another specifically agreed outcome.
Separate professional fees from outside charges
Request a written fee basis and estimate that distinguishes legal work from government, notary, translation, courier, publication, accounting, travel or other third-party charges where applicable. Ask which figures are fixed, estimated or dependent on events, when invoices are issued and whether taxes are included. Current official charges should be verified through the relevant authority.
Clarify the advance, refund treatment, charge for additional advice and approval threshold for unexpected work. Never send money solely because an unverified message changes payment instructions. Confirm the account and recipient through the firm’s established contact and obtain receipts. The cheapest quote may exclude analysis or follow-through needed for your actual matter.
Control documents, privacy and filing authority
Ask for a document checklist tied to your case and mark originals, certified copies and translations separately. Keep your own complete copy and a log of anything handed over. Verify requests for identification, signatures, digital credentials, stamps or blank pages; never sign an incomplete document or share access credentials without understanding purpose and control.
Discuss how confidential information is stored and exchanged, who can access it and whether ordinary messaging is suitable for sensitive records. Review each filing or authorization before signature and ask the lawyer to explain unfamiliar statements. Report accurate information; legal help should not be used to conceal ownership, fabricate records or bypass current requirements.
Track advice, deadlines and final handover
Agree a communication channel, update frequency and responsibility for deadlines, while recognizing that authority processing time may be outside the lawyer’s control. Ask for important advice, decisions and filing receipts in writing. If circumstances change, tell the lawyer promptly because an earlier recommendation may no longer fit the facts or current law.
At completion, collect advice and executed documents, submission and payment receipts, registration records received, unresolved tasks, renewal or compliance dates identified within scope and original materials. Confirm which later obligations need legal, tax or sector advice. This guide is not a registration procedure or legal opinion; current individualized advice must come from a verified professional.
