Questions foreign clients ask
These are the questions that actually arrive, answered as directly as they can be without knowing your matter.
Yes. Foreign individuals and foreign companies can bring and defend claims in Iran and be represented by Iranian counsel. Nationality affects some substantive rights — property is the area where it most often matters — but not the ability to be represented.
Usually not. Most matters proceed on a power of attorney granted where you live. Some steps, particularly in personal-status matters, can require attendance; we tell you at the start if yours is one of them.
You sign it before a notary where you live and have it legalised for use in Iran, normally through the Iranian consulate with jurisdiction over you, with an official translation. We draft the wording first so that it covers what the matter will need.
Generally not. Iran is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so documents usually need consular legalisation rather than an apostille alone. This is the single most common reason a foreign client’s matter stalls at the first step.
It depends on the forum and whether the other side contests. We will give you a realistic range for your matter once we have seen the documents, and we would rather give you an uncomfortable range than an encouraging one.
They are agreed in writing before work begins, and the basis depends on the matter. We will also tell you what the process itself will cost beyond our fees — translation, legalisation and official charges are real and are better known in advance.
Sanctions affect how funds move, not your ability to instruct Iranian counsel. The practical arrangements need to be settled before work begins and we will be direct about what is workable. We do not advise on your own sanctions compliance; take that advice where you are.
We correspond in English and translate the documents that matter. Court filings and orders are in Persian; you should expect an explanation of what each one means, not a forwarded file you cannot read.
Yes. We act as local counsel for foreign firms and provide written opinions on points of Iranian law for firms advising their own clients.