Working with us from abroad
This page is the mechanics: how a client who has never been to Iran instructs a Tehran firm and has something happen as a result.
How instructing us works
Five steps, and the first two cost you nothing. Most clients are surprised how little of this requires them to be anywhere in particular.
You describe the matter
FreeA few lines by email or through the form. What happened, who the other side is, and what you want to achieve.
We tell you whether it is actionable
FreeAn honest read of whether there is an Iranian forum, what the realistic range of outcomes looks like, and what it would take. Including when the answer is that it is not worth pursuing.
Engagement and power of attorney
You sign where you liveTerms agreed in writing. We draft the wording of the power of attorney before you sign it, so that it covers what the matter will actually need.
We act
No travel, in most mattersFilings, hearings, dealings with authorities and the other side. Conducted by counsel in Persian, in Iran.
You are kept in the picture
In EnglishWhat each document means and what it changes, in English — not a forwarded file you cannot read.
The power of attorney, in detail
This one document is what lets a lawyer in Tehran act for someone who is not there, and it is where foreign clients most often lose weeks. Two failure modes account for nearly all of it: a power drafted too narrowly, which means going back to a notary in another country to do it again; and one drafted without the Iranian receiving step in mind, which is rejected on arrival.
- We draft the wording before you go anywhere near a notary.
- You sign it where you live, normally before a notary public.
- It is then legalised so that Iranian authorities will accept it.
- An official translation into Persian is prepared.
Getting a document accepted in Iran
Foreign documents — the power of attorney, a death certificate, a company registration, a court order — generally travel the same road before an Iranian authority will act on them.
- STEP 1
Signed or issued
Before a notary, or by the issuing authority where you are.
- STEP 2
Authenticated locally
By the competent authority in that country, as its own rules require.
- STEP 3
Legalised by the Iranian consulate
The consulate with jurisdiction over you endorses it for use in Iran.
- STEP 4
Officially translated
Into Persian, by a translator the authorities accept.
An apostille is usually not enough
Iran is not a party to the Apostille Convention. A document carrying only an apostille is commonly refused, and this is the single most frequent reason a foreign client’s matter stalls before it has properly started. The consular route is the one that matters.
Do you need to travel?
Usually not
- Filing and conducting a claim
- Hearings and appearances
- Dealing with registries and authorities
- Selling or transferring property held in Iran
- Estate matters as a foreign heir
Sometimes yes
- Certain personal-status matters
- Where an authority insists on the person themselves
- Where you would rather be present for a decisive stage
If your matter is one that needs you in the room, we say so at the outset — not after you have committed.
Language and communication
We correspond in English. Filings, hearings and orders are in Persian, and we translate what matters rather than forwarding you a file you cannot read. Expect to be told what a document means and what it changes, not to receive it untranslated.
The practical question about payment
Sanctions restrict how money moves between many jurisdictions and Iran. They do not prevent you from instructing Iranian counsel. What they do mean is that the arrangements need to be discussed openly and settled before work begins, and that we will tell you if something is not workable rather than discover it later. We do not give sanctions advice; for your own compliance position, take advice where you are.
What to expect, honestly
Timing is set by the forum, not by us
A contested matter moves at the speed of the court. We will give you a realistic range once we have seen the documents, and we would rather give you an uncomfortable one than an encouraging one.
Costs beyond our fee are real
Translation, legalisation and official charges exist whatever we do, and are better known at the start than discovered in the middle.
Some matters are not worth bringing
Where the likely recovery does not justify the cost, or the debtor holds nothing reachable, the useful advice is to say so.
Tell us what happened
Describe the matter in a few lines and we will tell you whether it is something we can act on, what it would involve, and what we would need from you.
Contact the firm