A property purchase, a building contract, and a construction payment dispute may concern the same development but call for different legal work. Before choosing counsel, describe the decision you need to make and the date it must be made. That helps distinguish document review from an investigation, negotiation, or formal dispute mandate.

Start with the project and the parties

Give the proposed lawyer the property location, project type, relevant company names, and your role. A purchaser, tenant, contractor, and project owner can face different risks. Identify related companies rather than relying only on an English trading name. Provide enough information for a conflict check before sending a large collection of sensitive documents, and ask who would actually lead the work.

Verify the professional and the firm

Mainland practice requires the appropriate lawyer’s practising certificate. Confirm the individual and law firm through the relevant official justice-administration or recognized professional information channels. Ask about experience with the particular transaction and locality, including technical construction issues where relevant. Fluency in English can help communication, but it does not replace the ability to analyze the Chinese documents and applicable local requirements.

Agree on a written scope

The Lawyers Law places engagement and fee collection through the law firm. Obtain a written engagement describing the client, work, fees, expenses, and reporting arrangements. Clarify whether registry inquiries, negotiations, technical experts, translations, hearings, or enforcement are included. If you need several stages, ask where each stage ends and how additional instructions will be approved rather than assuming one quotation covers every eventuality.

Plan for language and authority

Provide the signed Chinese version, translations, appendices, and subsequent amendments together. Mark translations as translations and flag terms whose meaning you do not understand. Ask which language version governs the contract and who can issue instructions or approve settlement. A company representative’s involvement should be supported by appropriate authority; a working contact is not necessarily authorized to make every legal decision.

Make the first consultation productive

Prepare a one-page chronology, a list of important amounts and dates, and a short statement of the result you want. Separate confirmed facts from assumptions. Ask which missing records could change the assessment and whether an approaching notice or filing deadline needs immediate attention. A useful adviser explains uncertainty and the next investigation step rather than promising a guaranteed approval, recovery, or court result.

Your working file

What to prepare

  • Identify the property, project, parties, and your role.
  • Verify the lawyer and law firm through appropriate official channels.
  • Get the scope, fees, and expense arrangements in writing.
  • Provide the original-language documents and the next important date.

Reference points: PRC Lawyers Law; official justice-administration information. Practical preparation guidance for mainland China, reviewed September 30, 2026.