Lawyer's Law · 10.09.2026

Hiring a Lawyer in Vietnam: How to Choose and What It Costs

If you are a foreign company or individual who needs a lawyer in Vietnam, the hard part is rarely finding a firm. It is working out which one fits the matter, what the engagement will actually cost, and how to tell a real quote from a number invented to win the file. This page se…

Lawyer UnilawReading time: 8 min

By Lawyer Nguyen Nhu Hai – UniLaw LLC

This page sets out how legal fees work in Vietnam, what an engagement letter should contain, and the questions worth asking before you sign. It is written from Unilaw’s own fee structure, so you can see exactly how one firm does it.

1. Decide what kind of firm the matter needs

Vietnam has three broad types of legal provider, and the right choice depends on the work, not on prestige.

International firms with a Vietnam office. Strong for large cross-border transactions and for clients whose head office insists on a global brand. Rates are the highest in the market and the day-to-day work is usually done by local associates.
Vietnamese full-service firms. Broad coverage, local court and authority relationships, and rates well below the international tier. Quality varies a great deal between firms.
Boutique firms in a defined field — maritime, insurance, intellectual property, construction. Narrower, but the partner who takes your call is the one who does the work. For a technical dispute this usually matters more than firm size.

A practical test: ask who will actually run the file, and ask to speak to that person before you sign. If the answer is vague, you are buying a brand rather than a lawyer.

2. Understand the three ways fees are calculated

Almost every legal fee in Vietnam is built one of three ways. A firm that will not tell you which one applies is a firm to be careful with.

Fixed fee. One price for exactly the scope described. This suits procedural work with a predictable shape — incorporation, licence applications, trademark filings, contract drafting. Anything outside the described scope should be notified in advance and quoted separately, not absorbed silently and billed later.
Hourly. Charged against a published rate card, by seniority. Time should be recorded in units of six minutes (0.1 hour). Hourly work is appropriate where the shape of the matter is genuinely unknown — a live dispute, a complex investment structure, an emergency.
Percentage of value. Calculated on the amount in dispute or the amount actually recovered, and always subject to a minimum fee. Common in cargo claims, insurance recovery and debt collection.

The question that separates a real quote from a guess: on an hourly matter, ask for an estimate of hours per phase, in writing, before work starts. At Unilaw an hourly matter always carries that estimate, and the client is notified once roughly 80% of the estimate has been used — not after it has been exceeded.

3. Know what the fee does not include

Professional fees and the total cost of a matter are not the same number. In Vietnam the following normally sit outside the quoted fee:

Court fees, arbitration fees and state filing fees
Notarisation, certification, consular legalisation and translation
Expert appraisal, valuation and survey costs
Travel and accommodation outside the province, and overseas travel
Courier and bulk copying
Foreign counsel or experts instructed on your behalf
VAT, currently 8%

Two protections worth asking any firm to put in writing: that out-of-pocket expenses are charged at cost against receipts with no mark-up, and that any single expense above a stated threshold requires your prior written consent. Unilaw sets that threshold at VND 5,000,000.

4. The foreign-element uplift, and why it should be disclosed once

A matter involving a foreign investor, a foreign party, foreign documents or foreign governing law costs more to run in Vietnam. That is not a surcharge for being foreign — it reflects real work: bilingual files and correspondence, consular legalisation, notarised translation, judicial entrustment, interpreters, and working to the client’s time zone. The market range is 30 – 50% over the domestic fee.

What matters is when you are told. A firm should build the uplift into the quoted figure and say so, not add it as a surprise line later. At Unilaw the uplift is already contained in any fee quoted in USD and is never applied a second time.

5. How payment is normally structured

Fixed-fee matters: 50% on signing, 50% on completion or against agreed milestones.
Hourly matters: a rolling retainer. When the balance falls below two hours, the firm sends an updated timesheet with a top-up request, payable within a few working days. Each request should state which tasks it covers.
VAT applies to retainers, with an invoice issued for each payment.
Fees quoted in USD are normally payable in VND at the rate on the invoice date. Ask which date governs — it is a real amount of money on a large matter.

6. Time recording: what should and should not be billed

On an hourly engagement, ask for the firm’s time-recording rules in writing. A defensible set looks like this:

Chargeable — reading and analysing the file; legal and case-law research; drafting; meetings and calls with the client and the other side; attendance at authorities and hearings; preparing and filing documents.

Not chargeable — internal administration (invoicing, payment requests, scheduling, filing); internal training and discussion between the firm’s own lawyers; time spent correcting the firm’s own mistakes; and the initial meeting to understand the matter, up to 60 minutes.

Travel — travel inside the city where the office sits should not be charged at all. Out-of-province travel is normally charged at 50% of the hourly rate, capped per round trip and shown as its own line on the timesheet.

A firm that shares its timesheet with you as the matter runs, rather than presenting it with the invoice, is a firm you can plan around.

7. Retainers: when a monthly package makes more sense

If you have a company in Vietnam and legal questions arrive every few weeks, buying hours one at a time is the expensive way to do it. A monthly package of lawyer hours usually costs less and gets answered faster. Unilaw offers three:

Basic – 5 lawyer hours a month. Advice by email and telephone in working hours, review of up to two short contracts a month, and a quarterly legal update. Unused hours roll into the next month.
Standard – 10 hours a month. As Basic, plus drafting letters and official correspondence, online meetings, and day-to-day employment support.
Premium – 20 hours a month. As Standard, plus a monthly on-site session, priority response within four working hours, and quarterly in-house training.

Hours beyond the package are charged at the hourly rate with a discount. Ask what happens to unused hours — a package that expires monthly is a package designed for the firm, not for you.

8. Eight questions to ask before you sign

Who will actually run this file day to day, and may I speak to them now?
Is this fixed fee, hourly, or a percentage — and why that basis for this matter?
If hourly: how many hours do you estimate, by phase, and when will you tell me I am approaching the estimate?
Exactly what scope does the fixed fee cover, and what falls outside it?
What is excluded from the fee, and are expenses charged at cost with receipts?
Is the foreign-element uplift already included in this figure?
Will you share the timesheet as the matter runs?
What is your realistic assessment of the outcome — not the best case?

Any firm worth instructing will answer all eight in one meeting.

9. What Unilaw does

Unilaw is a Vietnamese law firm with offices in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang, acting for foreign companies and investors across the country. The practice areas where clients most often instruct us:

Maritime — cargo claims, charterparty and bill of lading disputes, ship arrest and release, general average, hull and P&I.
Investment — market access under WTO commitments, IRC and ERC, capital accounts, sub-licences, work permits, and exit.
Corporate — formation, contracts, employment, M&A, shareholder disputes, and monthly retainers.
Intellectual property — trademark, patent, design and copyright filings, and enforcement.
Insurance — denied claims, policy interpretation, subrogation and coverage litigation.
Artificial intelligence and data — compliance, data protection and technology contracts.

The first meeting to understand your matter is not charged, up to 60 minutes. After it, you get a written view of the merits and a fee quote on a stated basis. Unilaw does not take instructions before both of those exist.

Call +84 912266811, or use the contact form on this site.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Vietnamese lawyer, or can my home counsel handle it?

Anything filed with a Vietnamese authority, argued before a Vietnamese court, or governed by Vietnamese law needs local counsel. Foreign firms without a Vietnam licence cannot appear for you. In practice, most cross-border matters run with home counsel leading and a Vietnamese firm doing the local work.

How much does a lawyer cost in Vietnam?

It depends on the basis. Procedural work is normally a fixed fee for a defined scope. Disputes are hourly against a rate card by seniority, or a percentage of the amount recovered. Any firm should quote the basis and a range before starting, and expect a 30 – 50% uplift where the matter has a foreign element.

Is the first consultation free?

At Unilaw, yes — the initial meeting to understand the matter is not charged, up to 60 minutes. That is a policy, not a promotion. Practice varies across the market, so ask.

Can I get a fixed fee for a court case?

Rarely, and be cautious of one. Litigation length depends on the other side and the court, not on the firm. A fixed fee for a dispute usually means the scope has been cut somewhere you have not noticed. Hourly with a phase estimate, or a percentage of recovery, is the honest structure.

What language will the documents be in?

Files submitted to Vietnamese authorities must be in Vietnamese; foreign documents require notarised translation and consular legalisation. Contracts for a foreign party are normally drafted in two columns, Vietnamese and English, with the governing language stated in the contract itself.

How do I check a Vietnamese law firm is genuine?

Ask for the firm’s operating licence number and the practising certificate of the lawyer who will run your file. Both are issued by the Ministry of Justice and the provincial bar and can be verified.