Eesti Firma offers legal consultations (õigusnõustamine) in Estonia for private persons and companies. You speak to a lawyer in our Tallinn office, by phone or online, and get a clear answer on what Estonian law says about your situation and what to do next. A consultation costs €75 per hour.
We give legal advice on contracts, inheritance, employment, family, debt, housing and company matters. Our English-speaking lawyers also work in Russian and Estonian. If the case needs more than advice, the same team provides further legal assistance with documents, negotiations or representation: see our legal services in Estonia. The legal team is led by Chief Legal Officer Ilja Nikiforov.
| Lawyer consultation | At a glance |
|---|---|
| Price | €75 per hour. |
| Format | Office at Vesivärava 50, Tallinn, phone or video call |
| Languages | English, Russian, Estonian |
| Clients | Private persons, expats, e-residents, Estonian and foreign companies |
| Areas | Civil, family, employment, inheritance, contract and corporate law |
| Booking | Book a legal consultation and we will propose a time |
What a Legal Consultation Includes
One session with a lawyer normally covers:
- a legal assessment of your situation under Estonian law;
- a review of the documents you send in advance: contracts, letters, court papers;
- the deadlines that are already running and what happens if they are missed;
- your realistic options, with the likely cost and risk of each;
- the next step, and a quote if you want us to take it for you.
Legal Advice for Private Persons and Companies
People who need legal help in Estonia most often come to us with the following matters.
Personal matters
- Contract review before signing: employment, lease, loan, surety and sale agreements. A real estate sale and a marital property contract are valid only in notarial form.
- Inheritance law: accepting or renouncing an estate, debts of the deceased, disputes between heirs.
- Employment law: unpaid salary, dismissal, non-compete, claims to the Labour Dispute Committee.
- Divorce and family: division of property, child maintenance and custody. More on our family law page.
- Debt collection and defence: payment orders, bailiffs, recovering money owed to you.
- Tenancy, housing and consumer disputes: landlord, apartment association, flooded flat, defective goods, a builder who missed the deadline.
Business legal advice
Companies, e-residents and non-resident founders ask for legal support with commercial contracts, shareholder disputes, unpaid invoices and employment questions. We also step in when a letter arrives from the Tax and Customs Board or the Labour Inspectorate, or when a claim is filed against the company. A one-hour online session with a business lawyer is usually enough to decide how to respond.
When to Speak to a Lawyer Urgently: Key Deadlines
Legal advice is cheapest before a deadline passes. These are the time limits people miss most often in Estonia:
- 30 calendar days to contest a dismissal in court or in the Labour Dispute Committee;
- 15 days to object to a court payment order before it becomes enforceable;
- 3 months to renounce an inheritance at a notary; after that it counts as accepted, debts included;
- the court-set deadline for answering a statement of claim, after which a default judgment is possible;
- 2 years from delivery to make a claim against the seller of a defective product.
Received a letter with a deadline?
Missed time limits are restored only in exceptional cases. If a court letter, a dismissal notice or a notary’s letter has arrived, get legal advice the same week, not on the last day.
How to Book a Legal Consultation in Tallinn or Online
- Send a request and briefly describe your situation.
- We propose a time and tell you which documents to send.
- You meet the lawyer in the Tallinn office, by phone or by video call.
- You receive recommendations and, if needed, an offer for further work.
Clients outside Estonia consult a lawyer online in exactly the same way, and documents are exchanged by email. Everything you tell us stays confidential.
Lawyer Fees: Paid Consultation and Free Legal Advice
Our hourly rate for legal advice is fixed at €75 per hour. Drafting documents, negotiations and representation are quoted separately after the session. Eesti Firma does not provide free legal aid, and the first appointment is also paid.
Free legal advice does exist in Estonia: the City of Tallinn offers legal counselling days for residents, law students answer simple questions by phone and email, and a person who cannot afford representation in proceedings can ask the court for state legal aid. These options are useful for a general first answer. A paid lawyer consultation is the better choice when a deadline is running, documents must be reviewed or drafted, the matter concerns a company, or you want one lawyer to stay with the case.
FAQ
At Eesti Firma a legal consultation costs €75 per hour. We tell you in advance if your case is likely to need more than one session.
No. Every consultation, including the first one, is billed at the hourly rate. In return the lawyer reads your documents and advises on your specific case.
Yes. Sessions are held by phone or video call as well as in the Tallinn office, so you can consult a lawyer from anywhere.
Yes. Our lawyers advise in English, Russian and Estonian, in the office or remotely.
Most single-issue questions fit into one hour. Cases with many documents take longer, and we tell you so before the meeting.
A short timeline of events, the contracts and letters related to the case, and the main question you want answered. Good preparation saves paid time.
