Pro forma invoice – this legal phrase comes from the Latin term “pro forma” that means “as a matter of form”. In the conveyance services and in the court representation, the pro forma invoice is often used by independent lawyers to be given to clients with precise detailing of the services and prices of these services. It is done usually before performance of the legal work. So it pursues two main goals:

1) the client can get a clear view of what fees they will pay for using a lawyer for protection of their own legal and financial interests;

2) an advance payment of the legal fees can be done, as the total quotation is given and the type of services has been agreed between the lawyer and their client. A synonym is “engagement letter”, where all services and quotation is described too.

* Note that practicing lawyers do not protect the legal and financial interests of people for free (except where provided n the legislation), i.e. they don’t work and. accept pressure by the opposite parties for free; their personal advocacy is paid simply because they make expenses to keep business, so when asking a lawyer for their legal opinion on a concrete legal issue, you should pay them for their opinion and legal advice; it is the same like when you visit a doctor and pay for their competent diagnose and accurate medical treatment.