Legal services for individuals in Almaty — we look at your personal situation, not an abstract case

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A lawyer explaining documents to a married couple at an office in Almaty

Divorce, flat, road accident, debts, dismissal, inheritance — each matter has its own lawyer
The first consultation is free: we will tell you whether there is a prospect and whether court is needed at all
The fee is fixed in the contract before work begins — no extra charges during the case
We handle the case from the pre-action claim to enforcement of the judgment, in Kazakh and Russian

Private client practice

We handle only civil cases for individuals: family, housing, money, employment

We represent clients in the courts of Almaty and Almaty Region

We take over correspondence with the bank, insurer, employer and government body

We see the enforcement proceedings through until the money is received

We consult in person, by phone and on WhatsApp — whichever suits you

An analysis of your situation by a lawyer who has handled private clients' cases for 14 years: prospects, timelines, costs and the first steps.

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14^years
handling private clients' cases
Family, housing, employment and credit disputes of Almaty residents.
450⁺
cases for individuals
Private clients only: no corporate contracts or high-volume claims.
70^%
of matters are resolved without court
A pre-action claim and negotiations save you months and the state fee.
0^₸
initial consultation
Assessment of prospects and an action plan free of charge, with no obligation to sign a contract.

Family matters

Divorce, division of jointly owned property and mortgage, alimony and its revision, determination of the child's place of residence and contact arrangements. We conduct negotiations before court if the other party is willing.

Housing and real estate

Verification and support of sale and purchase transactions, recognition of ownership rights, legalisation of redevelopment and extensions, disputes with developers, neighbours and the HOA over utilities.

Road accidents, insurance and driving licences

Understated payout or refusal by the insurer, dispute over who was at fault, recovery of damages from the driver, deprivation of driving licences, problems with a car loan and a pledged vehicle.

Debts, loans and banks

Recovery of money under a receipt and a loan, dispute over accrued interest and penalties, dealing with debt collectors, restructuring and personal bankruptcy.

Employment, pensions, healthcare

Unlawful dismissal and reinstatement, recovery of wages and compensation, refusal to grant a pension or benefit, harm to health and disputes with clinics, consumer rights.

Inheritance

Restoration of a missed deadline for accepting an inheritance, contesting a will, division of the estate between heirs, recognition of a right to a share.

Military and conscription matters

Deferral and exemption on health grounds, appealing decisions of the conscription commission, disputes over contracts and social payments to servicemen.

Documents and court on a turnkey basis

Pre-trial claim, statement of claim, motions and complaints, representation at hearings without your participation, appeals and support of enforcement proceedings.

Describe your situation — tell us which legal service an individual needs here

The first consultation is free and without obligation. If the matter can be resolved with a claim or an application without a lawyer, we will say so directly.

Write on WhatsApp +7 778 325 44 44

One-off consultation
Document or claim
Conduct of a case in court

Cost

Prices for legal services for individuals

Guidelines for private clients. The exact amount is quoted after reviewing the documents and is fixed in the contract before work begins.

Service	What is included	Cost
Oral consultation	Review of the situation, assessment of prospects and a plan for the first steps	free of charge
Written legal opinion	Analysis of documents with conclusions, risks and options for resolution	from 25,000 ₸
Drafting or review of a contract	Sale and purchase, lease, loan, marriage contract, alimony agreement	from 30,000 ₸
Pre-action claim	Preparation and sending to the other party, bank or insurer	from 20,000 ₸
Statement of claim	Drafting the claim with a calculation of the claims and annexes	from 40,000 ₸
Conduct of a civil case in court	Full support at first instance through to judgment, without your participation	from 150,000 ₸
Appeal	Appealing the judgment and attending the hearing in the higher court	from 70,000 ₸
Enforcement proceedings	Work with the court enforcement officer until the money is actually received	from 60,000 ₸

Prices are indicative and do not constitute a public offer. State duty, notary fees, expert examinations and valuation are paid separately and directly — we do not earn on them.

Find out the price for my case

How we work legal services for individuals: step by step

Conversation and assessment of urgency

You describe the situation in your own words. We look at what is urgent: the deadline for appeal, a hearing, a frozen account.

Review of documents

Contract, correspondence, receipts, summons. Until there are documents, any assessment of prospects is a guess.

An honest conclusion on the prospects

We name the likely outcomes, including an unfavourable one, the realistic timelines and the full amount of costs.

A fixed-price contract

The scope of work and the cost are set out in writing. No extra charges appear along the way.

An attempt to resolve without court

A claim and negotiations with the other party, the bank, the insurer or the employer. Some cases are closed here.

Court without your participation

We attend hearings ourselves under a power of attorney. You come in only if the court summons you personally.

Appeal

If the decision does not suit you — appeal and cassation within the established deadlines.

Obtaining the money and documents

We support the enforcement proceedings. A decision on paper and money in the account are different things.

Not sure where to start?

Send the documents via WhatsApp — we will tell you what to do in the coming days and whether there is a deadline that is urgent.

Describe your situation

Team

A team of lawyers in Almaty

We handle your case from start to finish with the same team: you always know who is working on your matter and who to contact.

Assel Kurmanova

Civil law lawyer

Handles disputes over real estate, inheritance, contracts and transactions. Supports transactions from document review through to registration of title.

14 years of practice
Civil and housing disputes
Kazakh and Russian languages

Dmitry Kim

Lawyer for financial and motor vehicle disputes

Works with banks, insurers and debt collectors, handles debt recovery and bankruptcy cases, and defends drivers in administrative matters.

11 years of practice
Banks, insurers, motor vehicle disputes
Pre-trial settlement

Gulnara Abisheva

Lawyer for family and social matters

Handles divorces, division of property, alimony and child disputes, as well as employment, pension and social issues.

9 years of practice
Family and employment disputes
Work with guardianship authorities

Yerlan Sagintayev

Corporate lawyer

Handles company transactions, structures shares and corporate agreements, conducts disputes between participants and reorganisations.

13 years of practice
Transactions, shares, corporate disputes
Support of investment rounds

Aigerim Nurlanova

Tax lawyer

Appeals notifications and inspection reports, conducts tax disputes in court, supports inspections and recovers overpayments.

10 years of practice
Inspections and tax disputes
Work with the client's accounting department

Viktor Li

Construction and contract lawyer

Reviews contract agreements, estimates and acts, conducts disputes over the quality and scope of works, supports acceptance of facilities.

12 years of practice
Contract works, shared participation, acceptance
Work with construction expertise

Madina Ospanova

Intellectual Property and IT Lawyer

Protects copyright and trademarks, drafts contracts for IT teams and advises on rights to products and code.

8 years of practice
Copyright, trademarks
Contracts for IT and studios

Sanjar Ibraev

Bankruptcy and Debt Recovery Lawyer

Handles bankruptcy and rehabilitation proceedings, recovers receivables, defends directors against subsidiary liability.

15 years of practice
Bankruptcy, rehabilitation, debt recovery
Separate disputes in insolvency cases

Practice

Recent case stories from our lawyers in Almaty

Details have been changed and anonymised: the substance of each case is protected by professional privilege.

Family dispute

Division of property after divorce

Situation: The flat was bought during the marriage but registered in the husband's name, and after the divorce he insisted the property belonged to him alone. The client had paid part of the purchase price from her own account, but the spouses had not signed any agreements between them.
What we did: We obtained account statements for the period of the purchase, the contract and payment documents, and showed that the funds were contributed during the marriage and are jointly owned. We filed a claim for division with a calculation of shares and confirmation of the client's personal contribution.
Result: The property was divided, and the share was recognised as belonging to the client. Under the agreement, the former spouse bought out her share, and the money was received within two months after the decision.

Housing

Neighbours flooded the flat and refused to pay

Situation: Water from the flat above damaged two rooms and the hallway: the floor swelled, the wallpaper came away, and some appliances stopped working. The neighbours first promised to compensate the damage, then stopped opening the door and claimed the maintenance organisation was to blame.
What we did: We called in the maintenance organisation and drew up a report identifying the source of the leak — it turned out to be the pipework inside the neighbours' flat, that is, their area of responsibility. We had an independent assessment carried out before the repairs began and sent a letter of demand with the calculation.
Result: The damage was recovered in full, together with the assessment costs and the state duty. The client only started the repairs after the inspection — otherwise there would have been no way to confirm the extent of the damage.

Loans

Insurance was forced on the client when the loan was taken out

Situation: When the loan was arranged, insurance and additional services the client had never been asked about were included in the contract: their cost was immediately added to the loan principal, and interest was charged on that amount as well. This was noticed four months into the payments.
What we did: We analysed the contract and the payment schedule, and showed which amounts the client had not ordered and which of them were accruing interest. We sent a letter of demand to the bank requiring the services to be removed and the schedule recalculated, and at the same time filed a complaint with the regulator.
Result: The cost of the imposed services was refunded, the schedule was recalculated, and the monthly payment went down. The overpayment for the months already past was offset against the upcoming payments.

Inheritance

The inheritance was not formalised for eleven years, and the flat needed to be sold urgently

Situation: After their mother's death, the three children continued to use the flat and paid the utility bills, but never went to a notary. When the family decided to sell the property, it turned out that the deadline for accepting the inheritance had long expired, and one of the heirs lives abroad and cannot come.
What we did: We gathered evidence of actual acceptance of the inheritance: receipts for all the years, repair contracts, and documents confirming residence. We prepared an application to establish the fact of acceptance of the inheritance and to recognise ownership in shares, and for the heir who had left, we arranged a power of attorney through the consulate.
Result: Ownership was recognised for all three, and registration was completed within a month. The flat was sold the same year, and the money was divided according to the shares without disputes between the relatives.

Employment

Compensation for four years of unused holidays was not paid on dismissal

Situation: The woman resigned of her own accord, received her salary for the days worked, but was not paid compensation for unused holidays. The HR department said the holidays had "expired" and that she had never applied for them. This concerned four years of work.
What we did: We pulled the timesheets and holiday schedules — they showed that holidays had not been granted or paid. We calculated compensation based on average earnings together with a penalty for the delay and sent the employer a written demand, and after refusal we went to court.
Result: We recovered 1.4 million tenge in compensation and a penalty for the delay. The employer repaid the debt after the first hearing, without waiting for a judgment.

Car purchase

The car bought turned out to be pledged to the seller's bank

Situation: The client bought a sedan, registered it, and five months later received a claim: the bank sought to enforce against the car as the subject of a pledge under the previous owner's loan. By then the seller had changed his phone number and was not responding.
What we did: We checked when the pledge had been entered in the register: the entry appeared after the date of the contract, meaning that at the time of purchase there was no publicly available information about the encumbrance. We prepared a bona fide purchaser position with a printout of the register as at the date of the transaction, payment documents and correspondence with the seller.
Result: The bank's application to enforce against the car was refused, and the car remained with the client. The bank's claim was redirected to the borrower himself, and the legal costs were recovered from the losing party.

Medicine

The clinic took money for a course of treatment that was not provided

Situation: The client paid 780 thousand tenge for a course of procedures under a promotion. After four sessions out of twelve her condition worsened, and the treatment was stopped on the recommendation of another doctor. The clinic refused to return the money, citing the fact that the package had been paid in full and was non-refundable.
What we did: We requested the medical record and the contract, which showed that the services were provided session by session. The non-refund condition was found to infringe consumer rights. We sent a pre-action claim with a calculation of the cost of the part not provided, attaching the opinion of another specialist.
Result: The clinic returned 520 thousand tenge for the sessions not provided, without court. The disputed condition was removed from the standard contract after our approach.

Neighbours

The upstairs neighbours refused for three months to compensate for flood damage

Situation: The client's flat was flooded because of a burst hose at the neighbours'. The ceiling in two rooms, the laminate flooring and a built-in wardrobe were damaged. The neighbours first promised to compensate for everything, then claimed that the maintenance organisation was to blame and stopped opening the door. The repair according to the estimate cost 1.3 million tenge.
What we did: We arranged an inspection with an act drawn up in the presence of a representative of the maintenance organisation and with the neighbours notified by telegram, and commissioned a damage assessment with photographic records. We delineated liability: the section of pipe after the shut-off device belongs to the flat owner's property, not to the common property.
Result: We recovered 1.3 million in damages, the cost of the assessment and court expenses. The client carried out the repair four months after the flood.

Useful information

Legal services for individuals: how the work is structured and what you are paying for

Assel KurmanovaCivil law lawyer

Published: 5 March 2026 Updated: 24 August 2026

A private client almost never comes in saying “I need a claim to have a transaction declared invalid”. They come with a story: they sold a flat and were not paid, a former spouse took the child away, the insurer calculated a third of the damage. The lawyer's task at the first step is to translate the story into a legal framework and work out whether there is anything in it worth defending.

What private clients come with

Providing legal services to individuals differs from working with companies in the range of issues involved. For an individual, a dispute almost always concerns one of four things: family, housing, money or work — and in each of them the other side is an organisation with an in-house lawyer.

Family: divorce, division of property, alimony, disputes over children
Housing: buying and selling, eviction, inheritance, disputes with the KSK and the developer
Money: loans and microcredits, bankruptcy, debt recovery, insurance payouts
Work and social rights: dismissal, unpaid wages, pension, benefits
Car: road traffic accident, dispute with the insurer, loss of driving licence, buying a car

What is included in the service and what is paid separately

The lawyer's fee covers the work: analysis, documents, negotiations, hearings. There are expenses that are not part of the fee and are paid directly, bypassing us.

State duty for filing a claim — the amount depends on the value of the claim
Notarial acts: power of attorney, spousal consent, certification of copies
Forensic examination — valuation, construction, handwriting
Valuation of property, if the dispute concerns its value
Translation of documents, if they are in another language

These amounts are stated before the contract is signed. A lawyer who does not warn you about the state fee and expert examination at the outset will most likely not warn you about anything else either.

Consultation, a document or full case handling — what to choose

Three different formats, and confusing them is costly. A consultation answers the question “what is actually going on and what should I do”. A standalone document — a claim letter, a statement of claim, a contract — is needed when you are ready to act on your own and all you lack is the right piece of paper. Full case handling means the lawyer takes the process as a whole: deadlines, hearings, motions, expert examinations.

The same mistake comes up again and again: a person orders a statement of claim, files it themselves, and a month later receives a ruling leaving it without movement and turns up with the deadline already burning. A document is not a process.

Ordering a statement of claim and handling a case are different services. A statement of claim is a sheet of paper; a case is two to four months of work with deadlines that cannot be missed.

What you can do yourself and where you need a lawyer

Typical enquiries from private clients
Situation	Is it realistic to manage on your own	What a lawyer's involvement changes
Obtain a certificate, file an application with the Public Service Centre	Yes, a set of instructions is enough	Nothing, it is unnecessary expense
Divorce with no dispute and no children	Yes, through the registering authority	Only saving time
Division of property where there are objections	Extremely difficult	Gathering evidence and calculating shares
A dispute with a bank or an insurer	Almost impossible	Equal preparation against in-house lawyers
Compensation for flood damage	Sometimes it works out	Proper recording and assessment of damage

We say plainly when a matter is not worth paying for: some issues are resolved at a free consultation and never reach a contract.

When an individual does not need a lawyer

Let us be direct: some enquiries are resolved at a free consultation, and that is normal. Obtaining a certificate, filing an application with the Public Service Centre, handling an inheritance where there is no dispute between the heirs, writing a letter of resignation — for these, instructions are enough.

A lawyer starts to pay for itself where a second party with its own interest appears: a bank, an insurer, an employer, a developer, a former spouse. They have in-house lawyers, you do not. That is the imbalance the service is there to level out.

Deadlines that decide the outcome in private matters

For most civil claims the limitation period is three years, but for certain categories special — shorter — periods are established. Time runs not from the event, but from the day the person learned or should have learned of the violation of their right, and the dispute usually turns on that date.

In employment matters the deadlines are noticeably tighter: a dispute over reinstatement at work is counted in months from the day the order was served. This is the most common reason for losing: a person spends several weeks hoping the employer will change its mind, then looks for a lawyer — and arrives with the deadline already missed.

Challenging decisions and orders of state bodies is a separate story. Here the count is in days, and it runs from service of the document. The deadline can be restored for a valid reason confirmed by documents: illness, a business trip, improper notification. So the first thing to do on receiving any document is to look at the date and the deadline, not put it off until the weekend.

How an individual should prepare for the first meeting

The most useful thing to bring is not an opinion but documents: contracts, receipts, correspondence, demands and notifications received, payment documents. Even an incomplete set is better than a retelling — from the papers a lawyer immediately sees what is provable and what will remain words.

Second — a short chronology: what happened, when, who was involved, which dates have already passed. Half an hour spent on such a list saves half the meeting and lets you get an answer on the merits straight away, rather than after a second visit.

Third — an understanding of your own goal. Getting money back, keeping your home, reaching an agreement without losing the relationship, simply no longer being afraid of what is happening — these are different tasks, and the solutions for them are different too. Sometimes the right answer turns out to be not a claim but a single document that closes off the risk for the future.

Pre-trial procedure: when it is mandatory and when it is simply worthwhile

For a number of claims a written pre-trial demand is mandatory: without proof that it was sent, the claim will be returned. But even where the law does not require it, a pre-trial demand works — a significant share of disputes are resolved at this stage, because the other side sees the calculation and understands the prospects.

Content matters more than tone. The pre-trial demand should set out the basis of the claim with reference to the document, the calculation of the sum by components, the period for voluntary compliance and an indication of further steps. Threats add no weight; a calculation does.

It should be sent in a way that can be confirmed: by registered letter with an inventory, through the office with a mark of receipt, or to an email address agreed in the contract. A message in a messenger, as a rule, is not proof of sending.

What to do if a decision was made without your participation

A person finds out about a case when money is debited from their account — this situation happens more often than it seems. The reason is almost always the same: notices were sent to the registered address, where they have not lived for a long time, and the actual address was not stated in the case file.

The first step is to obtain a copy of the decision and review the case file to understand exactly how the notices were sent. If there is no confirmation of proper notification, this is grounds both for restoring the deadline for appeal and for setting the decision aside.

The second is to file a motion to restore the deadline together with the appeal, attaching documents confirming the actual place of residence. At the same time, it is worth applying to suspend enforcement: while the deadline is being restored, debits continue, and recovering the money afterwards will require a separate claim.

How much a lawyer's help costs a private client

The cost depends not on the amount in dispute, but on the volume of work: how many documents, how many hearings, what stage, whether an expert examination is needed. That is why an honest answer to the question "how much will this cost" comes after the lawyer has looked at the documents, not in the first minute of a phone call.

Besides the fee, there are expenses paid separately: the state duty when filing a claim, expert examination, notarial acts and translations. If you win, these, like the costs of a representative, are recovered from the losing party — but only if there is an agreement, an act and payment documents drawn up in advance.

And the other side, which we state plainly: some matters can be resolved on your own in fifteen minutes, and there is no need to pay for them. Spending money makes sense where the cost of a mistake is higher than the cost of the work — and this can be understood already at the first consultation.

When a dispute is better resolved by agreement

In private matters, the price of victory is not measured in money alone. A dispute with a relative, a neighbour or a former spouse continues after the court decision: people have to live nearby, divide property, raise children. That is why we always also consider the second scenario — reaching an agreement.

An agreement can be concluded at any stage: before filing a claim, during the proceedings and even at the enforcement stage. A settlement agreement approved by the court has the force of an enforcement document, and a notarised maintenance agreement is enforced through a court enforcement officer without a separate court.

The calculation here is simple: receiving part of the sum now and without enforcement risks is often more advantageous than the whole sum in a year and with an uncertain prospect of recovery. We show both options in money and timeframes, and the choice remains with the client — including the right to go to court on principle, if that matters more to them than money.

How the work proceeds if you are not in Almaty or are busy

The client's personal presence is rarely needed. Documents are accepted in WhatsApp as photographs, a power of attorney is issued at any notary, and hearings are conducted by a representative. You come in person only if the court summons you specifically — for example, to give explanations in a family case.

At each stage, a short message arrives: what has been filed, what has been scheduled, what we are waiting for. The client does not need to call and find out "how the case is going".

Where to start on common questions

First step and documents
Question	Where to start	What will be needed
Divorce and children	Determine whether there is a dispute between the spouses	Marriage and birth certificates
Flooding of a flat	Call the maintenance organisation	Report, photographs, valuation report
Debt under a receipt	Send a written demand	Receipt, transfers, correspondence
Dismissal	Request copies of HR documents	Order, employment contract, correspondence
Inheritance	Contact a notary at the place of opening	Death certificate, documents for the property

The first step matters more than speed: an incorrectly recorded start of a dispute costs more than the rest of the case.

Reviews

Reviews private clients about the work of lawyers

4,9

Google

4,9 · 128

Yandex

4,8 · 94

2GIS

4,9 · 156

Zoon

4,7 · 41

Dinara K.11 June 2026

Divorce and division of an apartment with a mortgage. I was sure I'd be left with nothing, since my husband mostly paid. But they sorted it out with payments and proved my contribution. The share stayed with me. Thank you, everything was clear and without stress.