5 myths about legal support
In the context of tax reforms and the resulting tightening of government fiscal policy, the market dictates the conditions for businesses to operate in the new realities. It’s essential to constantly stay abreast of changes and, accordingly, ensure compliance with contracts and other legal documentation. While an in-house lawyer serving small businesses can’t provide constant oversight and “keep their finger on the pulse,” the lawyers at our law firm, KORGAN, actively and continuously work with current clients and are constantly reviewing updates to current legislation, allowing us to professionally protect your interests and ensure adequate protection for your business.
Below, we’d like to offer you a selection of 5 myths about legal support and 5 RED flags for future business partners.
5 Myths About Legal Support That Can Be a Mistake
Businesses are especially sensitive to mistakes because they pay for them with their finances, prosperity, and business reputation. How can you avoid easily avoidable mistakes?
Let’s take a closer look:
1. MYTH: Legal support is expensive; it’s better to hire an inexpensive lawyer for one-time services.
REALITY: By choosing a law firm, you’re acquiring a team of professional specialists; finding a single, all-round lawyer is difficult and expensive.
2. MYTH: Legal issues are the same; developing document templates once is enough to eliminate the need for a lawyer.
REALITY: The same issue can contain important details that only a professional will see. Laws change frequently, and a ready-made algorithm or template may become outdated without you even knowing it. In any situation, even a frequently occurring one, it’s better to turn to professionals to avoid unnecessary risks.
3. MYTH: Lawyers download documents from the internet; they don’t have anything tailored to my business.
REALITY: Most similar documents do look similar because they are subject to the same laws. But this is only a first impression. A professional lawyer will transform a basic document into something unique and secure, specifically for you.
4. MYTH: Lawyers are effective in court; in business, they hinder rather than help.
REALITY: In practice, if a case goes to court, it is very difficult for the parties to reach an agreement. The risk of business losses is especially high in court. A prudent approach is demonstrated by those who heed legal warnings and weigh the expected return against the existing risks.
5. MYTH: AI and other electronic platforms provide basic legal literacy.
REALITY: No one can guarantee the up-to-dateness of the information uploaded to such platforms or the compliance of documents with current legislation. Referring to an outdated law or incorrect wording can cause significant losses.
Currently, many legal experts believe that an AI legal assistant is equivalent to a two-year law degree after graduating from university. Furthermore, AI often confuses articles or can simply invent a reference to a regulatory act.
5 RED flags for future business partners
How to identify your business partner’s security before entering into a deal. Look for 5 RED flags; if you see even one, exercise extreme caution.
- The partner insists on 100% prepayment. The well-known formula “money in the morning, chairs in the evening” is very dangerous for you if you’re paying money.
- Absence of a contract or unwillingness to enter into a contract. In a contract, you can always establish responsibilities, outline deadlines, and other important terms. A payment document will confirm payment, and everything else will be within the scope of verbal agreements, which are difficult to prove.
- Reluctance to amend the contract, especially if the contract contains terms that are unfavorable to you. In any dispute, the court will rely on the document you signed.
- Atypical requests from the other party: transferring payment to another party, specifying a different price in the contract, etc. Strive for maximum transparency in your transaction.
- A partner’s refusal to provide details before signing the contract. Refusal to provide the BIN, name, manager information, power of attorney, etc.
This publication was prepared by M. Lukmanova, a partner at KORGAN Law Firm, a professional lawyer with extensive experience in contractual and corporate law.
ASTANA BUSINESS DAY 2025: Your Growth Plan for Small Business in Kazakhstan’s Capital
KORGAN Consulting, a law firm, announces Astana Business Day 2025, the main business event of the fall, timed to coincide with Entrepreneur’s Day. This is more than just a forum; it’s an intensive, practice-oriented conference designed specifically for small and medium-sized business owners and managers seeking systemic development and legal protection in the capital of Kazakhstan.
Бір күн – жүз мүмкіндік | One Day – A Hundred Opportunities
📅 Date: October 30, 2025
📍 Venue: Astana (the exact address will be communicated to registered participants)
👥 Format: Limited number of participants – up to 100 Astana entrepreneurs
Why is Astana Business Day 2025 your investment in growth?
Today’s market demands from entrepreneurs not only a high-quality product but also deep knowledge of law, finance, and strategy. Our event brings together leading experts and successful thought leaders who will provide you with ready-made, working tools for immediate implementation in your business.
In just one day, you’ll gain a concentrated body of knowledge that will allow you to:
- Increase sales with proven marketing strategies.
- Protect your assets from tax and legal risks.
- Systematize your finances and improve operational efficiency.
Key Topics: From Legal Security to Scaling (Program)
The Astana Business Day 2025 program covers six critical areas that impact the success of small businesses in Kazakhstan:
💼 Marketing and Promotion in 2025: How to build sales funnels and use digital tools to attract target audiences in Astana.
📈 Effective Sales and Clients: Secrets of building a sales team and client retention methodologies that lead to profit growth.
💰 Finance and Taxation for SMEs: An analysis of the latest changes to the Tax Code of Kazakhstan and practical advice on legally optimizing the tax burden.
⚖ Legal Security for Business (from KORGAN Consulting): How to protect your business from audits, properly formalize employment relationships, and avoid fines. Relevant case studies from judicial practice.
🧠 Brand Registration and Intellectual Property (IP) Protection: Step-by-step instructions for registering a trademark in Kazakhstan and methods for protecting your brand from unfair competition.
🚀 Personal Development and Growth Strategy: Inspiring case studies from leaders that will help you develop a business scaling strategy for the next 3-5 years.
Unique Format: High-Quality Networking in a Limited Group
We deliberately limit the number of participants to 100 Astana entrepreneurs to ensure maximum value. This format guarantees:
Deep Dive: Opportunity to ask questions to the speakers and receive personalized consultations.
Effective Networking: Connect with like-minded individuals, share experiences, and find potential partners or clients among the capital’s business leaders.
“Bir kun – zhuz mukіndіk” — we don’t just impart knowledge. We provide opportunities for real business connections and mutually beneficial agreements.
Failure to maintain personnel records entails fines
Top 5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Going to Court
Many entrepreneurs believe they can participate in court and defend their rights themselves. But when they lose cases due to their own ignorance, they immediately turn to a lawyer.
TOP 5 Mistakes When Going to Court
1. Incorrectly paid court fees.
2. Filing in the wrong court.
3. Documents submitted to the court are not signed by both parties.
4. Lack of experience in courtroom proceedings.
5. Incorrectly formulated claims.
By making these mistakes, entrepreneurs waste money and time.
What mistakes are you willing to make to prevent your business from growing?
Write us your questions, and we’ll answer them.
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International Cargo Carriage Contract: Case Law on Claims for Recovery of Freight Costs, Fines for Excessive Downtime, Material Damages for Loss of Cargo
Our law firm has almost reached the finish line in a legal dispute between a carrier and a customer under an international cargo transportation contract. Unfortunately or not, but it is not for us to judge, we joined this civil case after it was transferred from the conciliator judge to the “main judge” (he is also the presiding judge in the case). At that time, the controversial situation looked like this: the CSI had already taken interim measures by seizing our client’s funds located in the bank, as a result, a private complaint was filed in a timely manner against the court’s decision to cancel the interim measures, a response to the main claim was filed (in fact, it is also a counterclaim of the client), petitions for the attachment of documents to the materials of the civil case confirming and objecting to the plaintiff’s arguments and a great desire of the court of first instance to quickly consider the case. At the same time, we note that all of the above was done by the management of our client itself, without legal assistance!
It would seem that there is nothing complicated about it? There is an agreement signed by both parties and authorized persons, the cargo transportation agreement was concluded, according to the terms of its clauses it is necessary to make the remaining 50% of the freight. But, after reviewing all the documents submitted by our client, holding a mini-meeting with both the client and our colleagues, we, with errors, come to the conclusion that we really wanted to fight, if not 100% for winning the case, but for demonstrating character, integrity, and preventing the carrier from further negligent, irresponsible attitude to transportation. This is below and in as much detail as possible.
In fact, our client concluded not a cargo transportation agreement, but a freight forwarding agreement (we all know the difference between these subjects of the agreement and understand what we are talking about), the terms of the signed agreement do not quite protect our client, there are small rough spots/gaps, to which we understood that the court would pay attention. The carrier, also known as the forwarder, delivered only the greater part of the cargo accepted for transportation, approximately 20%, of the remaining cargo, in violation of the obligations assumed, he left it in an unguarded warehouse area, according to the words of the carrier himself, involved at the request of the plaintiff, he was in a hurry to get to the ferry to carry out the next loading in the EU. The cargo was lost, and it has its material value, in addition to everything else, the carrier violated the terms of delivery of the cargo (there is an excessive downtime of the vehicle), as part of the pre-trial claims work, the principal proposed to take into mutual settlement the amount of damage for partial loss of cargo, a fine for downtime. At the same time, such amounts were not recognized by the carrier/forwarder, since the CMR had a mark from the distribution warehouse about the acceptance of the cargo in full.
In order to restore justice in this persistent struggle, we filed a counterclaim, applied for interim measures, filed a considerable number of motions to attach documents (including the shipper’s claims for damage and downtime). It would seem that the court sees our position, despite the note in the CMR, and is about to issue a corresponding judicial act and that’s all, but the big surprise was the court’s ruling to leave the counterclaim without consideration. In order to protect property rights and continue attempts to prove in court that the carrier should be liable for the loss of cargo and property liability in the form of a fine for downtime, we cancel the ruling and the civil case is submitted for consideration as the basis for the court’s issuance of an additional decision on the counterclaim, since such a claim was stated.
The additional decision of the court of first instance was announced, the counterclaim was partially satisfied, the court recovered in full the excess downtime provided for by the terms of the contract, legal costs, but the claim for material damage due to partial loss of cargo was rejected due to the absence of more detailed information about the transported cargo in the terms of the concluded contract, confirmation of settlements with the shipper, the absence of a signed act on the fact of shortage of cargo at the time of its delivery at the distribution point.
We do not despair, we move on, it is necessary to gain a foothold in the appellate instance, we hope that we will be able to fill in the gaps that the court of first instance allowed, since such a judicial act will have a prejudicial effect for all participants in such transportation.
By this example we want to tell you, our future and regular clients, that there were and will be controversial issues regarding the execution of the contract, please, involve lawyers – claimants at the time of concluding the relevant contracts, who, taking into account their experience and judicial practice, if not completely, then certainly with minimal risk for you, will supplement the terms of the contract, or on a larger scale, with all the features and nuances, will approach it. Remember that each of us must do our job, leave the judicial-claim or contractual work to us, believe me, there is plenty of it there.
The second important and main advantage in my work on this case was the constant and stable support of the client for 6 months of hard work (not only representation in court, but also work with the CSI on the fact of double arrest of bank accounts, conducting business correspondence with the shipper, analyzing judicial practice), thank him for this!
In this regard, if you need qualified legal assistance related to international/republican automobile/railway transportation, legal disputes with freight forwarders, our company is always ready to protect your property rights and obligations both at the stage of concluding contracts and in the process of legal claims work!
Contact us right now to get advice and trust the experience of professionals in working with KORGAN!
Contact our specialists by phone +7 700 50 00 553 or click on the “order a call” button, which is below.
The trial and the court’s decision
Pre-trial negotiations on damages
Losses 143 000 Euro
Contractual slides
Rarely will a daredevil risk money, goods or his time without concluding a contract. And the one who shows the contract to a lawyer first will reduce his risks, or take them more consciously.
But there are non-standard cases: an urgent transaction, a contract of 30+ sheets… How to quickly understand the essence of the contract and calculate the risks?
Catch the top 5 tips + a tip as a gift
- 1. The main terms of the contract (subject, price, terms, payment, etc.) must be clear and understandable. Not clear or vague? Demand clarification and correction in the contract.
- 2. An equal volume of mutual rights, obligations and responsibilities, without bias in favor of one party. Bias not in your favor? The partner violates the principle of equality of the parties.
- 3. Do not fall for “oral” agreements. If it comes to a dispute, you won’t be able to rely on them.
- 4. Compare the final text of the contract with your amendments. It is much more difficult to make adjustments after signing the contract.
- 5. Always check jurisdiction. If jurisdiction is based on the location of the partner or an arbitration clause is specified, you are not an equal player in the business field.
Gift:
- 6. “We have a standard contract” is a myth of unkind partners. Any contract can and should be changed if the terms are not favorable to you. The exception is some types of contracts, but there are not many of them.
Any questions left? Ask us. We will share our experience and useful tips.