at first instance
• at the first court hearing concerning a case.
in the first instance
• in the first place or at the first stage of a proceeding.
• "the appointment will be for three years in the first instance"
Similar:
place,
stage,
step,
initially,
at first,
at the start,
at the outset,
in/at the beginning,
to begin with,
to start with,
originally,
in the early stages,
