Lawyer taking money doing nothing

to be fair to maria she has told me I  can telephone her tomorrow to solve our misunderstandings regarding communication, information on services provided for fees paid, regarding the emails I was sent , and a good client service, lets hope she can re assure me, and then I will be able to pass on good words of a spanish legal representative, which would surely be good news for all concerned,  yours sam

Hi Sam,

I'm pleased to hear things are getting sorted. Might I suggest you make a list of all the things to ask her and leave spaces between each query to write down Maria's answers?

If, like me, you get  flummoxed when dealing with things like this it is best to make a note of what was said.Then afterwards you can work your way through it all and make your decisions.

Best Wishes

It would be interesting if, as Sandra has suggested, Sam could publish on this thread the questions asked and the replies given, of course without revelaing any personal or sensite details.

Kelju

after speaking to maria this morning I can honestly say after the terrible experiences my family have had dealing with the legal system in spain,  she instilled more confidence than all past advice given to me put together, the way I say things are, if  a representative is bad I say it, if they are good I say it,        to answer sandra and kelju would be difficult as my concerns were to do with our specific case, so as kelju says its private, but I can just give my own honest opinion,  I believe maria to be most trustworthy, not like most, that unfortunately my family have had dealings with in spain, which also include many english people operating in spain, my concerns and questions were answered simply and made sense to me, which was like a breath of fresh air ! , maria many thanks for easing my families concerns,  maybe now I will be able to give up cigarettes, my doctor will be most pleased,  yours sam 

Great news Sam and as I said to you on the other forum that if you contacted her and gave her  chance that she would be able to help

    "........................I believe maria to be most trustworthy,.............................." 

We who have engaged and met  Maria already knew that Sam and were confident you would get things sorted.

That's what she does Sam, I believe if any lawyer can get justice for me, it is Maria and her team. 

sandra, roy, good points taken on board, having spoken to maria today, she she strikes me as an honest, family person and an honourable lady,  yours sam

Hi Sam

Glad to hear matters have been resolved and best of luck in your case.

But as many on this forum will tell you the journey will not be easy or quick as developers, banks or insurance companies will try every trick in the book not to return a deposit or rescind a contract.

Also if you have questions just keep coming back on the forum becuase there will be someone who's been through it already and only too willing to share their experiences with you. One thing is for certain you are not alone.

Once you get to the end you can claim your Spanish law degree.

Hi

I read the headline and as I have recently bought property in Spain and keep hearing people saying Spanish Solicitors are no good, I felt I had to put in my twopennyworth, Phew as a newby reading all that vitreol has quite put me off.   I know Shakespeare said 'first kill off all the lawyers' and in England I would heartily agree with him, but over here I went down the route of looking up the recommended lawyers on the Malaga British Consulate website and found one from there.  I have to say I find him charming and very professional.  When he says it will cost X - it comes in less or it comes in at X.  When I ask his advice I get it completely and in a fashion that I understand.  He speaks very good english, has a british sense of humour that catches me out everytime because it is so unexpected and I would thoroughly recommend him to anyone.    

Perhaps Maria is only guilty of not communicating properly rather than any other motive, and let us hope that she appreciates that sometimes a little hot air can be very productive.

As for anyone starting out needing a Solicitor - certainly the recommendation of the Consulate came up trumps for me!!  Now we are fighting the quaint Spanish System of upping the 7% tax you have to pay - we got a bargain flat and they want the difference between what we paid and what they value it at...............  Happy days, I am sure at the end of all this, I shall feel quite at home when I start to come over for holidays and since I am renovating the flat too, I am sure we shall all be arrested for having the wrong licences somewhere down the line.............

Zena 143

 Again, apologies for the failures, that, as every human oragnisation  we have, and,  "a word in our favour" as our effort for improving communication with our clients is permanent.

Thanks to all for your comments.

Zena ^ or below (depending on your settings!)....

Which lawyer did you choose from the consulate in the end?

Sadly I accepted the services of a 'fully bi-lingual' criminal lawer from their list, who at fist seemed professional and in touch with his specalist area and the local courts. (Both of which I still think are true - but other 'nemesis' areas came to light throught our business and I would have to say to anyone now - 'He was just after an easy buck').

I notice Faro has suggested I contact the Colegio de Abogados if I wish to make a complaint about him, but I wrote to the Malaga centre asking who to contact and how to go about it - and got a big fat - No reply. As my Spanish is limited - and I needed to put my energies elsewhere I have not pursued it.  I did think about reporting him to the British Consulate, but as they were as much  use as a paper bag for carrying water when I asked them for assistance on 'proceedural matters' regarding Spanish Law (which is one of the few things they say they CAN do on their website), I decided it was not worth the effort either. Likewise, I am hesitant to push the matter as their own Honorary Legal Advisor (who is a partner in a very well known firm on the Costa del Sol), delt with me in a very short shrift manner even though I had already consulted (a paid for appointment!) someone in her practice (who then oddly disappeared without trace?)

I am currently seeking assistance in the matter from the Insurances Ombudsman (It was a car injuries claim), but they have taken the word of the Insurance Co at face value (even though it is full of mistruths and holes) and I seem to have no recourse? It seems the only option I have is to hire another lawyer and start a civil case. Which if I am truthful (and based on the experience of the legal system I have had so far), I do not have the confidence to invest more money in pursuing my case.

I did consider contacting Maria to assist in my case, but as I live a bit far away from her practice and I think the case may have to be heard in my local court, I have not contacted her. (Also I have very limited funds so would not waste her time).

I wish there were a happier outcome, but sadly it seems the 'system' here is not working. (Eg Fuengirola court has been running on one (temporary) judge for the past 4 yrs as no one wants the 4 full time posts that are going there!). 

Just to clarify - I LOVE living in Spain. Have been here for 10yrs now and I can still say it was the 'best decision I ever made'.  It is just that it is tough sometimes and we need a place to speak out loud of our frustrations, otherwise we might go mad!

Encouraged by our lawyer we filed a civil suit to claim €12,000  in snagging problems. This involved paying a surveyor for a report and coughing up €4,000 in advance for barristers which she said we were sure to get back. That was two years ago. Now all we hear is that Estepona is the slowest court in Spain.  When our case did make first base in front of a judge we were told the developer had 20 days to reply. That was a year ago and our lawyer says nothing and gives no reason.  I told her our community had put in a claim against the developer  and the court told the community that the developer had changed address to Barcelona so the case had to be pursued there. My lawyer just said "that has nothing to do with out case". I am so frustrated. I don't know what to do. I don't know whether it's a lost cause, or whether a different lawyer should/could take over the case. Why won't she even say sorry I've lost your money for you. At least I could stop sending pathetic emails. Any suggestions anyone?  (The developer's bank has taken over the unsold properties so I don't even know if the developer still exists)

Hi Susan

I'm somewhat surprised DeCotta and Sandra Wrightson dealt with you in that manner.

Maybe try Irwin Mitchell?

They are a UK firm with a background in personal injury claims and they have an office in Malaga.

Below are contact details I have copied from their website.

IRWIN MITCHELL ABOGADOS, S. C.
OFICINA MALAGA
Tel: 952 209 860
Fax: 952 214 416
E-mail: josemaria.delorenzo@irwinmitchell.com
Calle Puerta del Mar 15, 2º
29005 Málaga, Spain
www.irwinmitchell.com
josemaria.delorenzo@irwinmitchell.com

Click on the link below. This is certainly one "Spanish lawyer" who took money for doing nothing. of course he is not really a lawyer but he had his walls covered with certificates printed most likely from the internet.

This all started coming to light about 6 months ago but for some reason has not received great coverage. I'm not sure why that is or if it's because it's all too common?

But sadly some peoples lives have been ruined as they have been left penniless with mortgages on their properties they knew nothing about.

This really highlights the importance of formally revoking any power of atorney and also not giving one in the first place!! It's not that difficult to fly out and attend a notary appointment?

Also it's another call for regulation in a totally unregulated market place. Spain is very much a frontier were the cowboys rule. Laws and guarantees have no meaning. They are not worth the paper they are written on .......

Spanish lawyers need to unite and call for strong regulation and weed out all those bad lawyers and then call for legislation that has some meaning and judgments that make sense. Internationally Spain is a shambles led by a Mr Bean character.

http://www.theolivepress.es/2009/12/28/meet-the-man-obsessed-by-money/

Faro,

Thanks for your suggestion of Irwin (I think they are also on the list from the Brit Conulate and I did contact them but they were not speedy in their response? I did not get one? so I did not go with them).

Yes, I too was surprized be the response from Sandra Wrightson. But I am not making it up!  (She did offer that I could come in for another first appointment, but at a cost of €300 after I had already paid once - as I had to re-start the process as the previous employee had 'gone').  I did not even get a chance to tell her that all her fees would have been paid/guaranteed by my insurance co.

I have been chatting with a Spanish law expert an he tells me there are 20 laws that contradict themselves, and that is only the tip of the iceberg at how complex it all is!

I agree that the Colegio/its members should get together and get rid of the bad apples.  I know that lots of people like me (a first timer) goes in trusting in their reprsentative, but then gets burned and thinks badly of the profession.

I don't know that the situation will change. (As there will always be first timers), but I do hope somewhere, there are good lawyers to be found. (Another member has sent me a message with her lawyers details and he has done nothing but try to put good what his predecessor did). Not that he is making progress sadly, as the system is also up the creek!