Using Dominican Lawyers and Spanish Speaking American Lawyers

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bdablack

Member
Jun 30, 2011
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I have heard many tales of crooked dealing with Dominican lawyers. My question is why don't purchasers use Spanish speaking American lawyers to verify title documents produced in this country. Additionally those
lawyers could direct their client as to what the documents should contain in addition to what is required by Dominican law.

What government department gives you information on the qualifications and professional conduct of engineers such as surveyors? An American lawyer can only tell a person if the document contains what they would expect it to contain.
 
Xavier_Onassis

Xavier_Onassis

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Aug 6, 2006
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You would need a lawyer who had studied BOTH Dominican Law AND US law and understood, not just Spanish, but the peculiar gobbledegook legal language in which the laws of both countries is written.
 
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bdablack

Member
Jun 30, 2011
133
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Speaking English doesn't make anyone less of a crook, but from what I have read in these forum there is little to no recourse in RD for crookedness where as in the first word there is.
A further question. Does anyone know of Dominican lawyers who partner with US lawyers or would I find that in the legal section of this site?
 
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RV429

Bronze
Apr 3, 2011
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And how would you have recourse on a U.S. Lawyer over a Dominican document?
I've met a few Lawyers in Miami that are also Dominican Lawyers, can't recall the firm names. Yes, try the legal section.
 
Xavier_Onassis

Xavier_Onassis

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Aug 6, 2006
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There are lawyers who specialize in international law.

The problems one has usually arise when the lawyer you hire conspires with the party you are dealing with to rip you off. Perhaps the solution would be to contract a lawyer several towns over.
 
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bdablack

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Jun 30, 2011
133
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Legalese is somewhat difficult to understand unless you have legal training. My thinking is that at least the lawyer in a first world country would understand the legalese and be able to tell you if all the components of the document are correct and present.
I have read here that even the names on some documents belonged to that of the lawyer giving ownership to the lawyer of a property. it is stories like that which make a person like myself skittish of even the best lawyers.
 
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zoomzx11

Gold
Jan 21, 2006
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DR law has a good deal of French influence and is totally different than US law based on common law England. Best is to avoid lawyers if at all possible. I would rather pay the other guy than pay a lawyer to rob me a second time.
 
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Black Dog

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May 29, 2009
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In my experience, 10 years selling property in the DR, if you ask a US lawyer to act for you they will simply employ a Dominican lawyer so you just end up paying more. Being able to read a contract that is written in Spanish doesn't mean that you know whether or not it would hold up in court if there was a future dispute, for this you need to be qualified and experienced in DR law.
 
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John Danzell

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May 19, 2014
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Interesting tread! Navigation of legal and political hurdles is a interesting and unique challenge everywhere. From my understanding it is wise to consult an international lawyer if you are a foreigner seeking to do and contract agreements in another country. Especially in instances were a foreign business entity seeks to do business. The Dominican attorney would be required to assist with what ground you stand on in DR, but often times that does not protect you completely abroad.
 
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Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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yahoomail.com
The international law firm of the EXPERT here on the DR1 "Legal Forum", is Fabio Guzman, of the firm, "Guzman Ariza".
They have several law offices here in the DR, as well as an office in Miami,Fl.
They are used by many Dr1ers, who will recommend them highly!
There ARE good lawyers here in the DR, you just need to how, and where to find them.
Recommendations from "Dr1ers" would be my choice.
If your lawyer here does not have contacts at every government office/dept./ and building here they are not going to be of any use to you!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
I an VERY Happy with "Guzman Ariza".
 
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Cocoa6705

New member
Apr 22, 2014
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Did a real estate transaction in the DR. At closing, the contract, which was in Spanish was put through Google translate. If you've ever used Google translate, you know it is not perfect. Imagine GT attempting to translate legal mumbo jumbo. Thankfully our lawyer was versed in Dominican law and fluent in both English and Spanish. He walked us through the contract and explained the true intention of the contract whenever the translation was askew. 2 years later, no one has come to take the house away, so I'd say we had both a good attorney and luck on our side.
 
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Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
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Criss Colon said:
The international law firm of the EXPERT here on the DR1 "Legal Forum", is Fabio Guzman, of the firm, "Guzman Ariza".
They have several law offices here in the DR, as well as an office in Miami,Fl.
They are used by many Dr1ers, who will recommend them highly!
There ARE good lawyers here in the DR, you just need to how, and where to find them.
Recommendations from "Dr1ers" would be my choice.
If your lawyer here does not have contacts at every government office/dept./ and building here they are not going to be of any use to you!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
I an VERY Happy with "Guzman Ariza".
Click to expand...

I agree with CC. Use Guzman Ariza. A great many of their clients are American and other nationalities, including large companies. They specialize in dealing with foreign clients, having lawyers that speak at least Spanish, English, French and German.

They have affiliation with some top US law firms which refer their clients to Guzman Ariza if the DR is involved.
 
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jabejuventus

Bronze
Feb 15, 2013
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I always wondered if the differences in legal systems, i.e., a DR system modeled after the French legal system vis-a-vis an American system modeled after that of the British system, would be relevant in a discussion such as the threaded.
 
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kampinge

Member
Jan 18, 2012
392
0
16
Their are good ones, but they are too expensive. The daily problems with the others who make a contract for 1000 peso is, mostly you have to made the documents twice or more because they seldom spell names right, or their are other spelling problems in the documents. I get the impression a lot of them have bought their licenses.
 
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kampinge

Member
Jan 18, 2012
392
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Not always Criss, I have one who rent the office from me, but its did not help, he can't issued a document without errors
 
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