Reputable lawyer in Puerto Plata

Bla123

Newbie
Aug 16, 2017
5
0
0
As the title states, I am looking for a reputable lawyer in Puerto Plata. The case is about two minors (14 and 16). Looking to sit down with someone who is experienced in cases involving youth.

Thank you for any leads.
 

Alexandradebrian

New member
Jun 8, 2013
94
0
0
'Reputable' lawyer?

As the title states, I am looking for a reputable lawyer in Puerto Plata. The case is about two minors (14 and 16). Looking to sit down with someone who is experienced in cases involving youth.

Thank you for any leads.



That is an oxymoron.  Good Luck
 
Jan 17, 2009
1,622
59
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Make it a point to ask for a sit-down with an experience lawyer.  I once asked for this and got an interview with two very young lawyers who needed to read a book to answer every question I had.  It was at that prominent firm's office in Sosua.  Yes, consultation is free.  

In my experience, lawyers in the DR don't specialize in anything, and that's a problem.  After this time, I asked for another meeting and said what it was for, and that given my previous meeting, I wanted to make sure I wasn't getting an inexperience lawyer.   We had a meeting with one of the most senior lawyers.  He was great, but couldn't answer a simple question that any lawyer would have known:  if we own property and community laws apply, then if one of us dies, the 50% belonging to the other party is not part of any inheritance, it's simply ownership, please confirm.  He did call me to confirm I was correct several days later.  
 

Expat13

Silver
Jun 7, 2008
3,255
50
48
Make it a point to ask for a sit-down with an experience lawyer.  I once asked for this and got an interview with two very young lawyers who needed to read a book to answer every question I had.  It was at that prominent firm's office in Sosua.  Yes, consultation is free.  

In my experience, lawyers in the DR don't specialize in anything, and that's a problem.  After this time, I asked for another meeting and said what it was for, and that given my previous meeting, I wanted to make sure I wasn't getting an inexperience lawyer.   We had a meeting with one of the most senior lawyers.  He was great, but couldn't answer a simple question that any lawyer would have known:  if we own property and community laws apply, then if one of us dies, the 50% belonging to the other party is not part of any inheritance, it's simply ownership, please confirm.  He did call me to confirm I was correct several days later.  
Agreed. Top level legal is very rare here, as far as a firm in general hit and miss. As an individual sometimes you can get lucky. Others mat charge qst woeld rates but again you get about 25% of what you should.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 

Bla123

Newbie
Aug 16, 2017
5
0
0
Thanks for the advice. Found someone, who said he needed to make up papers for me. I asked what papers.. to get a response it would cost 5,000 RD. Ridiculous.

I guess my hunt for someone who is not 100% horrid continues..
 

Fabio J. Guzman

DR1 Expert
Jan 1, 2002
2,359
252
83
www.drlawyer.com
You have good lawyers, so-so lawyers, bad lawyers and mediocre lawyers in the DR, just as anywhere else. For reference you should go to your Embassy; they usually have a list of the better firms in the country. For the top firms go to the two worldwide legal directories, both published in England: Legal 500 (www.legal500.com) and Chambers and Partners (www.chambersandpartners.com). These are the directories used by in-house counsel at Fortune 500 companies to choose local counsel and are based on thousands and thousands of interviews with clients, lawyers, former clients, etc.
 
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DRob

Gold
Aug 15, 2007
8,234
594
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Thanks for the advice. Found someone, who said he needed to make up papers for me. I asked what papers.. to get a response it would cost 5,000 RD. Ridiculous.

I guess my hunt for someone who is not 100% horrid continues..

Sorry you're having those issues.

Many in our practice have had to deal with what I call "information trolls." They want an absurdly long consultation, in which they ask what will be done, step by step, to address their issues. When I was a baby lawyer, I thought the fact they were taking notes was a good thing.

Of course, you all know what happened: they took my information and tried to do it themselves. That's why my consultations these days are limited to 15 minutes, and I don't discuss in detail UNLESS I'm trying to get them out the door. It's also why I don't really deal with new individual clients any more, unless it's as a favor. 

The list provided by Lic. Guzman is primarily helpful for corporate or very HNI clients. For the person looking for help in matters that don't involve a leveraged buyout of Boeing, I'd recommend the old-fashioned approach of asking friends who they had good experience with.

That said, while not the only good lawyers in the country, Lic. Guzman has a great shop. I've had clients represented by them in the past, and heard nothing but favorable reviews.