How can a Gringo with law degree que puede hablar espanol find a job?

ny2drASAP

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Feb 22, 2006
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Does any one have any suggestions on how and where to search for work? I have a new york law degree and am wondering what kind of work i could possibly do in the DR. My family and I are intending to move there in about a month. Any suggestions / connections would be greatly appreciated.

here is my resume...

Thanks
Josh

Joshua Baron
55 Knolls Crescent # 5K Bronx, NY 10463
joshuabaron@excite.com


EDUCATION_________________________________________________________________
City University of New York City University of New York
School of Law Lehman College
JD 2003 BA 1998

EXPERIENCE________________________________________________________________
Law Office of Regina L. Darby 1/05 ? 1/06
Paralegal New York, New York
EBT Clerk, Calendar Clerk, Process Server, Legal Researcher, Document Reviewer
Fireside Realty 2/04 ? 11/04
Commercial Real Estate Sales Agent Bronx, New York
Researched chain of title, lien & deed transfer searches) via microfilm, online, and telephone.

Discount Funding Associates 8/03 - 1/04
Mortgage Sales Consultant Bohemia, New York
Generated leads via cold calling lists from Lis Pendens notices of people in foreclosure.

Queens County Civil Court 9/03 ? 12/03
Mediator Jamaica, New York
Helped to ease backlog in Civil, Housing, and Small Claims Courts caused by Pro Se litigants. Drafted stipulated agreements and presented them before the judge for approval.

ACTIVITIES__________________________________________________________________
The Council On Foreign Relations Spring 1997
Contributed as part of a 6 month study group whose findings were published in the book, THE CITY AND THE WORLD.

C.U.N.Y-TV, Seminar Series Spring 1996
Researched and discussed in monthly televised roundtable meetings with United Nations and NGO officials.

50th Anniversary of the United Nations with Boutros Ghali Fall 1995
Questioned the U.N. Secretary General in a made for PBS televised question and answer event.

SKILLS______________________________________________________________________
Software SAGA, Microsoft Office Suite, Lexis and Westlaw.

Languages Spanish: proficient in reading, writing and speech.
Russian: able to read, write, and speak.
 

ricktoronto

Grande Pollo en Boca Chica
Jan 9, 2002
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Would not that be se puede hablar when talking about an indefinite subject, even though you were technically referring to yourself, it was about gringos in general, e.g. how does "one" accomplish that...?

Why are you moving without a job lined up?
 

ny2drASAP

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Feb 22, 2006
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I was talking about myself in the third person ( also I didnt claim to be perfect in spanish, but reasonably proficient). I am applying to a whole slew of schools to teach english right now. Also when my wife and kids and I go down, we will be busy for a while looking at property and investments.
Josh
 

HOWMAR

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Jan 28, 2004
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From your resume, as a well trained US lawyer, you are probably qualified to get a job as a telemarketer or time-share salesman in the DR.:pirate:
 

macocael

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Aug 3, 2004
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ny2drASAP, you will have trouble, as you no doubt can already tell by the ironic messages you are receiving! Life is tough here, it makes us sarcastic!.

I dont think NY training as a lawyer will be of much use here at all, unless you try to hook up with firms that do international corporate law or some such thing. Try Pellerano, and a bunch of others that are easily found by searching the net. DR1's resident lawyer, Fabio Guzman, has a reputable and extensive practice here, and if he has time he might be able to advise you.

Law here in general is not like Law practice there. Anyway, to practice here I am sure you have to get certified and all that, and then you have to decide just what the heck you can do. Alot of lawyers here are just paper pushers and rent collectors.

Btw, teaching English here wont earn you much unless you teach at an elite school like Carol Morgan. They are one of the few that give a real salary. One person I know here teaching English, does so around the clock in order to earn enough money.
 

andrea9k

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Apr 17, 2004
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ricktoronto said:
Would not that be se puede hablar when talking about an indefinite subject, even though you were technically referring to yourself, it was about gringos in general, e.g. how does "one" accomplish that...?

Why are you moving without a job lined up?

... Sorry but, to describe himself as "un gringo -...- que puede hablar espa?ol" is not incorrect. It would sound more natural "un gringo -...- que sabe hablar espa?ol" or "un gringo -...- que habla espa?ol" tho.

Jess
 

ricktoronto

Grande Pollo en Boca Chica
Jan 9, 2002
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But using the indefinite, whoops, I mean impersonal which was his point - how does "one" (any) person in his situation do X or Y? So whether poder or saber, it would be still be se sabe or se puede no?

To wit:

The impersonal se: In some sentences, se is used in an impersonal sense with singular verbs to indicate that people in general, or no person in particular, performs the action. When se is used in this way, the sentence follows the same pattern as those in which the main verb is used reflexively, except that there is no subject to the sentence that is explicitly stated. As the examples below show, there are variety of ways such sentences can be translated to English.

Examples: Se maneja r?pidamente en Lima. (People drive fast in Lima.) Se puede encontrar cocos en el mercado. (You can find coconuts in the market.) Muchas veces se tiene que estudiar para aprender. (Often you have to study to learn.) No se debe comer con prisa. (One ought not to eat quickly.)

Anyhoo....back to the matter at hand.

To the OP it seems like such a loss to go to the stage of a JD and then go to the DR with no reason and not a lot of chances to practice law. Unless you didn't pass the bar or are being deported and have no choice to work or stay in the US. I note despite the JD in '03 you haven't actually practiced law at all. Mysteries inside of conundrums. (*)

(*) Always use a conundrum in the DR. You don't know where he or she has been.
 
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andrea9k

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Apr 17, 2004
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Wow. It amazes me how you masterize the science behind the language. I am an engineer you know, the science behind the language is for me like voodoo for a muslim. Shame on me.

Being that I only know how to properly speak my native language I would have to undust tons of books left behind in Peru. Anyway, we better leave other scientists like Lesley to explain why the case you are talking about, does not apply here.

I can see the tip of the iceberg though. You are failing to recognise the subject in this sentence. Remember about asking what/who to the verb? ?Qui?n puede hablar espa?ol? Un gringo. I see no impersonal nor implied subjects around.
 

macocael

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Aug 3, 2004
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grammatically my vote goes with Andrea. Despite the quoted explanation, that rule doesnt apply here: "un gringo que puede hablar espa?ol" is correct if not exactly felicitous phrasing. The switch from English to Spanish doesnt help either. The subject in this case is clear, "a gringo" and so the verb is non reflexive, simply "puede hablar." If an indefinite subject were implied here, there would be no need to state the subject at all, but that would be awkward here. he is talking about himself, a gringo, one of many, but this one can speak spanish. Anyway the impersonal construction wouldnt make sense at all here: we are not talking about gringos in general who can talk spanish.

Sorry, years of grammar teaching sometimes gets the best of me. Anyway, let Lesley weigh in on this one, just to be sure.
 

ny2drASAP

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Feb 22, 2006
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Lets forget about my grammar for now alright? I was just looking for advice on job hunting in the DR. My grammar isnt perfect but given a little time down there I'm sure it would be fine.
I was just hoping that since this is an employment forum I could get a little advice on employment.
thanks
 

ny2drASAP

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Feb 22, 2006
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ricktoronto said:
To the OP it seems like such a loss to go to the stage of a JD and then go to the DR with no reason and not a lot of chances to practice law. Unless you didn't pass the bar or are being deported and have no choice to work or stay in the US. I note despite the JD in '03 you haven't actually practiced law at all. Mysteries inside of conundrums. (*)

(*) Always use a conundrum in the DR. You don't know where he or she has been.
No I have not passed the bar yet. My motivation for going to the DR is simple, my wife and I want to raise our kids down in a beautiful tropical isle. Sunshine etc.

But I can already tell from all the sarcasm that I will not find much help or anything else here.
 

Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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Hey ny2drASAP, sorry that your grammar is getting attention, instead of your request. Be that as it may, the DR is a difficult place to find work of any kind. Let's rephrase that.. the DR is a difficult to find work that pays a reasonable salary... Even with your qualifications, you'll need a stack of more studying in order to practice any kind of law here. Why are you and your familily moving down here while you do not have a job? This is not an easy place to get settled unless you have strong reasons to want to be here and the ability to survive here, while you get settled in. By that I mean some money behind you. A little more information about why you're moving and perhaps the members of this board could be more helpful.
 

Chris

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Aha, you posted when I posted -- anyway, we are not like 'other' places. What I would suggest is that you take a vacation here and check it out first. Get to know some people, find out about the different areas and see if you can find something that can keep you going before you make a decision to move.
 

macocael

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Aug 3, 2004
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Quite Right, ny2drASAP. Sorry. I just couldnt resist commenting on the grammar, not on yours so much as the fellow from Canada, who was wrong. Meanwhile, like i said you can find the main law firms on the net, and you might try contacting them and see if they have a use for someone like you. They may well do so,but these firms are not large like NY firms. I have met a couple lawyers working at the big firms here who were trained in the States. It will probably pay better than teaching English, which is not a well paying job here. Some of the best private schools will pay you a decent wage, Carol Morgan and such, but they are usually looking for people with education backgrounds and they have their means of scouring the labor market in the States to find such people. You can try Dominico-American, and if you like I can ask a friend of mine who is teaching now just where she teaches and what the prospects are. she has a circle of young American friends who are all doing such type of work, so as a group they could probably come up with suggestions. Bear in mind, they are all single and young, no families, no obligations. It is harder with a family.

Sorry, that is the best I can offer you right now.

Addendum: ignore the sarcasm of a few sour people. You will find plenty of help down here, believe me, and as a father who also is raising his child here I am in total sympathy with your goals. This is in fact a good place for kids -- but there are caveats. One of which is the expensive private education that you must buy for your kids. Public school is not an option. That is my greatest expense here, the rest is easy to manage (though there is another thread here that might lead you to imagine the opposite!). There are other caveats we can get into when the time is right.

But Chris is right. This is not quite the place that people imagine. It is more expensive than it ought to be, there are many hassles involved with living down here, and there is a lot to learn if you are going to succeed at it. Be patient, keep an open mind, and listen to lots of different people,even the sour ones. I have seen way too many gringos with dreams come here and see them all go up in smoke. Come on down for a tour of the place, and if you like contact me, I can set you up, make sure everything goes well, and you learn what you need to learn. Teach you a few tricks and also show you some of the good things here.

So there, I have done my civic duty. The offer is real, ny2dr.
 
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dogstar

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Oct 24, 2004
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Riverdale is nice

why would you come here. ( Jesus, I spelled hear wrong and almost didn't correct it, the spelling police are like the SS here).
Other islands are beautiful, clean, etc. Try Costa Rica that country is nice.
Bronx Boy
 

ricktoronto

Grande Pollo en Boca Chica
Jan 9, 2002
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macocael said:
The subject in this case is clear, "a gringo" and so the verb is non reflexive, simply "puede hablar." .

The use of se with a verb in this case has nothing to do at all with the verb being reflexive. It has to do with an impersonal subject, re-read the notes in my post above. Whether you choose to decide How can a grinog makes all gringos the subject or from my POV the impersonal how does "one" do this? It is not a matter of saber or poder used reflexively.
 

ny2drASAP

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Feb 22, 2006
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I appreciate the beneficial comments here. My family and I have some money to bring with us down there, we wouldnt be coming empty handed. What might happen is that maybe I will go down there first see waht I can set up and then send for my family.
As far as contacting law firms down there, I will definitely get on that.
 

ricktoronto

Grande Pollo en Boca Chica
Jan 9, 2002
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ny2drASAP said:
No I have not passed the bar yet. My motivation for going to the DR is simple, my wife and I want to raise our kids down in a beautiful tropical isle. Sunshine etc.

But I can already tell from all the sarcasm that I will not find much help or anything else here.

Well look, you ask a question equal to "how long is a string?" and other than the fact you have an education which you can't use, and some Spanish, you are in the same boat as the other vagabonds who move to warm countries for the sake of moving without a thought as to how to live and support a family. Read the posts here, one daily from people who went once and want to move there.

The regular wages are terrible, so you need to set yourself apart from the ex-pats working for companies on US wages unless you want to make $200 a month. Your Spanish won't do it.

I'd think as well if you want to seek work in the legal field in the DR being called to the bar in NY would go a long way. Three years ago? Time to write that test.

Since you didn't contradict someone else it also sounds like you have never been to the DR, even once.
 

ricktoronto

Grande Pollo en Boca Chica
Jan 9, 2002
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macocael said:
Quite Right, ny2drASAP. Sorry. I just couldnt resist commenting on the grammar, not on yours so much as the fellow from Canada, who was wrong. .

Not as wrong as someone who thinks the matter was related to reflexive verbs which it was not.
 

macocael

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Ok "grande pollo," once more, back to the grammar, When I referred to the verb as reflexive that is the standard grammatical term to describe these verb forms regardless of whether the meaning is reflexive. If you understood my explanation then you know that I was not talking about its reflexive meaning. The answer is still: you are wrong. And someone who calls himself "grande pollo" should not be taking other people to task on their grammar. This is a subject that you simply do not understand. Dont believe me? Open up another thread, or PM Lesley, get someone's advice you do trust. Pio pio.

However, ny2dr, The pollito is right about the wages and the difficulties here. And coming down with savings, unless they are considerable, wont necessarily solve the problem either. You need to plan to be able to stay afloat for at least a year before you can start thinking that things are beginning to gel. I will talk to friends in the teaching biz, see how they are doing, and then you can make a more informed decision.

meanwhile, PM me or email me, and that way we can discuss things in more detail without ruffling feathers.