Seeking advice for a client trying to find a non-corrupt lawyer for real estate case

[Bokeb]

Hello all,

I have a lady I'm representing (I'll call her Judith) who has been trying to find a legal team to help her prosecute a case of real estate fraud against some bad actors.

I am not a lawyer, but Judith is actually a retired lawyer from the states and has put together her own case. The synopsis of her situation is;

1. Judith signed contract with condo vendor and paid initial amount in return for the title of a condo - the vendor, years later, still hasnt sent the title
2. Judith has been seeking legal aid in the area, only to again and again discover that the lawyers she is working with are in fact connected to a sort of lawyer + real estate broker gang which exists in her area which is also connected to her condo vendor defendant, and they wind up just charging her fees with no intent of ever actually bringing the case to court
3. She has also hired a couple lawyers who did not wind up being a part of this gang, but wound up seeming utterly impotent and also did not bring her case to court.

Mind you, I don't know exactly how good her case is (since I'm not a lawyer), but I do believe it is good - so let's just assume here that we are talking here about someone here that does have a good case that a non-corrupt lawyer would feel he could win and would be happy to prosecute in court.

It is my feeling at this point that the lawyers she has hired that wound up being impotent are so as a result of the fact that, since they are not a part of this particular legal / real estate cabal that exists in Judith's area, they have received some sort of pressure from the same cabal that does render them impotent.

So that's then where I'm seeking the advice of the forum ; My thinking is that what Judith needs is to find a lawyer or legal team from out of the area - I'm thinking somewhere in the capital maybe? - that has no conflicting interests and also is not afraid to take on her local legal/real estate gang. Perhaps because they are themselves connected to their own legal cabal somewhere else in the country, which is not friends with the one we have here?


I am well aware that corruption and gangs are the name of the game up and down every sector in this country where backroom deals (with money) are rule rather than the exception - Am I wrong in thinking that the legal sector also operates in this way - and that therefore the solution is to find a different gang that is already at odds with her local one and unafraid to take them on? And if so, any advice on who/where to go?

Or perhaps is there some legal group in this country that fights real estate battles and that is truly upright and benevolent, as well as unafraid to take on these sorts of gangs? If this exists any points in the right direction would be greatly appreciated 🙏


Thank you for your consideration.

 

[johne]

Interesting that you are playing a part in this. You are represening her, no license, seeking advise of this forum as a newbie .Who are you, how do we trust you with anything??Aside from "Thank you for your consideration", what are you offering for help for a "lawyer" that is retired and apparently being spun around like a top?

IMO this too can be part of the scam.

 

[Bokeb]

Interesting that you are playing a part in this. You are represening her, no license, seeking advise of this forum as a newbie .Who are you, how do we trust you with anything??Aside from "Thank you for your consideration", what are you offering for help for a "lawyer" that is retired and apparently being spun around like a top?

IMO this too can be part of the scam.

If it makes you more comfortable you can just consider this as a theoretical exercise.

I haven't given any information that could identify her, so in effect it already is.

I can rephrase the question as: "Can you point me towards some honest real estate lawyers in the country?" if it makes you feel better


edit - for clarity, I am not representing her in court. I am just representing her and her situation here, to you all.

 

[keepcoming]

Are there others living in the condo complex that have/had the same issue? Has there been a reason given for why she has not been given the title? Maybe contact Sr Guzman law firm, they may have some better answers.

 

[cavok]

Guzman-Ariza is in the capitol and the largest law firm in the country. Call them. The first consultation is free.

 

[Bokeb]

Are there others living in the condo complex that have/had the same issue? Has there been a reason given for why she has not been given the title? Maybe contact Sr Guzman law firm, they may have some better answers.

There are and they do, however they all seem to be content not to rock the boat. Intimidated possibly, I don't know.
As I understand it the reason is just that 'they don't have it yet' or something along those lines. They are asking her for the final part of the payment but she is refusing as - as she told me - the contract stipulated that she would get the title after the initial payment.

Guzman-Ariza is in the capitol and the largest law firm in the country. Call them. The first consultation is free.

Hm. So I don't know them personally but I do know that she has told me that some of the lawyers who have shafted her in her area went by the name Guzman. I guess I can only assume that means they are a branch that represents that same Guzman law firm.

Didn't realize they were so big. That's bad news. Any other groups that are also large but not connected to them?

 

[keepcoming]

Something does not sound right... I seriously doubt that the "Guzman" lawyers that supposedly "shafted" her is the same Guzman-Ariza law firm. I also find it strange that there are others having the same issue but are not doing anything about this. Possibly more to the story?

 

[Bokeb]

Something does not sound right... I seriously doubt that the "Guzman" lawyers that supposedly "shafted" her is the same Guzman-Ariza law firm. I also find it strange that there are others having the same issue but are not doing anything about this. Possibly more to the story?

You could be right. In my shoes its just my job to give her the benefit of the doubt. At the very least I don't think she's doing any kind of complex scheme of any kind.

I'll have to confirm with her whether the Guzman's she's worked with are Guzman-Ariza. Meeting with her tomorrow.

As for the other folks, I understand they are mostly younger folks that really just aren't interested in going to the trouble. According to her, they are for the most part buying the story the condo vendor is giving them, which is "just hold on, its coming".

 

[JD Jones]

There are and they do, however they all seem to be content not to rock the boat. Intimidated possibly, I don't know.
As I understand it the reason is just that 'they don't have it yet' or something along those lines. They are asking her for the final part of the payment but she is refusing as - as she told me - the contract stipulated that she would get the title after the initial payment.



Hm. So I don't know them personally but I do know that she has told me that some of the lawyers who have shafted her in her area went by the name Guzman. I guess I can only assume that means they are a branch that represents that same Guzman law firm.

Didn't realize they were so big. That's bad news. Any other groups that are also large but not connected to them?

There's more than one lawyer with the Guzman name. Guzman-Ariza is her best bet.

 

[MariaRubia]

Guzman-Ariza is in the capitol and the largest law firm in the country. Call them. The first consultation is free.

Guzman-Ariza are very reputable and in my opinion would be very unlikely to be involved in dodgy business. However, they are not the only show in town and there are plenty of other very good law firms. I would suggest that you get your friend to have a look at this list and pick any of those firms, they are all reputable. Expect to pay several hundred dollars an hour, that's what you'll pay for a decent law firm in DR, and try to get a fixed-price quote.

Real estate and tourism in Dominican Republic | Law firm and lawyer rankings from The Legal 500 Latin America guide

www.legal500.com

If you're looking for a fight with the vendor, you may need to choose a different type of lawyer with strong family connections. On the list above, Pellerano and Herrera would be a good option in this type of area, they work with quite a lot of the more powerful players and would not be a firm to mess with.

 

[MariaRubia]

There's more than one lawyer with the Guzman name. Guzman-Ariza is her best bet.

I recommended someone to Guzman Ariza recently and he decided not to bother based on their communication - it was just a series of "leave a message and someone will come back within 24 hours" and nobody did, called again, same thing, rinse and repeat. I've heard this a few times about them, and it's the reason I wouldn't want to use them (I did use them once or twice and remember the communication was very difficult). All the lawyers I use are on whatsapp and usually reply within the hour. I know a lot of people on here really rate Guzman Ariza so I guess it works for some people.

 

[Bokeb]

Thanks for that clarification, JD Jones.

Real estate and tourism in Dominican Republic | Law firm and lawyer rankings from The Legal 500 Latin America guide

www.legal500.com

If you're looking for a fight with the vendor, you may need to choose a different type of lawyer with strong family connections. On the list above, Pellerano and Herrera would be a good option in this type of area, they work with quite a lot of the more powerful players and would not be a firm to mess with.

Thank you very much for this in particular, this is the sort of information I'm seeking 🙏

 

[Big]

Here we ho again with "my lawyer won't return my call". If you have not paid the retainer you dont have a lawyer.

 

[cavok]

There are and they do, however they all seem to be content not to rock the boat. Intimidated possibly, I don't know.
As I understand it the reason is just that 'they don't have it yet' or something along those lines. They are asking her for the final part of the payment but she is refusing as - as she told me - the contract stipulated that she would get the title after the initial payment.

I've never heard of anyone giving the title on the initial payment. That would be pretty stupid. You get the title when paid-in-full.

Hm. So I don't know them personally but I do know that she has told me that some of the lawyers who have shafted her in her area went by the name Guzman. I guess I can only assume that means they are a branch that represents that same Guzman law firm.

Didn't realize they were so big. That's bad news. Any other groups that are also large but not connected to them?

Guzman is a fairly common name. It could be another lawyer. As far as not returning calls, just call and make an appointment. The first consultation is free.

 

[irishpaddy]

Something does not sound right... I seriously doubt that the "Guzman" lawyers that supposedly "shafted" her is the same Guzman-Ariza law firm. I also find it strange that there are others having the same issue but are not doing anything about this. Possibly more to the story?

 

[irishpaddy]

for someone who was previously a lawyer ......she must have retired her brains as well as her career

 

[johne]

If it makes you more comfortable you can just consider this as a theoretical exercise.

I haven't given any information that could identify her, so in effect it already is.

I can rephrase the question as: "Can you point me towards some honest real estate lawyers in the country?" if it makes you feel better


edit - for clarity, I am not representing her in court. I am just representing her and her situation here, to you all.

Thanks but my "theoretical exercise" days are behind me. I now devote my days to the real world of "who, what and where is the next person that wants to alter my life."
Could I point you to the right person? Absolutely, without a doubt. Will I? Nope.

 

[MariaRubia]

Here we ho again with "my lawyer won't return my call". If you have not paid the retainer you dont have a lawyer.

Please remember, before hurling out these little snipey comments, that none of us know who any of the others on this forum are in real life. I run a business, I use a very well known, powerful (and expensive) lawyer who takes very good care of me. I have his Whatsapp, I know that if I call him at 3am because something terrible has happened he will answer. And he knows I would never take advantage of that.

Every foreigner I know who has done business in DR has, at some point, run into a truly nasty situation, sometimes literally life-and-death, sometimes threats which have consequences which are petrifying. And when that happens, you don't want the pretty girl with the nice nails to tell you that your call is important and someone will probably get back to you in a couple of days.

 

[aarhus]

Please remember, before hurling out these little snipey comments, that none of us know who any of the others on this forum are in real life. I run a business, I use a very well known, powerful (and expensive) lawyer who takes very good care of me. I have his Whatsapp, I know that if I call him at 3am because something terrible has happened he will answer. And he knows I would never take advantage of that.

Every foreigner I know who has done business in DR has, at some point, run into a truly nasty situation, sometimes literally life-and-death, sometimes threats which have consequences which are petrifying. And when that happens, you don't want the pretty girl with the nice nails to tell you that your call is important and someone will probably get back to you in a couple of days.

I had a business in the DR for almost 15 years and I never had a nasty situation. Maybe also because I made a Dominican my partner and she was always the filter. And maybe I was also to careful as I wanted to avoid problems and then not aggressive enough in sales. But it helped to avoid problems. I had a problem though in another Caribbean island an English speaking one where I experienced the getting threatened etc. Very litigious place.

I would also recommend Guzman Ariza. There are some other offices with the name Guzman so be careful. It’s Guzman Ariza and they have a large office in Santo Domingo and around the country. It’s the only firm I can think of with international standard and who are genuine and decent. Be careful with fancy sounding and looking “international renowned” firms with supposedly family connections. I don’t agree with Maria there.

 

[aarhus]

I recommended someone to Guzman Ariza recently and he decided not to bother based on their communication - it was just a series of "leave a message and someone will come back within 24 hours" and nobody did, called again, same thing, rinse and repeat. I've heard this a few times about them, and it's the reason I wouldn't want to use them (I did use them once or twice and remember the communication was very difficult). All the lawyers I use are on whatsapp and usually reply within the hour. I know a lot of people on here really rate Guzman Ariza so I guess it works for some people.

That’s not a lifestyle for me. Having a lawyer on WhatsApp/Speeddial.