Complaints against lawyers ignored in Spain
THE Olive Press has discovered a number of other complaints against lawyers have been ignored by the Malaga Law Society.
One Marbella legal company Lawbird confirmed that it had made several complaints to the self-regulatory body about malpractice that have gone unheard.
One of these involves a commoner passing herself off as a lawyer.
Another property buyer is now being forced to take separate legal action, after the body failed to reprimand a lawyer who overcharged him 34,000 euros.
“It is a clear cut case,” the British businessman told the Olive Press. “The lawyer in question kept promising to give me the money back, but it never came.
“I can’t believe that the society feels there is no case to answer.”
It has also emerged that one of the employees of the embattled society is himself linked to a dubious legal practice investigated by police.
“What chance is there of getting justice here in Andalucia when these sorts of people work in the so-called regulatory body,” asked Antonio Flores, from Lawbird.
“The law society is certainly acting in a strange way and is not at all transparent.
“They have a very lax way of dealing with things.”
Here, the Olive Press shines a light on the three cases:
Case study 1:
A complaint made to the Malaga Law Society by a British businessman after he was overcharged a staggering 34,000 euros by his lawyer has fallen on deaf ears.
According to the expat, the body insisted the lawyer was using his ‘knowledge and expertise’ and that they would take no action.
“It is ridiculous. It is cut and dried. I went to the trouble of documenting everything, translating it in to Spanish and then sending it recorded delivery to the law society and they just said no.”
“What is the point in having the society if it doesn’t deal with these matters?”
Case study 2:
Despite complaints from law firms, one high-profile woman is passing herself off as a registered lawyer and yet she has no qualifications.
Advertising in various rival newspapers, she even speaks at legal seminars for expats.
“We have reported her several times but no-one at the Law Society seems to take any interest,” insisted one lawyer.
“We cannot afford to have a regulating body which allows fraudsters to run bogus law firms,” he added. “It’s very detrimental to the image of the profession.”
Case study 3:
In an ironic twist, a lawyer working for the Malaga Law Society to keep check on the profession has been linked to an alleged fraudster.
Tovar Oliver Hernandez Riverol (above) works in the department that deals with good legal practices and imposters.
Yet, he is mentioned in a police report as having connections to law firm Ramirez & Ramirez, which has been investigated for defrauding victims in the timeshare arena.
Arrested four times, its boss Fabian Marcelo Ramirez was accused of falsely promising his victims to recover money in boiler room, timeshare and cashback scams in exchange for an upfront fee.
“Ramirez backed up his activities using a number of lawyers, including Hernandez,” explained Antonio Flores of law firm Lawbird.
While there is no suggestion Hernandez was conning the victims himself, as Flores adds: “Surely the Law Society must know that a man supposedly protecting the purity of the profession should not have these kinds of connections. Why have they not done anything?”
Vladimir Putin ‘not buying’ Marbella – La Zagaleta home
RUSSIAN Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, is not planning to buy a property in Marbella, Benhavis or anywhere else on the Costa del Sol.
This was revealed exclusively to EWN by the Prime Minister’s press office which rubbished widespread reports in the Spanish and at least one local English language newspaper.
Citing Spanish gossip magazine Vanitatis, these reports claimed Putin was ‘keen to snap up’ a mansion in La Zagaleta, Benhavis, described as ‘Europe’s most exclusive residential development’, according to lazagaleta.com.
Several reports said Putin was convinced to buy a property in La Zagaleta by former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov who lives in the urbanization.
An official from Putin’s press office laughed off the reports, and revealed EWN was the first to ask them if the story was accurate.
Read MoreBelly Dancing
If you haven’t tried it yet – you must. Put it down in your diary as one of those ‘must have a go at that’.
It was a lot more athletic than I imagined. A cross between yoga, martial-arts and dance, and I now have aches in places Ididn’t know I had places. The teacher was called Inma, and she is very thorough when it comes to techniques and also explained the ethos behind Belly Dancing.
The classes are held at the new studios of Niko Valiente and his team of fabulous dance instructors and performers. Although not exactly in Elviria, and thought they were worthy of a mention. Niko’s partner is Marisa, who works in Elviria and between they hold the following dance titles -
They do all sorts of dance styles and now includes classes for children. For more information visit www.NikoValiente.com
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Read MoreAll Saints Day
All Saints Day in Spain (Todos Los Santos) takes place on November 1st. It is a very important national public holiday when people from all over the country return to their town or village to lay flowers on the graves of deceased relatives.
There are few religious days that mean quite so much to the ordinary people of Spain as All Saints’ Day, November 1st.
Most people are aware that the Spanish consider themselves fortunate in having two birthdays each year, rather like the British queen. They have their customary birthday to commemorate the day they were born but, additionally, they also celebrate on the day of their personal patron saint. For most people, their patron saint will be the one after whom they were named.
However, on November 1st each year, the Feast of All of the Saints is held and this particular public holiday centres around remembering dead family members. Most people will visit the graves of relatives and decorate them with elaborate floral displays. Roads around cemeteries will be crammed with traffic, flower sellers line the streets and, in many places, additional public transport services are organised. Although this might sound over-commercialised and hectic, it is actually, for most people, a day of high emotions. The Eucharist, or Mass, will often be performed in the cemetery several times during the day.
In common with many festivals throughout the country, there are a number of special dishes which are associated with All Saints’ Day. Chief amongst these is the tradition of eating roasted chestnuts, castañes, alongside small almond cakes, pannellets. The chestnut element of the tradition comes from the legend of Maria, a chestnut seller, La Castañada, about whom there are many stories. The almond cakes apparently are reminders of the days when home made cakes and offerings were left with the bodies of the dead. At this time of the year, you will also see in the shops huesos de santo – the saint’s bones – which have marzipan, eggs and sugar syrup and buñuelos de viento – puffs of wind – which are doughnuts liberally sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. In Catalonia in particular, it is also quite usual to eat sweet potatoes, el boniato.
Back in the 10th century, All Saints’ Day was celebrated on May 13th but Popes Gregory III and IV moved it to its present date because they wanted to neutralise the pagan festival, the forerunner of Halloween, that was held at that time of the year. The ancient Gaels believed that this the time of the year, sometimes thought of as the Celtic New Year, was when the boundaries between the living and the dead disappeared, so the Church linked this with All Saints’ Day. Initially, the time was a period of fasting as well as the holding of vigils. What began as a time of remembrance of the Christian martyrs evolved into the present custom of remembering all the dead.
The celebrations surrounding All Saints’ Day are especially notable in the Cádiz province of Andalucía. In Cádiz itself, Tosantos will involve a colourful street market, processions and many children’s activities and will begin a few days before November 1st. In villages and towns throughout the province, candle lit processions, roast chestnuts and, very often, anise liqueurs characterise the feast.
One of the All Saints’ traditions across Spain is the performing of the play Don Juan Tenorio, written by José Zorrilla. The final act of this portrayal of Don Juan’s choice between salvation or hell is set in a cemetery, with the legendary lover lamenting over his betrayal of his dead lover.
There are times when it is easy to forget how catholic Spain can be but All Saints’ Day is a powerful reminder of the importance of religion, and of the family, even in the modern age.
If you’re travelling in Spain at this time try to avoid the roads on the night of October 31st as there are millions of people who finish work early in the afternoon then head for their birthplace so traffic congestion can be severe especially on the motorways leaving the main cities.
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