According to a recent article featured in the newspaper ‘Expansión’, Spanish Bar Associations of Lawyers have filed several complaints with the courts against ‘false lawyers’ operating particularly in popular tourist areas, amidst fears that the reputation of the legal profession as a whole is at risk from the affect that these ‘imposers’ are having.
Lawyers report that in recent months there has been a significant increase in crimes against foreign nationals who are subject to fraudulent real estate transactions and receiving incorrect advice, mainly in Mediterranean tourist areas. According to the General Council of Spanish Lawyers (CGAE), it has detected irregular provision of legal services in the areas of Malaga, Marbella, Almeria, Murcia, Alicante and the Balearic Islands.
Manuel Almarcha, dean of the Bar Association of Lawyers of Orihuela, an area that has experienced rapidly expanding foreign investment in properties, explained to the newspaper that the problem for the group being represented is two- fold: on the one hand, work is taken away from accredited lawyers and, secondly, the consequences that entail in respect of the profession’s image when bad advice is given by someone who claims to be a lawyer when they are not. According to Almarcha, the Bar Association has already identified some cases and several complaints have been filed in the magistrate´s courts on the grounds of professional intrusion, cited under Article 403 of the Penal Code and punishable by fines and even imprisonment in certain cases.
The Spanish Lawyers’ Council reiterates that those individuals listed as ‘not practicing’ are excluded from the legal profession as well as those that, despite offering their services and using a legal name with all its legal connotations, do not have the regulated required professional capacity to act as such, as they are not enrolled with the Association of Spanish lawyers.
Always be sure to check whether the ‘lawyer’ you use is a genuine member of the Bar Association, local to where they are practicing.
We at Abad welcome this checking procedure as it does not only allow our clients to feel confident in using our services, but it also gives a good impression of the Spanish legal profession in general.