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| ABOUT THE LAWYERS |
by Prof. German Estrada
January 17th, 2004 |
I have been asked to repeat an article written
long time ago about Lawyers, etc. So, here it is
again. This is a topic that does not change at all;
on the contrary!
I have traveled through out
the world and have seen and meet people with different
languages and cultures; and I have, most of the time,
ratify that we, humans beings, are about the same
and behave the same and think about the same regardless
of place of birth, language and cultural background.
Yes, we can have different opinions about some things
but, overall, we react as what we are, beings that
were born to die; beings that spent every day of
their lives trying to survive one way or another;
beings that need the means to acquire what we all
need. Yes, it also depends on the layer of the society
one was born in, but still, we behave the same..is just a matter of different degrees.,
and different personal needs; the bottom line is that
whatever our believes are, whether we came from the
monkey, or Adan and Eva or....?, we all have the same
heritage as humans beings. (although sometimes I think
and am almost sure that some people came from another
planet..!)
Why do I touch on this theme?,
well because I was just thinking that it does not
matter where one is, it does not matter what culture
or language is spoken, if one has to deal with <let's use
as examples>, taxi drivers, or custom or immigration
or police agents, or architects or repairmen or,
why not, lawyers, etc., they all behave more or less
the same: of course that there are always exceptions,
but as the old saying goes.."exceptions do confirm
the rule"..
As this is a topic that some
people have asked me to write about (about lawyers
here in our paradise), in our México Mágico,
I will say what I think about some of them.
I will begin by saying with
regard to notary-lawyers, that I truly believe that
after the doctors, the notaries should have the highest
degree of responsibility, integrity and ethical behavior
(let's not forget that a Public Notary in Mexico
has to be an Attorney at Law). They are the only
ones "authorized " by
law to perform the legal task regarding the legality,
procedures, etc., that comes, amongst many other
subjects, when one acquires a property. And also
let me say that, I'm sorry, but I have the strong
impression that not all of them perform their duties
under the above mentioned concepts.
Then, of course, come the "rest of lawyers",
the ones that are either general practitioners, or
have specialized in any of the different aspects
of the Law. It seems that many of them, regardless
of whatever their practice is, have a "common denominator"..:
keep asking for money to their clients, after they
said <several times to them>, that "this" last
payment was the last they had to do.. (isn't is funny
that such behavior happens all over the world; otherwise
lawyers wouldn't have such a well gained and deserved
prestige; or would them?).
Due to this daily fact of
life, I have some suggestions for all of those who
have to hire a lawyer to help him/her to fix...whatever
has to be legally fixed:
- Ask them to present
to you IN WRITING, an estimate of the possible
cost for the work they will perform in your case.
(yes, sometimes and in some cases, this will not
be possible).
- Have them explain to you
the steps they are going to take in order to bring
your case to a successful end, if they foresee any
possible "complications" that
may come along the way, and for the time they "think" is
going to take to bring those results.
- Ask them for a very clear
explanation of the reason <if any>, to ask
you for more money in case they go over their estimated
cost.
Any respectable, professional, ethical and
responsible lawyer will not object to your asking
(although they are not used to do it).
I will add that some of the
reasons why some of these people (as well as in other "professions")
behave this way is because we all let them do it.
* Whatever we're told by them, we simply believe it
and pay!
By not questioning the reasons
they have to ask us for more money, and simply put,
by accepting everything they say as if it was the
holy truth..., we all have contributed to this state
of things. It may be our own ignorance or our "I don't want to be bather with.",
but....for not asking, for not demanding...,we pay.,
and then complaint!
We may not know about the
law, but we do know how to use our common sense,
don't we? (otherwise we wouldn't complaint., or would
we?!).
There is an old saying in
Mexico: "opportunity
makes a thief"...; maybe many of these "professionals" would
behave different if there was no such an easy way
of getting easy money....: let's all think about
it!
* This is especially
true in places where there is an increase in foreign
population. If someone does not understand the
Spanish language, some people take advantage of
it.
gestrada@pvnet.com.mx
Prof. Germán
Estrada is the author of the best selling book,
"México
Mágico: Everything You Wanted To Know
About... But Nobody Told You..." available in Puerto
Vallarta at The Net House, Mail Boxes, Etc., Books,
Books as well as directly from the author by internet.
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