Antonio Flores’ Blog

More often than is desirable some of my colleagues tend to overindulge in optimism when providing a legal opinion on a soon-to-be litigation matter. You can often hear and read on online forums the words “You have a strong case!“. This sort of a ‘closer’ phrase when selling services can bring about nasty surprises, especially if the judge thinks otherwise.

So I tend not to use this language when dealing with my clients, and will, on the contrary, give them a more elaborate opinion which will invariably include playing the devil’s advocate and exclude encouraging clients to file a case. Let’s not forget that the opposing party will also be assisted by expert legal advice who knows the law, case law and how certain judges perceive different types of disputes.

In my opinion any lawyer needs to be very frank and open about the possibilities of obtaining a favourable ruling and should provide a per cent ratio of success, which even in the most blatantly clear case should not exceed 75% (so run away from the 95% success rate claims, and do it quickly!).

Litigation is a double-edged sword that can turn out to be very expensive for our clients, especially if a case is lost and therefore we (lawyers) should contemplate all -legally- available options prior to dragging our clients into courtroom, with their best interests as the main motivation and the legal fee bill as the last!

The tragic Barajas accident has brought about a singular controversy, never heard before in this part of Europe (or at least Spain). Spanish newspapers started it all off and the Spanish Law Society has now taken an interest in the matter. I am referring to the so called “ambulance chasers“, a funny and graphic term given to lawyers who hurry to disaster sites to solicit business from the injured or the relatives of those who have died.

The Spanish Law Society is now studying whether to take disciplinary actions against Spanish law firms who have hooked up with their American counterparts in a quest to attract as much of the personal injury legal compensation business as possible, almost right at the scene of the accident. Also, the Dean of the Las Palmas Law Society has affirmed that that some Spanish law firms are in clear breach of the Law Society Rules and Statutes in respect of legal business solicitation (articles 7. and 8.) and has equally recommended exemplary disciplinary action.

Aggressive solicitation of legal work  is not uncommon in Spain and temptations arise when those targeted are foreigners caught up in nightmarish legal wrangles, for example when buying property. I suppose it is not always possible to differentiate what is ethical from unscrupulous but the above case seems a clear example of someone wanting to profit from someone else’s misfortune. Too bad for those Spanish firms!