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A question for the likes of Drakan and Jose Sanchez –
A friend of mine who has a breach of contract situation in Spain has just telephoned me saying their lawyer is asking for 500 euros for an upfront payment to start the procedure of making their contract null and void.
However, this lawyer is insisting the payment is made directly into their own private bank account and just says ‘don’t worry, I’ll send you a company receipt’.
The lawyer is refusing to act unless payment is done this way.
My friend has already changed from one bad lawyer, should she kick this one into touch as well, or is this way of doing things financially perfectly normal for a lawyer in Spain?
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I don’t see any problem with the requirement of this lawyer, the fact that the payment has to be done into his personal account rather than his client’s account is not very usual I have to admitt , BUT it is not a reason to distrust a lawyer in Spain.
The fact that a lawyer asks for 500 Euros in advance to start working for a client or start another job for the same client is absolutely normal, everybody would expect this especially the british as their system is just like that.
Regards,
Jose Maria Sánchez Alfonso
Abogado / Lawyer
Costa del Sol, Malaga
jmsalfonso@inicia.es -
The upfront payment is perfectly reasonable.
On the other hand the bit about paying into a private account smells decidedly fishy. If the lawyer were an independent lawyer working alone, then it would be normal to make the payment direct to the lawyer. But why would a lawyer working for a firm of solicitors insist on private payment? I wouldn’t proceed without a good answer to this question.
Mark
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This makes a lot of sense, Mark! Anyway, as some have said, it is perfectly normal to ask for a payment “on acoount” for the services.
Sometimes it has happened to me that the lawyer starts working and then the client simlpy dissappears or changes his mind, or simply goes to a cheaper lawyer. This is why lawyers normally will not start working without some money in his pocket! 😆
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When I asked the original question, I was not concerned about having to pay the 500 euros upfront. I accept this is normal.
My problem is specifically re. the being asked to pay this money direct into the personal account of the lawyer (as against her lawyer’s company account), but being told I would get a ‘company’ receipt for the money. I am worried that at a future date, it could be denied by the company that I ever paid as obviously they would have no ‘[company’ record of money arriving in their company account.
Also I’ve learnt that this lawyer is pregnant and is leaving the company next month! -
Aha! I see…. It does not sound normal to me at all. I have been working for a company for 6 years before going on my own, and I have never thought of asking for money into my own personal account. Better send her a cheque in the name of the company or clearly stress to her that yuo want to send monies into a company’s account!
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