A Spanish Lawyer and Barrister in United Kingdom. Hiring a legal professional is a tricky decision, particularly when one needs an urgent opinion on financial matters. What if properties, capital and other belongings are spread across two countries, Spain and the UK?
In this case, time certainly is money: delaying any action can result in serious legal consequences. But choosing whom to trust under time constraints is not always easy.
Private firms rely on long-term relationships with legal teams precisely for this reason, as the world of global business comes with its own unexpected challenges. However, why not take the same approach to private affairs?
In these times of travel restrictions and economic uncertainty, one can feel powerless. Having assets in a different country can cause a lot of stress. For British pensioners who moved to Spain years ago, taking care of their rented property and the instability of the current property market will be an added pain. Equally, for UK-based workers seeking to retire under the sun, ensuring that their mortgage or property in Spain is adequately managed at a distance can seem a daunting task.
A possible solution to both riddles would be to pick professionals in both countries to oversee present and future problems. There are risks to this strategy, however.
The difficulties of dealing with multinational legal teams
The first obvious choice for those seeking help will be to hire British lawyers. But can they be trusted with taking care of both UK and Spain affairs? Certainly, legal systems in both jurisdictions are very different.
Continental Law vs Common Law: A Spanish Lawyer and Barrister in United Kingdom
- Spain is based on the continental framework shared by most other European countries, that of civil law and codified rules. The UK employs common law, relying heavily on case law and legal precedent. Barristers working from Britain will of course superficially understand this difference. At the same time, the schism comes with a lot of practical obstacles when actually defending clients in court.
- Even lawyers who have worked for prestigious multinational firms could feel unprepared to deal with, for example, a complex inheritance case in Andalusia. This is due to the second difference: Spain is relatively decentralised and, particularly for taxes and other payments, regions and localities have deep impacts on certain areas of law. It is important to work with legal support with solid geographical awareness.
Hiring a legal team in England and another legal team in Spain
What about hiring a second legal team in Spain to deal with these complexities, in addition to a British one?
For many British expats, this is a difficult task to complete. While Spain has certainly improved in terms of consumer protection, guarantees against malpractice and other issues are still not quite at the British level. Timings, delivery and transparency are below what is usually expected, and can lead to disappointment. To have these issues emerging in the middle of a negotiation can certainly impact any deal, as easy as it might seem on paper.
Leaving aside these cultural and language barriers, legal firms in Spain are not necessarily acquainted with certain advantages that British expats might have. For example, there are financial instruments built to attract investment in Spain. Additionally, having separate legal advice from both countries could be confusing, particularly if communication is not straightforward between the firms. Finally, now that Brexit is finally in full swing, only those who can quickly adapt to changes in London, but who can also rely on extensive experience and networks in Spain, will be able to effectively defend their private and corporate clients.
Spanish barristers and Spain-experienced lawyers you can reach in London
There is no straightforward catch-all solution to prevent all future legal challenges to your British and Spanish assets. In our view, rather than rushing into available legal advice in Britain, or getting lost searching for the perfect firm in Spain; the winner’s option is to get the best of both worlds. But not necessarily by hiring separate teams! A Spanish Lawyer and Barrister in United Kingdom.
First, you need someone who is perfectly acquainted with the particularities of the British legal system, quite different from the rest of the continent. Next, you also need someone who is able to navigate the formal and informal pitfalls of the Spanish judiciary.
The truth is that there are very few experienced professionals with these specific skills. In 2006, Leon Fernando Del Canto, a Spanish Lawyer and Barrister in United Kingdom, became the first Spaniard that could act as both a barrister in England and an Abogado in Spain. In his work through Del Canto Chambers and in cooperation with other firms, he has achieved legal victories on behalf of clients worldwide. His legal team as a whole has expertise across multiple jurisdictions, including countries as different as Qatar and Colombia. He is specialised in tax and franchising, but the Del Canto network also includes lawyers who have won landmark real estate cases against large Spanish financial firms.
What is more, Del Canto Chambers has actually been an active member in both countries, equally involved in organisations like the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the UK, and British expat communities in Spain. As a result, Del Canto and its wider network have unparalleled experience in dealing with issues that involve both jurisdictions; or sorting out affairs for clients who live in both.If you are seeking a one-stop-shop for all legal concerns involving Britain or Spain, you cannot really do much better than hiring Spanish barristers based in London, like Del Canto.
