Costa del lawyers

Kent-based firm Boys & Maughan is set to target British expatriates living in Spain by making a move into the costas next year.

Currently operating in the seaside towns of Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate, the firm is now extending its services to the Spanish coastal provinces of Almeria, Murcia, Alicante and Valencia.

An office will open in Playa Serena, Roquetas de Mar, on the Costa de Almeria, next month.

It will be managed by assistant Colin Whyman, an honorary fellow in Spanish laws at the University of Kent, who is moving out to Spain.

'He has owned a house in Playa Serena since 1987 and has been helping clients in England with legal matters in this area since then,' the firm said.

It added that as more British people were living permanently in Spain or owned property there, the need for local advice from an English solicitor has 'never been greater'.

Mr Whyman's office will be open from 9am to 1pm, or at other times by appointment.

The office will deal with aspects of property law such as English conveyancing, translation of legal documents and certificates of law in a bi-lingual format for use in Spain and England.

It will also prepare wills and powers of attorney.

Solicitors working on the costas have in previous years had problems with practising English law; one on the Costa Brava was arrested, fingerprinted, photographed, held in a police station and taken to court over allegations of illegal practice which were later dropped.

However, the European Rights of Establishment Directive has eased the situation.

See Letters, page 18 (see [2002] Gazette, 5 December)

Chris Baker