Staff Legal - Abogados • Consultores

In the Dominican Republic maritime law is of a great importance because this country is an island surrounded by water in more than three quarters of its borders. Also, as a state that interacts actively in the international community almost all imports and exports are carried by the waters surrounding the island, thick obviously generates legal situations which must be taken into account.

In the same vein, our office in order to meet the need of counseling needed by the vast maritime sector offer a number of services, prominent among these services include:

• Registration of property rights and/or ship mortgages;
• Advice on leases;
• Advice on charter contracts;
• Advice on maritime business;
• Advice on maritime litigation;
• Brokerage Service port;

STAFF LEGAL, Lawyers and Counselors, have been transformed in a firm specialized in the legal and tax administration of local and foreign investments in the territory of the Dominican Republic. We have handled an important part of the real estate related with tourism and real estate markets of the Dominican Republic.

In close collaboration with our customers, we design sale and acquisition strategies of real estate assets in local market, offering our counseling since initial stage of terms and conditions of the agreement negotiation until final closing of the transaction.

Also, we have offered verification of the property state through the Due Diligence Process; reviewing the Deed Certificates, the Subdivision, Refunding, Surveyor and Cleaning Up works of non-registered real estates, solution of conflict about real estates before the corresponding real estate jurisdiction where the property is located, among others.

We work with everyone who needs assistance for the purchasing, leasing, planning and using of real estates, whether they are promoters of commercial, residential and tourism projects, owners, tenants, developers or financing institutions.

Purchasing and selling of real estates, not only residential but also commercials in any place of the country.

• Financing, development and selling
• Leasing/Rents
• Construction Agreement
• Administration of real estates
• Foreclosures and evictions
• Condominium and ownership associations
• Preparation of condominium
• Drafting of incorporating documents and changes
• Annual and extraordinary meetings
• Collection of maintenance installments

We have a group of lawyers highly trained in tax matters, willing to offer to our customers a quality service, in order to build solid basis of fulfillment and information and sustainable tax strategies to contribute with the achievement of their business objectives.

Following a great demand on that area from our customers, we created TAX PLANET, an auditing firm that together with STAFF LEGAL look for to satisfy the tax and management needs of our customers.

We offer tax counseling not only to businesses but to individuals. In this sense, our legal services in this area roughly are:

• Drafting of sustained tax strategies, based on foundations not only technical but also practical.
• Counseling and advise about the ruling frame of the Dominican Republic in tax matters.
• Accounting services, maintaining of societies, diligences for the fulfilling of the corresponding taxation before the tax authorities of the Dominican Republic, warranting a fluid and efficient communication with local Tax Administration.
• Assessment and supervision of processes, controls and management of risks related to tax function.

The development of world economy toward more complex mechanisms together with the transit of the Dominican economy to a service scheme is an inescapable reality.

This new dynamic raises new challenge to entities and at the same time generates changes and adjustments within the norm frame ruling the business and society activities.

Our firm has a Corporate Department formed by a group of expert lawyers on the field, with huge experience in all matters related to the corporate structure of an entity, since its incorporation up to its winding up.

Also, we design society vehicles with special structures, the manner to adjust to specific transactions and to achieve the economic purposes pursue by our customers.

In this sense, our legal services in Corporate and Business areas roughly are:

• Incorporation of local and off shore societies
• Drafting of minute of meetings
• Reviewing and drafting of agreement in civil or commercial matters
• Drafting of partnership agreements or Joint Venture
• Acquisition of corporate vehicles, whether by merge or termination
• Dissolution of commercial entities
• Drafting of Joint Venture agreements

All scenarios where converges the personal or economic interests of different group of individuals are likely to generate conflicts.

In this sense, our firm has integrated to its staff a group of associates expert in solution of conflicts, in a manner that allow us to offer our customers a timely and efficient defense of their interests, by promoting the legal instances before the competent authorities in accordance with the subject involved in each particular case. Such as:

Civil Litigation: We work as legal representatives (whether defendant or plaintiff side) of national and international customers, value collection lawsuits, enforcement of promissory notes, solutions and rescissions of agreements, damage repair lawsuits, and any other conflict that may arise under the cover of the common law of the Dominican Republic.

Labor Litigation: We assist our customers in labor process such as litigations related to employment benefits, unjustified dismissal, breach of acquired rights, and any other action provided for in the Labor Code of the Dominican Republic.

Criminal Litigation: We act as criminal lawyers, not only from prosecution party but from defense party in facts warranting criminal responsibility of one of the parties. Constitution of victims in civil actors and/or complaints. Within the more common practices are: fraud, trust abuse, falsification, false and alteration of documents, among other breaches to the Criminal.

Commercial Litigation: We represent our customers in all kind of commercial disputes, whether judicial way or alternate resolution of conflicts. Our litigation lawyer equipment has much experience in lawsuits against contractors or corporations for non-fulfillment as well as defending corporations in complex litigations.

Immigration Law is one area of the law being developed at this time and continued developing due to the pressing need of international cooperation among states and the increasing commercial and economic interaction among individuals located in the different places of the planet.

In this sense, our firm has been developing a Department of Immigration Law where we offer counseling to all foreigners who comes to our country in order to acquire obligations and invest their capital in different businesses.

Our counseling in this matter covers following aspects:

• Immigration counseling
• Diligences to obtain temporary permits and final residence in the Dominican Republic
• Process of naturalization. Acquisition of Dominican citizenship.

Recognizing the importance of foreign trade and the strategic location of our country as commodities transport bridge, our firm shall offer to our customers the counseling regarding the custom norms and ruling applicable in the Dominican Republic.

STAFF LEGAL has successfully served national and international entities which require specific counseling in custom law in different areas, such as import and export, carriers, custom agencies, carrier agencies, tax warehouses, handling and management of diligences at ports and airports of the country, among others.

Our firm has developed an Intellectual Property department in order to protect the intellectual creation of our customers.

We work all kind of registrations, applications and administration of patents of invention, registration of commercial names, trademarks, and industrial designs.

Also we revise and draft know-how agreements, franchises and transfer of technologies.

As an expert law firm in legal and taxes administration of local or foreign investments in the Dominican Republic we always advise our customers to do a strategic planning of their patrimony, in a manner to solidify it before any fortuitous and unexpected event.

In the patrimony planning the objective is to acquire, preserve, administer and dispose everything necessary to warranty, at all times, even after the decease of the head family, the individual and family welfare and security. For such effects, our firm offer and undertake to perform a careful analysis of the different economic, financing, legal and tax options to be adapted to certain needs.