Thread by @BoozyBarrister

Here's the problem with being in a high-immigrant, low income area: There are a lot of "Notarios" out there defrauding clients.

/1

"What's a Notario", you ask, "and why does it sound vaguely racist?"

Get this, in some Latin American and European countries there's a /2

step between "lawyer" and "layman" called the "Notario Publico." These folks are sorta like lawyers in that they can draft simple legal /3

forms and provide some legal advice because they all have legal training and a license to do so!

But the U.S. doesn't have this. /4

All a Notary Public in the U.S. can do is witness shit. They're professional witnesses. That's what they do. No legal training, nothing. /5

I can literally become a Notary Public in my jurisdiction today. Today. Mostly online. It's not difficult, it just costs money I'd rather /6

spend on whiskey.

Anyhow, people come here and become Notary Publics, which LITERALLY translates in spanish to...

"Notario Publico" /7

So they're not wrong in calling themselves "Notario Publico," they're just assholes.

Assholes who are COMPLETELY aware a highly immigrant/8

community WON'T UNDERSTAND they aren't legal professionals licensed and authorized to do shit like...drafting documents or appearing in /9

immigration court.

No shit, they say they can appear in immigration court.

So the end result is you have a lot of immigrants who think /10

"Notario Publico" here is the SAME THING as it was back home, and a group of people preying on that misconception. /11

Here's where I tend to come in, because the "Notario" has a bad tendency to take your money and then seriously fuck your shit up.

/12

Once that happens, the immigrant, who used the Notario because they were cheaper than a lawyer who may charge $500, has to hire me to /13

fix the fuck-up for a hell of a lot more than $500. And then, of course, you suggest they sue the Notario, but they don't want to.

Why? /14

Because the community LIKES the Notario, who's breaking the law and inexpertly drafting dhit, and giving advice and shit, for the same /15

reason communities like pow wow men:

They're cheaper than the real thing, they're important in the community, and sometimes they get it /16

right.

In the end, you find a system where someone is defrauding the hell out of the vulnerable by acting like they have the power and /17

training to perform a service, relying on old misconceptions.

Oh, but it can get EVEN DARKER, you know? Remember how I said immigration /18

Say someone DOES want to sue a Notario and goes to talk to them. Maybe the Notario takes advantage of the fact the person may not have /19

the best immigration status. They say "Well, if you sue me you have to go to court, and then ICE..."

Or, better yet, they flat out lie /20

to imply the victim did something wrong and could be deported.

Because the Notario is already committing fraud, why the hell wouldn't /21

they lie to protect themselves after that point?

The long and short is, this is a fucking problem. If a deal seems "too good to be true"/22

in re legal representation, it fucking IS too good to be true.

If you speak spanish, spread the fucking news. /end