Puerto Rico Legal Services
Puerto Rico’s legal system is a fascinating amalgamation of Spanish substantive civil law and U.S.-based evidentiary, procedural and constitutional law.
The Puerto Rico Supreme Court still looks to civil law commentators from Spain and other countries sharing the civil law tradition in deciding civil law disputes. The Commonwealth courts conduct all proceedings in Spanish. Only criminal matters are tried by jury. Commonwealth courts decide all other cases by bench trial.
Puerto Rico has an Article III federal district court. Federal law and procedure apply in the same way as in the U.S, unless an express legal provision states otherwise. Supplemental “Commonwealth” civil claims can be tried by jury. Because juries are believed to make larger awards than judges conducting bench trials, some observers feel that there is an incentive to couch actions as federal claims.
Licensed in Puerto Rico, David Martin provides local counsel services in federal court cases. The firm will help state-side and foreign lawyers with initial ECF filing, compliance with local rules, handling pendent civil law claims, monitoring deposition interpretations and document translations, and other matters. Client relationships are fully respected.
