You should be aware that, in Mexico, as in other jurisdictions, the process to obtain a final settlement in any claim may take a considerable amount of time. On average, according to our experience, it takes between 2 to 4 months to negotiate a settlement with the Defendant. This depends on the amount of the claim and the party’s willingness to negotiate. The larger the amount, the longer it may take to obtain a settlement. During this process we will know if a settlement can be arrived at or if it will be necessary to litigate to obtain a resolution of the dispute. Note that according to International Bar Association Rules of Conduct, we must attempt to resolve amicably a dispute and avoid litigation whenever possible.
If an agreement is arrived at, then the process ends with the settlement documentation. An experienced Litigation Lawyer will know how to prepare the agreement and not omit any detail that will lead to further disputes.
If no agreement is possible, then the case goes to Court. If litigation is commenced, it can take up to two years from start to finish before obtaining a final decision from the Court. If you or the Defendant appeal it can take an additional 2 years before a final outcome is arrived at. From our experience, few cases are appealed unless the amount in question is considerably large.
Secondly, you should also be aware that all official documents that you provide in support of your lawsuit must be legalized and translated into Spanish. Under the Hague Convention, official documents from another jurisdiction need to be “legalized” or “Apostilled” by that jurisdiction to be valid in another jurisdiction. We will assist you throughout this process.
The translation of all documents must be done by an official translator and the costs, per page, vary. MexLaw has a certified translator on staff to save on this expense. Normally, the translation of documents is required only if we go to Court. The Defendant does not require translated documents during the negotiating process. Please note that when we succeed in your claim these expense will be reimbursed to you.
Finally, if your claim goes to Court, we will require a Power of Attorney signed by you appointing us as your legal counsel for the purposes of the case. This document will be provided to you in due course by our Litigation Department and instructions on how to proceed in having it verified in your country of residence. The average cost of having a Power of Attorney verified in your country of residence is $120.00 and is not payable to us but to a Notary Public and government authorities in your jurisdiction.
Remember, in order to better assist us in this process, we will require that you stop any communications with the Defendant or their representatives and refer any communications to us. It is not uncommon for other Lawyers to disregard rules of ethics by communicating directly with the opposite party without their lawyer participating.
