An Interview With Martin Hayes of Poveda-Hayes Lawyers. By Stuart Peel. As appeared on www.valenciabusinessnews.com
I’m a former lawyer. I qualified and practised as a barrister back in Britain, and spent 15 odd years working amongst the assorted criminals of England. For those of you who have never done this, I wouldn’t recommend it particularly. The pay is a fraction of what you might expect, the hours are insane and people generally have little sympathy for either you or your client. So, after a decade and a half of this salaried masochism, I gave it all up, and decided to try my luck in Spain. This was partly due to my Valencian wife but also because I simply find the Spanish way of life to be more agreeable and enjoyable than that of windy old England. It appears that I am not alone in this.
When I met Irish lawyer Martin Hayes last week, it seemed that his story tallied with mine to a certain degree. Martin is now a partner in Valencian law firm Poveda-Hayes, which has offices in the centre of the city and Javea down the coast a little. When we compared notes it seemed that Martin’s journey to Spain had some similar features to mine, and was for much the same reasons.
En route to his office, I will cheerfully admit that I got lost and had to phone his (also Irish) secretary for directions. Not that the office is hard to find, it being just a couple of streets behind the city hall, it’s just that I’m still finding my feet here. But when I finally did track down the place I was ushered into a comfortable and large room and soon found myself sitting opposite a relaxed looking Martin with a fresh cup of coffee in front of me. I noted two things, one that he was younger than me and annoyingly fresh faced, and two that he was clearly a nice guy. I make this second point because he is also a lawyer. Having spent the greater part of my adult life surrounded by lawyers I can tell you that they are often an unattractive bunch. Prone to egotism, pomposity and a rather dyspeptic view of life, if one spends too much time in their company it can often lead to boredom, irritation or a strong drinking habit. That’s why it’s notable to report that I have found one who is actually normal.
Despite this, I began to quietly grill him about how he came to find himself in Spain. It seems that after studying law at Dublin University and gaining a masters degree in Scotland, he quickly established himself in the profession. Beginning his career at internationally famous law firm ‘Landwell’ and also becoming the junior counsel member for the Dublin bar association, Martin arrived in the law with something of a splash. Specialising in commercial litigation he quickly became involved in one of the biggest cases in Ireland at the time.
But then, as with so many us that have ended up in this part of the world, he met and married a Valencian woman. Just like the rest of us that have met this fate, he started to visit the city and found it to be very easily lovable, and when compared to where he came from, it seemed to offer a rather attractive alternative. Soon, that familiar question started to form in his mind, namely, could he actually live here?
In 2004 he decided to find out, resigned from Landwells and moved kit and caboodle to Spain’s third biggest city. Spending the first year learning both the language and the business culture, Martin did a few bits of work here and there, but mainly got his feet on the ground and began that period of cultural adjustment that we all need to go through (I myself am still at that stage). And then, after he had got his qualifications recognised by the Spanish legal establishment, and having taught himself the Spanish legal system, he started to send out his c.v. to prospective employers. One such document reached the offices of Angel Poveda. During my interview with Martin, Señor Poveda popped in very briefly before his mobile phone summoned him elsewhere, but he came across as charming and professional and with a very high level of English. His firm (formerly that of his father) has been established for 40 years, and is well known in the city.
Anyway, Martin and Angel met, and the former was employed. That was three years ago, now the firm is called ‘Poveda-Hayes’ and Martin has not only established himself extremely quickly on the Valencian legal scene but has also proved himself worthy of partnership (no mean feat I can tell you). Martin and the firm now provide a service in a number of different fields, including family work, criminal defence, conveyance, commercial and company law. What’s more everybody in the firm speaks English including those that answer the phone. Not only that but Martin is able to sit you down, and discuss your problem over a coffee, and in native English
In addition to all this (as if partnership in a busy law firm wasn’t enough) Martin is also the Honorary British Consul for the northern part of the Valencian community, and although he is modest about this role, there is no doubt that he takes it very seriously and performs his task with an understandable amount of pride.
After working in the law myself for about 15 years, I learnt a few things about what clients want. Firstly they want to be talked to as an equal. Secondly they want a friendly face and someone who is prepared to treat them like a person rather than like an open file. And lastly they want someone to know their stuff. In my brief meeting with Martin and his partner, I formed the view that they ticked all these boxes. For English speaking people living over here who need legal advice, it must be intimidating going to a Spanish lawyer, especially as in the law, precision of language is key. So how nice it is that there is someone here that can push a hot cup of coffee towards you, and discuss your needs with you in your own language. It actually took me two weeks to get to meet Martin, but now I can understand why he’s so busy.