Hi there!
When I first arrived in Fortaleza, I naturally didn't speak very much Portuguese.
As a matter of fact relatively soon after arrival, I began teaching English to managers of a couple of local companies who were already at the "intermediate" level of speaking the language.
One day, I was driving to a class when I was pulled over by the local police. It was a routine check but I didn't really know what was happening.
As it happened, one of the documents for my car was out of date.
Now this was at 7.30am on a Friday morning.
It looked like the police were ready to impound my car!
I hurriedly called my wife at my home and asked her to quickly call my lawyer.
My lawyer, Marcus, called my cell phone and I handed it to the police.
After the conversation, which Marcus had with them while on his way to my location, we waited to see what would happen.
When Marcus arrived, he spent about fifteen minutes talking to the police at the checkpoint and after that, I was free to go.
Marcus had apparently been doing quite a bit of work lately with the local police and he had a good relationship with the force in general.
He had me promise to take my documents...updated...to the Delagacia, or local police station the next day. It was fairly near my residence so it wasn't too much of a problem.
This is just a small example of how, having a local lawyer...hopefully who speaks English, as mine does...can be a big help for those of us living here who are Portuguese "impaired"!
If you are a client of Fortaleza Adventure, we can easily put you in touch with good, honest and ethical lawyers who also speak English.
I should mention that Marcus is actually Marcus Jr. and that his father and brother are also lawyers in the firm. This is a real family legal firm which has been established in Fortaleza for many, many years.