Legal-ese. . .

I got a first-hand glimpse of a small slice of the Costa Rican legal system the other day. . . Nothing that involved handcuffs, pepper spray, accusations or lewd behavior. Rather, one of the ladies who worked here at the hotel decided it was time to move on after a few years here. . . Back in the States, it's not a problem when someone quits: Thanks for the time and the memories and good luck in your next endeavor. . . Here, it's not quite so simple. This involved a visit by the employee to the Ministry of Jobs to fill out paperwork, and then a visit by me (on behalf of the owners) to the hotel's lawyer. . . The whole process took several days and about 90 minutes with the lawyer. . . When all was said and done, the employee received severance (calculated by how long she had worked here--part-time and full-time and how many vacation days were due, as well as the year-end bonus, which was pro-rated) and we all had to sign a document saying that she had resigned on her own and she cannot come back to the hotel for any future claims. . . Pretty binding and a lot of hassle, in my opinion, but nothing out of the ordinary here in Costa Rica. . . The lawyer, a very nice fellow who speaks excellent English (a huge benefit for me), was joking around has he did the hunt-and-peck through 1.5 pages of Spanish legal-ese, that this must be driving me crazy, i.e., the ins and outs of the Costa Rican system. . . I didn't mind it, to be honest. . . Everyone left happy, which was the main thing. . . The lawyer did tell me that to do just about anything in Costa Rica, you need a lawyer--including selling a used car to someone. . . Don't think we're going to have to test that out, but who knows? A good and personable lawyer can be worth plenty here, I'm starting to realize. . .