Tv Has Turned Me Into A Bush Lawyer. Maybe I Should Start Charging

[gusG]

Since starting to read all the valuable information on TV, and giving some limited advice to friends trying to cope with all the changes to visa and land ownership rules etc (always with the proviso, that this is just what I've read ,and how I've understood it,but go to TV and check yourself) that I keep getting friends of friends turning up, having been told to go see Gus, he'll set you straight.

They all know where I get most of my information (TV) and most of them are internet users, however they seem to need extra verbal assurance that things they have been told by so and so and so and so in some bar, might be in some cases, correct.

OK, so I might get to sell a few extra beers from my restaurant, but I'm just wondering whether I should put up an hourly rate sheet and and take advantage of the situation.

Just Kidding ,but does anyone else out there get the same response once a few people think that you might have some idea what is going on.

Edited April 5, 2007 by gusG

[qwertz]

Since starting to read all the valuable information on TV, and giving some limited advice to friends trying to cope with all the changes to visa and land ownership rules etc (always with the proviso, that this is just what I've read ,and how I've understood it,but go to TV and check yourself) that I keep getting friends of friends turning up, having been told to go see Gus, he'll set you straight.

They all know where I get most of my information (TV) and most of them are internet users, however they seem to need extra verbal assurance that things they have been told by so and so and so and so in some bar, might be in some cases, correct.

OK, so I might get to sell a few extra beers from my restaurant, but I'm just wondering whether I should put up an hourly rate sheet and and take advantage of the situation.

Just Kidding ,but does anyone else out there get the same response once a few people think that you might have some idea what is going on.

Who better to ask than the resident farangs. Living there, you either get wise or go troppo. I find the expats, especially bar owners, the best source when I need an update.

[bendix]

I find the expats, especially bar owners, the best source when I need an update.

Please tell me you're joking. Getting visa and business advice from some of the bar owners I've met, is like asking for investment advice from one of their employees.

Edited April 5, 2007 by bendix

[ilyushin]

These needy people must have a name to blame when the advice is not correct. "Dang that Gus" or "Gus told me!" Normal for us humans.

No, I think it is a noble thing that you do by giving advice to these needy folks, but one mistake will ruin your outstanding reputation.

Disclaimers advised. The old Indiana Jones Rule applies. "Make it up as it comes along."

[Jeffery Stanthorpe]

[

Who better to ask than the resident farangs. Living there, you either get wise or go troppo. I find the expats, especially bar owners, the best source when I need an update.

obviously you have not been to 'crazy daves' in pattaya recently,

isn't that right bob ! yeeaaaahhh

man !! that tv comercial should win an award

[qwertz]

I know him well, JS. Dave's not as crazy as he'd have us believe. A little troppo maybe.

[qwertz]

I find the expats, especially bar owners, the best source when I need an update.

Please tell me you're joking. Getting visa and business advice from some of the bar owners I've met, is like asking for investment advice from one of their employees.

Try getting out a bit more. There are some very well informed bar owners, at least where I drink and eat.

[ilyushin]

News good, bad, correct, incorrect, rumor, fact or more is passed around bars. Owners and customers usually have the scoop. Elbow bender network with a touch of the bamboo telegraph. Bar and entertainment owners have given me reliable intel over the years. Old school. Better than a newspaper or

[junkofdavid2]

I think what's interesting is that people keep turning up for advise from me because of my "acquired visa knowledge" (partly from TV, and partly from Sunbelt) but then after that, they still believe the (ignorant) advise of some of their local lawyers/accountants with myths like "no way! I'm sure the only way to get a work permit is to hire 4 thai employees! my thai lawyer said it's a requirement of the labor ministry!"

*To Newbies: This "hire 4 thai employees" thing is a myth spread by (ignorant) local lawyers (mine had 28 years "experience") and actually pertains to applying for the "extension of stay based on business" privilege for people who want to extend their business visas at the local immigration office in Bangkok, without the "inconvenience" of obtaining/renewing their business visas at a thai embassy abroad... On that point, it's much cheaper (and more fun!) for me to renew a business visa in Singapore every 3 months than to hire 4 thai employees for about 300,000 THB per year. This "4 thai employees" policy has nothing to do with the work permit itself, and does not apply to people who are willing to go through the "inconvenience" of renewing their business ( visas in a thai embassy abroad like in Singapore.

Edited April 5, 2007 by junkofdavid2

[ProThaiExpat]

Lawyers don't have an advantage over intelligent laymen when it comes to interpreting regulations issued by Immigration since there are no court cases illuminating the regulations and practice varies from Immigration Officer to Immigration Officer.

Lopburi3 is the best source I have seen in Thailand on immigration regulations and he professes to have learned it all on TV.

Many don't realize that most Thai lawyers have only a undergraduate degree and are not taught to think like western lawyers.

"Case law" is limited in Thailand. Thus the majority of Thai law is interpreted like reading the Vehicle Code in a western country, not exactly brain busting.

Bar owners who network with their customers could be more knowledgeable than many lawyers as they have far more customers than lawyers have clients.