By your side from the first minute,
to the very last appeal.

Yes. Criminal emergencies — arrests, imminent statements, searches — don't wait for office hours. The emergency line runs 24 hours, 365 days a year.

Yes. Although the office is in Pamplona, I act throughout Spain — including neighbouring regions such as La Rioja (Logroño), Aragón and the Basque Country — before any court, and visit inmates in any Spanish prison.

Verónica Popescu personally handles cases in Spanish, Romanian, Russian and English. Albanian and Chinese are handled by team members who speak those languages natively; the lawyer herself does not speak Albanian or Chinese.

Yes: consultations by video call, phone or WhatsApp from anywhere in Spain or abroad — with the same confidentiality as at the office. For clients outside Navarra or families in another country, it is usually the fastest way to start.

Any paperwork you have from the proceedings: summonses, court notifications, police reports or earlier filings. If you have nothing in writing, that's fine: tell me your situation and I'll tell you clearly how I can help. Every consultation is confidential and protected by professional secrecy.

It depends on the stage and complexity of the case: a first statement is not the same as a trial with expert evidence or a mega-case. The first consultation has a fee, which I state clearly when you book; and if you entrust me with your defence, you'll receive a written quote — no surprises later.

No — for two reasons worth understanding. The first is plain honesty: the outcome of a case does not depend on the lawyer alone — a judge decides, a prosecutor accuses, there is an opposing party and evidence the court will weigh; guaranteeing something that is not solely in my hands would be deceiving you. The second follows from the first: precisely for that reason, promising outcomes is forbidden by the legal profession’s code of conduct — so beware of anyone who guarantees them. What I do guarantee — always, without exception — is that I will do everything in my power and give it my absolute maximum: full study of the file, honesty about your real options — even when they are not good — and fighting every procedural opening to the end.

Yes. I act both for the defence and as private prosecutor: representing the victim or injured party so the proceedings do not depend solely on the Public Prosecutor — from the complaint and joining the proceedings to trial and recovering compensation. Deep knowledge of how a case is defended is precisely what makes a prosecution more effective.

Yes. I provide ongoing legal support to inmates, with prison visits, custody appeals, regime progression and penitentiary benefits.

Stay calm and get a lawyer as soon as possible. A detainee has the right to remain silent and to be assisted by a lawyer of their choice from the very first moment; it's important not to make a statement before speaking to the defence. Call me at any hour: I handle emergencies 24 hours a day.

While someone is held at the police station, the family cannot visit — and that helplessness is among the hardest parts of those hours. But two things do happen: the detainee has the right to have their detention and place of custody communicated to a person of their choice — and even to speak by phone with a third person of their choosing, in police presence —, and their lawyer can see them — alone, in a confidential interview. That is why my way of handling emergencies always includes the family: I go in, see them, prepare the statement together — and come out to tell you how they are and what happens next, in your language if needed. While you cannot be inside, your lawyer is your eyes.

After an arrest there are three possible outcomes, and knowing them helps size the fear: release without charges; release as a suspect — the most common: the case continues, but from home —; or, only if a prosecuting party — normally the public prosecutor — requests it, a hearing where the judge decides on pre-trial detention, which the law treats as exceptional: it requires offences of a certain gravity and a concrete risk (flight, destruction of evidence, reoffending) that no lesser measure can prevent. Most arrests do not end in pre-trial detention — and when it is requested, that is where the defence fights its first great battle: arriving at that hearing with a strategy is exactly what 24-hour emergency work is for.

Detention must last only as long as strictly necessary and never more than 72 hours before the person is brought before a judge. If that is exceeded, or the arrest is carried out without legal guarantees — no notification of rights, no access to a lawyer — there is an immediate remedy: habeas corpus, an urgent procedure in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of the detention within a maximum of 24 hours. The detainee, their family or their lawyer on their behalf can request it. It is the fastest tool in our system — and it fits how I work emergencies: in an arrest, hours matter.

Yes — and it happens more often than people think. A witness testifies under a duty to tell the truth and without a lawyer; a suspect, by contrast, has the right to remain silent and to counsel. That is why the law requires the court to stop the questioning and change your status as soon as evidence points at you — but that moment is not always respected as sharply as it should be. If you are summoned as a witness in a case where your position could get complicated, consulting a lawyer before testifying is not optional: what you say as a witness, without a suspect’s guarantees, can follow you for the rest of the proceedings.

First: take it seriously even though it is false — the proceedings move forward regardless, and defending well from the start is what dismantles it. Falsehood is not proclaimed, it is proven: contradictions in the account, prior messages and communications, witnesses, chronology. And when the case ends in dismissal or acquittal, the law lets you turn on the false accuser: the offence of false accusation (article 456 of the Criminal Code) and a claim for the harm caused. First you win the defence; then, where appropriate, you go on the offensive.

Not showing up does not make the problem disappear — it makes it worse: your arrest and compulsory appearance can be ordered. A summons is always answered, but never alone: go with a lawyer, having prepared beforehand what to say — or whether to speak at all. If there is a justified reason (health, an unavoidable trip), it is communicated to the court and a new date requested; what you cannot do is ignore it.

It is an accelerated procedure for flagrant, less serious offences — drink-driving, theft, assault, domestic violence — where the statement and often the trial itself are concentrated into a few days before the duty court. In Pamplona and across Navarra they run constantly. That speed is exactly why you want a lawyer from minute one: the big decisions, including a possible negotiated plea, are taken very fast.

Yes — at any time and without having to justify it: the right to appoint a lawyer you trust exists throughout the case, including if you've had a court-appointed lawyer so far. The change is notified to the court (we lawyers handle the formalities) and the proceedings don't stop because of it.

Not necessarily. If the sentence does not exceed two years and it is your the legal requirements are met — chiefly, in practice, having no relevant prior record — the court can suspend it: you remain free on condition of not reoffending within a set period, sometimes with added conditions such as a fine, community service or programmes. And in specific cases — such as drug dependence under treatment — the law allows suspending sentences of up to five years. Preparing and defending that suspension is an essential part of my work after a conviction.

A conformidad is an agreement with the prosecution: you accept the facts and a reduced sentence, and there is no trial. Sometimes it is the best way out — in the fast-track procedure, agreeing before the duty court automatically cuts the sentence by one third — and sometimes it means giving up an acquittal that was within reach. A conformidad judgment is practically final: there is no way back and no appeal against what you accepted. That is why my job is twofold: to negotiate the best possible reduction and, at the same time, to tell you honestly what your real chances at trial would be. The final decision is always yours — but with the numbers on the table, not blind.

Not always, and it does not work like in American films. In Spain bail only exists if the judge expressly offers it when deciding on custody: the court may order release, plain pre-trial detention, or detention «avoidable on bail» — and the last one is the least common. The judge sets the amount according to flight risk and the person’s means; it is deposited with the court — in cash or by guarantee — and recovered at the end if every court appearance is met. What you can always do is request release, with or without bail, and appeal the detention — that is where things are really decided.

It depends on the measures the court has imposed. If your passport was withdrawn or there is a ban on leaving the country, travelling without permission means breaching a precautionary measure: it can end in pre-trial detention. If you only have periodic sign-ins — on the 1st and 15th, say — you can move around, but never miss one. And for specific needs — work, a sick relative back home — you can request judicial authorisation for a one-off trip: well grounded and with proven ties to Spain, it is granted more often than people think. The key: never travel hoping nobody notices; ask first.

Every final conviction is entered in the Central Register. A record is not forever: it is cancelled after periods ranging from 6 months (minor offences) to 10 years (serious ones), counted from the day the sentence was fully served, provided no new offence was committed and the civil liability has been paid — or insolvency declared. Cancellation can be requested from the Ministry of Justice — it does not always happen on its own, so it is worth applying — and a cancelled record stops counting for every purpose, including reoffending. If a certificate for a job or paperwork worries you, bring it to the consultation: we check the calculation and, if the period has run, we request the cancellation.

You can switch at any time: free choice of counsel is a right, done with a simple filing to the court — nobody «takes offence» and your case does not suffer. Nothing already done is lost: the new lawyer enters the case, accesses the full file and continues from where it stands. Two honest caveats: if you were granted legal aid, appointing a private lawyer normally means giving it up — worth weighing beforehand; and note that the duty lawyer is not always free — if legal aid was not granted, their fees are payable too. What do you gain with a private one? Chosen dedication: the duty lawyer got your case by rota; the private one you choose for their specialisation. If you are going to switch, better before the key moments of the proceedings — a statement, the trial — than after.

You can find out without exposing yourself: via PerPol, via Carpeta Justicia with a digital certificate, or through a lawyer. Never walk into a police station to ask.

It is the anguish of many people living abroad: «can I go back without being arrested at the airport?». There are ways to find out without gambling. First: exercise your right of access to the police database PerPol (Persons of Police Interest), where warrants are recorded — you apply formally to the Directorate-General of Police and they tell you whether you appear. Second: with a digital certificate or Cl@ve, log into the Ministry of Justice’s Carpeta Justicia, where you can check whether open cases exist in your name, plus your files and summonses; from there you can also request the criminal-record certificate — which shows final convictions, not outstanding arrest warrants. And third, the most complete: entrust it to a lawyer, who can check with the courts without exposing you. What you must never do is walk into a police station «to ask»: if the warrant exists, the arrest is immediate. If you suspect something hangs over you, find out first and design the return afterwards — sometimes negotiating a voluntary surrender, always a better card than an arrest by surprise. And if what hangs over you is a European or international warrant, we enter the territory of extradition and the EAW.

They are three very different moments, and confusing them creates needless anguish. Under investigation (investigado) means being the subject of an investigation phase: it does not mean guilty — in fact it is a safeguard, because from that moment you have the right to a lawyer, to know the case against you and not to testify against yourself. Many investigations end in dismissal. Accused is one step further: the investigation is over and a prosecuting party formally requests a penalty against you in writing — the antechamber of trial. Convicted is only someone with a guilty judgment, and with full consequences only once it is final — that is, when no appeal remains. Until that last instant the presumption of innocence rules — and it is not a slogan: it is the rule that forces the prosecution to prove, and doubt to be resolved in your favour.

Compensation is almost always due, and paying well works in your favour. Beware: payment is usually a condition for staying out of prison. Genuine insolvency can be defended.

Almost every offence with an injured party carries civil liability: restitution, repair or compensation. It is decided in the same criminal proceedings — the judgment sets it together with the penalty — and it is negotiable: a reasonable compensation agreement, or depositing the money before trial, triggers the mitigating circumstance of repairing the harm and usually improves the criminal outcome noticeably. It is one of the first levers I assess in cases with injured parties. And if there is no money? Here one must speak plainly, because this subject has a trap: when a prison sentence is suspended — the usual route to staying out of prison — payment of the civil liability is normally set as a condition of that suspension, and breaching it can revoke it: there are people who end up in prison not for the offence, but for not having paid. That said, the law only allows revocation against those who can pay and do not — genuine, well-documented insolvency must not cost you your freedom, and defending that before the court, with the right documentation, is a defence that can be won. That is why the payment plan is designed from the start, tailored to what can truly be met. All of this plays out in the enforcement phase, which has rules of its own. Different is non-payment of a criminal fine, which can indeed turn into days of custody — one more reason to argue the amounts properly from the beginning.

Yes — he can receive visits and call authorised numbers. The family needs an appointment and the NIS. I guide you from day one.

The first time in prison almost always comes as a surprise — on remand after the hearing, or through an arrest on an outstanding warrant — and the family suddenly lands in a world where nobody explains the basics, so here they are: there is more contact than people fear. Relatives can see him at the weekly ordinary visits (through the booth) and, proving kinship, at longer periodic vis-à-vis visits; the first visit is requested from the prison with ID and proof of the family tie, and works by appointment. Phone calls work the other way round from what you expect: he calls — the family cannot phone him — to numbers previously authorised by the prison, with limited frequency. He can also receive money for expenses and clothing, under each prison’s rules. And the most reassuring detail: his lawyer can communicate with him without those limits. When a client goes inside, my work does not stop — I visit him, explain the specific prison’s rules to you, and we keep building his defence from within.

It is the inmate’s identification number: write it down from day one. You will need it for money, visits and calls. All the practical details below.

The NIS is the inmate’s identification number in the prison system — write it down from day one, because the family will need it for almost everything: to deposit money into his peculio (a kind of internal wallet-account he uses at the economato, the prison’s small shop), to book visits online on the Penitentiary Institutions website, and for anything related to phone calls. About calls, a practical detail almost nobody mentions: the inmate submits a limited list of authorised numbers — around ten, including his lawyer’s —; during the first month, as a general rule, he can call them without further paperwork, but after that the prison requires proof of who owns each number, usually the phone bill — so start gathering those bills early. Phone-booth credit can also be topped up online — at many prisons through the MyTelio platform, though it is worth confirming with the specific prison — using the NIS and from an authorised number. Small details… until they are missing: part of my work with families is guiding you through these first steps.

It is such a common question that even professionals within the system have asked me. The belongings the detainee had on him when admitted stay in the prison’s custody — and the family cannot simply go and ask for them. The path is this: the inmate himself must fill in a written request (called an «instancia») stating which item he is handing over and which specific person he authorises to collect it, ideally with their ID number. Once processed, the authorised person goes to the prison with their ID and collects the item. It seems a minor formality… until what is inside is the house keys, the car keys or a phone with everything important — then it becomes urgent. It is one of those steps I guide families through from day one.

It can be requested, and family ties are the central argument. If he is serving a final sentence, the transfer is decided by the prison administration — not the judge: the inmate files a request for transfer on family grounds, and the family can strengthen it by documenting the distance, the journeys and the circumstances (young children, health, work). If he is on remand, the transfer also needs the approval of the court handling the case. Real timelines are measured in months, not weeks — so it pays to apply early and well founded, not to wait and hope. It is classic prison law work, and I guide families through it.

Leave permits from one quarter of the sentence; open regime when progress supports it; every refusal is appealed. The system works in stages: knowing them prevents false hopes.

The system works in stages, and knowing them prevents both despair and false hopes. Once the conviction is final, he is classified within about two months — normally second grade: ordinary regime. Ordinary leave permits can be requested after serving one quarter of the sentence, with good behaviour: the first ones are the hardest, then they chain. Third grade (semi-liberty: sleeping at the centre, living outside by day) comes when his progress supports it, and with long sentences it may require half the sentence served. Parole is the final stage. Every refusal can be appealed before the prison supervision judge — and that is a core part of my prison law practice: the sentence does not end with the judgment; the work continues inside.

They are the rules of the game: how and when someone can be detained, a home searched, a phone tapped or evidence taken, and what deadlines and guarantees must be respected at every step. It matters because evidence obtained in breach of fundamental rights is void and cannot be used — and everything derived from it may fall with it. That is why some cases that look lost on the evidence are won on how that evidence was obtained, or because the rules were not followed. That terrain — the procedure — is precisely my specialty.

The investigation phase (instrucción) has a legal limit of 12 months (article 324 of the Spanish Criminal Procedure Act), with three important nuances. It is a maximum, not a minimum: if no steps remain to be taken, the investigation must be closed without exhausting it. If 12 months are not enough, the court can extend it in successive periods of up to 6 months by reasoned decision. And the procedural key almost nobody watches: if the deadline expired with no extension granted, evidence ordered out of time is not valid — more than one case has changed course over that calendar. Trial and, where applicable, appeals then follow.

Yes, with conditions. WhatsApp messages count, but they are easily challenged because a screenshot can be manipulated: what makes the difference is how they are submitted — checking the original phone, expert analysis, testimony of the participants. Always keep the original phone and the full conversations, not loose screenshots. And if you recorded the conversation yourself? That has its own question a little further down: as a rule, recording a conversation you take part in is lawful. With digital evidence, value depends on how it is obtained and submitted: once again, the rules of the game.

A phone holds more privacy today than a home, and the law treats it accordingly: examining its contents requires a specific, reasoned judicial authorisation (articles 588 sexies of the Criminal Procedure Act) defining what is being searched for — neither the arrest nor the seizure of the device authorises examining it on their own. And beware the most common shortcut: consent. If you voluntarily agree to «show the phone», that judicial authorisation is no longer needed — which is why the prudent answer to «mind if we look at your phone?» is to consult your lawyer first. A data extraction without valid authorisation can be declared void, and everything derived from it can fall with it.

Secrecy of proceedings allows the investigation to be temporarily hidden from the parties, but it has one impassable limit: when pre-trial detention is requested, the defence has the right to access the case materials essential to challenge it (article 505.3 of the Spanish Criminal Procedure Act, in line with EU Directive 2012/13). Letting the lawyer read a police summary during the hearing itself is not enough: if the evidence supporting detention — a phone dump, searches, wiretaps — remains hidden, the hearing is emptied of meaning and the deprivation of liberty rests on evidence nobody could contest. Raising that defencelessness, at the hearing and on appeal, is one of the most serious procedural battles there is: it means defending liberty with the cards face down.

Investigating “to see what turns up” — with no specific crime already committed and no prior objective indicia connecting the person to it — is what is known as a fishing expedition, and it is expressly prohibited: investigative measures (phone taps, tracking devices, data disclosures) may not be used “to prevent or discover offences or to clear up suspicions lacking an objective basis” (article 588 bis a of the Spanish Criminal Procedure Act — the specialty principle). The Constitutional Court requires suspicions to rest on objective, verifiable facts, assessed before the measure is ordered — and later success does not cure what was born flawed (STC 49/1999). The consequence is devastating: the measure is void and everything obtained directly or indirectly through it falls with it (article 11.1 LOPJ) — if the first link is void, the whole chain of evidence can come down. Examining how an investigation was born is, very often, the defence's first task.

Only in three cases: with your consent, with judicial authorisation or in flagrante delicto — article 18.2 of the Constitution says so. Outside those, the search can be void — and with that nullity, what was found and even derived evidence may fall. The nuances matter: consent must be free and informed — and if you are under arrest, given with your lawyer present —; the warrant must state its reasons, and the search must be carried out with you present and certified by the court clerk. A flawed search is one of the most powerful nullities in the investigation phase: an entire case can turn on how that door was entered.

Tapping a phone requires a reasoned court order, based on concrete evidence — not generic suspicion — and only for offences of some gravity, with limited periods and extensions that must be justified one by one. The honest answer to the second question: normally you cannot know. These measures are ordered under secrecy, and anyone selling you a «tap detector» or a trick to check is deceiving you. What can be done — and it is what I work on most in large drug-trafficking cases — is to attack the taps afterwards: if the order lacked reasons, if the investigation was a fishing expedition or was extended on nothing, the evidence falls — and with it, often, much of the prosecution case.

It may be — and it is among the first things I review in any case, because limitation is applied even of the court’s own motion. Offences become time-barred after periods that depend on the maximum penalty: one year for minor offences, five years for those punishable with up to five years in prison, ten, fifteen or twenty for the more serious ones — and only a very few, exceptional ones never lapse. Time runs from when the act was committed, but it is interrupted when proceedings are directed against the specific person — and there lies the technical argument: exactly when it was interrupted, whether the complaint was admitted in time, whether there were standstills that restart the count. Sentences already imposed also lapse, with periods of their own. It is a purely procedural question where one well-argued date can close an entire case.

It hinges on one decisive detail: whether you take part in the conversation. Recording a conversation you are part of — in person or by phone — is lawful even if the other person does not know, and the recording can be submitted as evidence: case law has said so for decades. What can be a crime is recording other people’s conversations, ones you are not part of — that is unlawful interception, punishable with prison. Nuances that matter: recording to defend yourself is one thing, spreading the recording is another and may breach privacy; the recording must be submitted whole, not conveniently trimmed; and its authenticity can be tested by experts, so always keep the original file on the original device. Properly obtained and properly submitted, your own recording can be the piece of evidence that decides a trial.

It depends on which dismissal it is, and the difference is enormous. A definitive dismissal (sobreseimiento libre) is equivalent to an acquittal: it is res judicata and the matter dies forever. But the usual one is the other: the provisional dismissal, ordered when the investigation does not yield sufficient evidence to continue — and that closure does not shut the door, it leaves it ajar. The case can be reopened if new material appears, for as long as the offence is not time-barred. That is why my reading of a provisional dismissal is twofold: it is good news — today there is no case against you — but it is not a guaranteed ending, and you should keep all the paperwork in case it ever reopens. And in the right cases I fight to turn the provisional into a definitive one: when the closure is because the fact never happened or is not a crime, you are entitled to definitive closure — not to living with the door ajar.