Mi tía es abogada y dice que leer con atención un contrato evita muchos problemas.

Because ser is used for someone's profession or identity.

• Mi tía es abogada = my aunt is a lawyer
• Ser is used for things like:
  • identity
  • profession
  • origin
  • characteristics

Estar is used for states or conditions, not professions.

So in this sentence, es abogada is the natural choice.

In Spanish, professions usually do not take an article after ser.

• Es abogada
• Es médico
• Soy profesor

This is different from English, where we normally say She is a lawyer.

You would use an article if you add extra description or are identifying someone in a more specific way, for example:

• Es una abogada muy famosa
• Es la abogada de mi familia

But in the basic profession pattern, Spanish usually says simply es abogada.

Because tía is feminine, and the profession agrees with the person's gender.

• mi tío es abogado
• mi tía es abogada

Many profession words in Spanish change -o / -a depending on whether the person is male or female. Not all profession nouns work this way, but abogado / abogada does.

Dice is the third person singular form of decir in the present tense:

• yo digo
• tú dices
• él / ella / usted dice

So dice que... means she says that...

The word que introduces the clause that follows, just like that in English:

• She says that reading carefully...
• Dice que leer con atención...

In Spanish, que is very commonly used after verbs like decir, and unlike English, it is usually not omitted.

Because here leer is an infinitive and acts like a noun idea: reading.

So:

• leer con atención un contrato = reading a contract carefully

This whole infinitive phrase is the subject of evita.

Compare:

• Leer ayuda mucho. = Reading helps a lot.
• Correr es sano. = Running is healthy.

If you said lee, that would mean he/she reads or you (formal) read, which would change the structure completely.

In Spanish, an infinitive can function as a subject, just like reading in English.

Here the structure is:

• leer con atención un contrato = subject
• evita = verb
• muchos problemas = object

So literally, the sentence is structured like:

• Reading a contract carefully avoids many problems

This is very common in Spanish.

Because the subject is treated as one singular action:

• leer con atención un contrato = the act of reading a contract carefully

That whole phrase is singular, so the verb is singular too:

• evita muchos problemas

Even though problemas is plural, that is the object, not the subject.

Con atención means carefully or more literally with attention.

It is a very common Spanish expression:

• escuchar con atención = to listen carefully
• mirar con atención = to look carefully
• leer con atención = to read carefully

Spanish often uses a phrase like con atención where English prefers a single adverb such as carefully.

Because un contrato is the direct object of leer.

• leer = to read
• leer un contrato = to read a contract

The phrase con atención modifies how you read it:

• leer un contrato con atención
• leer con atención un contrato

Both are understandable, and Spanish allows some flexibility in word order here. In this sentence, placing con atención right after leer helps emphasize the manner of reading.

Because muchos means many, so the noun must also be plural:

• mucho problema = a lot of problem / much problem (not natural here)
• muchos problemas = many problems

Also notice agreement:

• muchos is masculine plural
• problemas is masculine plural

Even though problema ends in -a, it is actually a masculine noun:

• el problema
• muchos problemas

That is something learners often have to memorize.

Because not all nouns ending in -a are feminine.

Problema is one of a group of words of Greek origin that are masculine:

• el problema
• el sistema
• el tema
• el programa

So in the sentence, muchos problemas is correct, not muchas problemas.

Both are in the present indicative.

• dice = she says
• evita = avoids

The present tense here can express a general truth or usual idea, not only something happening right now.

So the sentence suggests a general principle:

• reading a contract carefully avoids many problems

The accent mark shows that tía has a hiatus: the vowels are pronounced in separate syllables.

• tía = tí-a
• not one blended syllable like tia

This written accent is required because a weak vowel (i) is stressed next to a strong vowel (a).

It also helps with pronunciation.

In most of Spain, the c before e or i is pronounced like the th in think.

So:

• dice sounds roughly like DEE-theh
• atención sounds roughly like a-ten-THYON

But in Latin America, and in some parts of Spain, that c would sound like s instead.

So for Spain Spanish, the learner should expect the th sound in these words.

Normally, no.

In English we often say:

• She says reading carefully avoids problems

But Spanish normally keeps que:

• Dice que leer con atención...

After decir, que is the standard connector when introducing a clause. Leaving it out would sound wrong in normal Spanish.

The sentence is natural as it is, but some parts can move.

For example:

• Mi tía es abogada y dice que leer con atención un contrato evita muchos problemas.
• Mi tía es abogada y dice que leer un contrato con atención evita muchos problemas.

Both are fine.

What should stay clear is the basic relationship:

• leer ... un contrato = the action
• evita = main verb of that clause
• muchos problemas = what is avoided

Spanish word order is often more flexible than English, but not completely free.

Yes. That would be a more formal or written-style alternative.

• Leer con atención un contrato evita muchos problemas = more direct, verbal
• La lectura atenta de un contrato evita muchos problemas = more nominal, slightly more formal

Both are correct, but the original sentence sounds very natural and straightforward in everyday Spanish.